While all the pictures you see published of the Panama skyline look impressive, the contrast with the little barrio of Boca de Caja located to the left of the photo and Punta Pacifica is quite stark.  The ground level photos below show that difference in neighborhoods.

If what the government proposes comes to fruition this will create a whole new area for development.  I just hope that the government involves the residents who have lived there for years.

Prensa.com reports: “The fertile state lands bordering the Bay of Panama await inevitable changes in light of the real estate boom in the area of ??Punta Pacifica, Avenida Balboa and the district of San Francisco”.

In March, the National Program for Land Management (Pronat) conducted a cadastral survey of Boca de Caja beach in order to legalize the lands there. However, for this to be effective the status of the area must be changed to make it a State asset for later titling.

This reform will be proposed by the National Land Authority (Anati) and submitted to the Cabinet by the Ministry of Housing and Land Management (Miviot) to be presented to the Cabinet in the future.

Property experts say that the lands in Boca de Caja will appeal to developers who will be interested in buying once the titling process concludes . “In fact, they believe that this could be the main reason for the change of status of the 1.6 ha lot, which the Anati valued at $1.4 million.”

According to the consultant and analyst, Osvaldo Lau, the ideal thing would be to develop a tourism initiative in the area which includes the local residents.

Source: Prensa.com