•   PRESIDENT-ELECT RICARDO MARTINELLI DISCUSSES CANAL EXPANSION PROGRESS

President-Elect Ricardo Martinell discusses Canal Expansion ProgressPanama City, Panama, May 13, 2009 – Panamanian President Martín Torrijos and Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Administrator/CEO Alberto Alemán Zubieta briefed President-elect Ricardo Martinelli on the status of the Canal Expansion Program Monday. Elected May 3, President Martinelli takes office July 1.

Expansion will build a new lane of traffic along the Canal through the construction of a new set of locks. The project will double Canal capacity and allow more traffic and the passage of longer and wider ships. Overall, expansion is estimated at $5.25 billion, with an anticipated completion of 2014. In leadership until 2014, President-elect Martinelli and his Administration will serve for the remainder of the project.

PHOTO: (left to right) ACP Administrator/CEO Alberto Alemán Zubieta, ACP Board of Directors Chairman Dani Kuzniecky, Panamanian Vice-president and Foreign Minister Samuel Lewis, Panamanian President Martín Torrijos, Panamanian President-elect Ricardo Martinelli, Panamanian Vice-president-elect and appointed Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Varela and Panamanian Minister for Canal Affairs Rómulo Roux.

About the Panama Canal Authority
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) is the autonomous agency of the Government of Panama in charge of managing, operating and maintaining the Panama Canal. The ACP is governed by its organic law and the regulations approved by its Board of Directors. For more information, please refer to the Panama Canal Authority’s Web site: www.pancanal.com.