The National Secretariat of the Railways of Panama has signed a technical advisory contract for B/.2.2 million with the American company AECOM USA, for the review and updating of the Master Plan of the Panama-David-Frontera Train.
This step is moving towards the fulfillment of the main infrastructure work promised to the Panamanian people by the administration of the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino.
The contract was signed this Thursday afternoon in the amphitheater of the Palacio de las Garzas, with President Mulino as a witness of honor. Their signatures were stamped by the Secretary of the Railway, Henry Faarup, and Aileen Flasz, country manager of AECOM Panama.
“The David-Panama train is an ambitious project, definitely, to connect the country and bring prosperity to all Panamanians,” the president said. “Our priority is to ensure that it is an example of sustainable and environmentally friendly infrastructure,” he added.
This design is very important to adapt the train to the needs of users and the productive sectors of the country that will benefit from the project.
The Master Plan includes technical studies, conceptual design, demand analysis, budget estimates and implementation strategies.
In addition, it contemplates the pre-feasibility study for a priority section of 150 kilometers in length, and the consideration of alternatives to cross the Panama Canal, either through a bridge or another tunnel apart from the one being built for Metro Line 3.
Secretary Faarup added that the update of the Master Plan includes aspects that were not in the original master plan of 2019, such as a section that connects Panama Pacific with the capital city, and the section of the city of David to the border in Paso Canoas.
“This train will bring an economic boost not seen before,” Faarup said.
AECOM (Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Operations and Management) is an engineering, consulting and infrastructure management company based in Los Angeles, California. It has operations in more than 150 countries; and offices in America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania.
Through its subsidiary in Panama, it has worked on projects related to transport, logistics and critical infrastructure.
The contract for the preparation of the Master Plan has been divided into three phases (one of them optional), to be executed within a fixed period of 210 calendar days, from the issuance of the order to proceed.
Phase 1 consists of criteria evaluation and preliminary analysis. Phase 2 comprises the development of the master plan with demand studies, conceptual designs and budget estimates; and the optional phase 3 covers the pre-feasibility study with 20% engineering progress for a specific section.
Payments are divided by phase, according to deliverables: B/.1,117,080.00 for phase 1; B/.1,117,080.00 for phase 2; and B/.685,709.50 for phase 3.