PANAMA CITY, Panama, April 20, 2009 – Panama Canal Administrator/CEO Alberto Alemán Zubieta briefed top business leaders on the progress of the Panama Canal Expansion Program Thursday at the Second Private Sector Hemispheric Conference in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

The two-day forum, sponsored by the Organization of American States (OAS), brought together high-level business representatives from the region and international organizations from across the continent.

The Panama Canal Expansion Program was highlighted as one of the Main Infrastructure Projects in the Americas portion of the conference. The forum preceded the three-day long Summit of the Americas, where leaders from 33 countries convened to discuss energy security, environmental sustainability and human prosperity among other topics.

Additional speakers at the second Private Sector Hemispheric Conference included Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Luis Alberto Moreno and Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) President Enrique Garcia. Both speakers praised Panama for undertaking one of the most important infrastructure projects in the region during these difficult economic times.

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: http://www.pancanal.com/.