Panama has enlisted the help of Foley Hoag LLP to defend it from arbitration initiated by the Spanish construction company Sacyr SA regarding cost overruns incurred during a project to broaden the Panama Canal, Law360 learned on Tuesday.

Reports emerged early this week that Sacyr, a member of the consortium Grupo Unidos Por El Canal SA, or GUPC, had initiated the arbitration following a dispute that related to the design and construction of the third set of locks on the Panama Canal. The arbitration was filed under the rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law.

The amount of damages being sought in the proceeding and the actual filing date for the arbitration are currently unclear.

A spokesperson for the Boston-based law firm confirmed to Law360 on Tuesday that it would be representing the Central American nation in the dispute. Representatives for the firm declined to comment further on the matter.

Representatives for Sacyr could not immediately be reached for comment outside normal business hours in Spain.

This isn’t the first proceeding to arise out of the dispute. GUPC, the contractor on the canal expansion project, and Sacyr had previously initiated an arbitration before an International Chamber of Commerce tribunal in Miami involving Autoridad del Canal de Panama, the entity charged with operating, managing and preserving the Panama Canal.

There, it argued that ACP had known about but failed to disclose certain conditions affecting the Pacific Ocean side of the project — specifically, the design and construction of a cofferdam, which would allow a dry work area, and a diversion of the nearby Cocoli River — that ultimately caused the delay and more than $200 million in cost overruns, according to court documents filed in related litigation.

But the ICC tribunal disagreed. It issued an award favoring ACP and ordering GUPC and several other claimants to reimburse the Panamanian company more than $22 million in costs and fees. A federal judge in Miami rejected GUPC’s bid to have the award vacated earlier this year.

GUPC and Sacyr had argued before the Florida court that the tribunal majority refused to consider relevant and necessary evidence as a result of ACP’s repeated failure to produce pertinent documentation and witnesses, but U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola Jr. denied its motion to vacate after concluding that GUPC had failed to serve ACP with its petition within the allowable time frame.

Instead, he confirmed the award for ACP, though he denied its request for certain additional interest.

The Foley Hoag team representing Panama in the UNCITRAL arbitration includes Mélida Hodgson, Kenneth Juan Figueroa, Clara Brillembourg and Alberto Wray.

Counsel information for Sacyr was not immediately available on Tuesday.

Case information for the UNCITRAL arbitration was also not available.

–Editing by Nicole Bleier for Law 360