The Panama Canal is a full century old, but that doesn’t mean it still can’t grow. The 48-mile-long landmark that cuts across “the backbone of the Western Hemisphere” is going through the final year of a massive expansion. When work is completed in 2015, new locks will allow giant “New Panamax” class of container ships and supertankers through and boost the canal’s capacity by half.
The $5-billion project has also energized American, ports from Miami to Boston. They have invested another billion in dredging their harbors and building up infrastructure to handle plus-size vessels carrying everything from neckties to natural gas.
When the Panama Canal opened 100 years ago this summer, it relied on the world’s largest electrical system, built by GE. The canal is still using GE-powered tugs to move ships through its locks, and more of the boats are under construction.