PortMiami Director to Speak at Panama’s Engineering Congress

• Need for US port readiness for the new Panama Canal to be discussed

Panama City, Panama, January 18, 2012 – PortMiami Director Bill Johnson has been invited as one of the distinguished speakers at the “Panama Canal 2012 International Engineering and Infrastructure Congress” to be held April 18 – 20 in Panama City.

Organized by the Panama Canal Authority, this Congress will convene more than 40 experts from 10 countries, who will discuss large scale projects and future trends in the maritime industry. Johnson will speak about the impacts of the Canal expansion on PortMiami and global trends.

According to Director Johnson, “The expanded Panama Canal will be a game changer for container trade when it opens in August 2014. As the closest U.S. port to the Panama Canal, PortMiami will be the first port of call for fully laden post-Panamax vessels. To capitalize on bigger ships and shifts in trade, the Port is putting in place over $2 billion in infrastructure improvements.”

PortMiami is recognized around the globe as the “Cruise Capital of the World” and as the “Cargo Gateway to the Americas”.

In order to increase its capacity to accommodate Post-Panamax ships, PortMiami is deepening its channel to -50 feet. In addition, a $1 billion tunnel is currently under construction that will directly link the Port to the national highway system and provide for the expedited delivery of goods. The Port is also reintroducing on-port rail that will connect Miami to the US rail network, putting 70% of the US population within one to four days of PortMiami.  These projects are slated for completion by 2014, in tandem with the opening of an expanded Panama Canal.

During the International Engineering Congress, in which the PortMiami Director will participate, other design and project management experiences will be shared such as the Bay of Panama Clean-up, the hydroelectric project of Tocoma in Venezuela, the failure of New Orleans levees during Hurricane Katrina, the main dredging projects in the world; and foundations for the tallest buildings in the world.

For more information on the Panama Canal 2012 International Engineering and Infrastructure Congress visit: www.pancanal.com/canalcongress.

About the Panama Canal Authority (ACP)
The ACP is the autonomous agency of the Government of Panama in charge of managing, operating and maintaining the Panama Canal. The operation of the ACP is based on its organic law and the regulations approved by its Board of Directors. For more information, please refer to the ACP’s Web site: www.pancanal.com. You can also follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/thepanamacanal.