The development of the Panama City coastal districts of Costa del Este and Punta Pacífica, the heavy traffic around Punta Paitilla during the rush hours and the construction of new, extra-tall skyscrapers in the southern end of Avenida Balboa are some of the factors that have prompted Panama’s Ministry of Public Works (MOP) to expand Corredor Sur –the expressway that links the eastern suburbs and downtown via the Bay of Panama.

High officials from MOP have recently said that Avenida Balboa, the four-lane thoroughfare that runs along the bay, will collapse shortly if action is not taken to reduce traffic levels. They are also talking with ICA, the Mexican-based company that built and operates the toll way, in order to extend the 17-km. expressway to the district of Chorrillo, thus creating direct access to the Bridge of the Americas –the city’s gateway to the interior provinces.

The project would imply the construction of a second bridge over the bay at a cost of approximately US$50 million.

Inaugurated in 2000, the Corredor Sur is one of two expressways built in the 1990’s to reduce traffic congestion in the greater Panama City area. It presently extends from Tocumen International Airport to Punta Paitilla.

A group of expats in the province of Bocas del Toro has joined forces with Pillar Panama, developer of Red Frog Beach, to create the Red Frog Foundation, a non-profit organization which tackles the educational, health-care and basic infrastructure needs of the province.

Although Bocas is enjoying the benefits of a tourist and real-estate boom prompted by the arrival of expats and retirees from Europe and North America, Bocas del Toro is still one of Panama's poorest provinces. Yet, with less than five months old, the foundation has carried out a number of projects after assesing the needs of various communities.

In the area of health care, the Red Frog Foundation has donated over US$40,0000 in medical supplies, including computers, vaccines, vitamins and supplies for a local hospital.

The foundation has also devoted efforts and resources in providing a sustainable, purified water system for the town of Bastimentos. In addition to this, the foundation has comitted to build a computer lab in the Native American community of Bahia Honda. The foundation provides the children's transportation to the high school located in the town of Bocas del Toro, on Isla Colón.

The Red Frog Foundation welcomes support from individuals as well as businesses and communities. Donations to the foundation are doubled by Pillar Panama. All donations are completely tax-deductible.

For more information, contact Aaron Jones, 6611-4258, e-mail: ajones@redfrogfoundation.org

By Doreen Hemlock
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Add Panama to the list of nearby nations seeking buyers in South Florida for its real estate.

Some half-dozen Panama-nian exhibitors attended the recent International Real Estate Congress and Expo in Coral Gables, offering luxury condominiums in high-rise towers and other properties to buyers seeking lower-cost alternatives to South Florida.

High on their target list: U.S. retirees and Baby Boomers soon to retire, who might enjoy a home 2 1/2 hours by jet from Miami in a country that uses the U.S. dollar and where English is widely spoken.

The pitch comes amid a boom in construction and real estate in Panama, spurred partly by tax incentives the Central American nation now offers to foreign investors.

For example, overseas buyers of new properties for $200,000 and up can obtain resident visas and tax exemptions, Panamanian executives said at the expo.

Panama City now plans at least nine high-rise towers, each with at least 56 floors. Plus construction is to start soon on a 101-story tower billed as the tallest in Latin America, said Aracelli de Jaen, vice president of sales for Panama's Tribaldos Real Estate Corp.

Prices pale next to South Florida -- with a three-bedroom, waterfront apartment in a top Panama City neighborhood available for less than $160,000, Jaen said.

Panama's outreach comes as more Americans choose to retire in nearby nations where their dollars can stretch farther, including Mexico and Costa Rica.

It also coincides with a push by fellow Florida neighbors, including the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, to sell vacation homes to U.S. Hispanics and boat owners.

A South Carolina-sized nation of about 3 million residents, Panama grappled with an economic slump early this decade following the withdrawal of U.S. military bases, rising competition to its Colón Free Zone and a drop in agricultural exports. The country began offering tax incentives for real estate to stoke growth.

Panama's government also seeks to invest more than $5 billion to expand the nearly century-old Panama Canal to handle larger ships and boost its economic weight.

This article was reproduced from primapanamablogs.com.