News

Isthmian Update

Some of the news in Panama

Extreme UV Radiation
Hazardous ultraviolet radiation has been detected by the University of Panama in the cities of David, Santiago and Panama. According to a survey, citizens have been exposed to very high or extreme radiation for most of the dry season.

Tsunami Threat
A meeting of the Inter-government Coordination Group on Tsunami System Warning and Coastal Threats in the Caribbean Regions was held in Panama. The issue is of vital importance because of the tsunami disasters in the region that caused havoc when they hit the coasts of the San Blas Islands in 1882 and 1918 and the Dominican Republic in 1946.

“No” to thermoelectric plant
The City Council of Colon and some civic society representatives expressed strong opposition to the development of the thermoelectric plant of Mount Hope projected for Telfer' s Island. The Colon City Council approved a draft agreement, which opposes the construction of a plant for electricity generation based on coal, which may affect the health of nearby Colon communities.

Airlines to report to immigration
From August, under the new law on migration, all airlines operating at the airport of Tocumen will have to disclose to immigration authorities data of passengers on board their aircraft before they land.

Mega Port tender anulled
The Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) annulled the tender for the so-called “mega port” in Farfán on the Pacific coast, it was confirmed in the Official Gazette No. 25998. The process is in the hands of the Cabinet, which must authorize procedures, with the AMP conducting negotiations with the consortium of MTC and Cosco Pacific Holdings.

Coiba marina project
The Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) is considering a concession of 75.8 hectares on the seabed, beach and shore 22.5 miles from the island of Coiba, at the request of a company that wants to develop a marina at the site for boats measuring up to 300 feet in length. The application area, in Bahia Honda, Veraguas, is considered a sphere of influence on Coiba National Park, and opposers say the development of the marina would have a negative impact on the ecosystem.

Bill to assist foreigners
The judges of the Electoral Tribunal presented to the full sitting of the Legislative Assembly a bill which offers foreigners residing in Panama a temporary immigration status, which prevents an illegal status, and a deadline for formalizing naturalization applications. The document seeks to give those affected recognition of the length of residence as Panamanian nationals, so that it is taken into account when applying for naturalization.

Indians to fight for rights

The seven Indian tribes of Panama announced the integration of a commission to fight for the ratification of Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and halt development projects in their territories that “violate their rights”. Indian leaders, called together by the Alto Bayano chief, Bolivar Jaripio, met for the first time recently in the Emberá Indian town of Ipeti, and released by e-mail the creation of the organization United for Youth Panama. Small farmers and Indians conducted protests in the capital city against mining, hydroelectric and residential tourism projects. About 200 people arrived at 10:00 p.m. one night last week at the lookout at the Bridge of the Americas to conduct a vigil and prepare for protests which continued at the premises of the Presidency of the Republic where a hundred Indians maintained a vigil to support their demands. In the National Assembly the deputy chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs, Patricio Montezuma said that the legislative body will give support because the convention specifies duties and rights, both on the part of the government and Indian people for their development.

Canal expansion
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has awarded 23 bids in the expansion program of the Panama Canal amounting to US$197.6 million, which includes the first two phases of dry excavation that are the most expensive.

Fixing the bridge
The Comptroller, Carlos Vallarino, endorsed the contract for the rehabilitation of the structure of the Bridge of the Americas with an investment of US$12,579,000 over a period of 14 months.

Torrijos to mediate
The Colombian magazine “Semana” reported that president Martin Torrijos of Panama agreed to be the mediator in the conflict between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian government. According to “Semana”, the computers of the dead guerrilla leader Raul Reyes had data in them indicating that the Colombian writer Gabriel García Marquez asked Torrijos to mediate.

World Forum of Free Zones
The Colon Free Zone User's Association (AU) was chosen as the headquarters of the Committee of Free Zones of America (CZFA) for 2008 at a meeting in Nicaragua of its Ordinary Assembly. Re-elected for the second vice presidency of the body, was the entrepreneur David Cohen, current chairman of the AU, who is working on the World Forum of Free Zones to be held in Colon in May with the participation of guest lecturers, representatives of the National Corporation for Free Zones in China and other associations.

Banks do well
The year 2008 started well for the banking sector. The net profit for the month of January was US$94 million, an increase of 42% compared to the US$72 million in the same month of 2007. Similarly, the credit portfolio, which totaled US$19,470,000, showed an increase of 17.1% over the same period.

New public health system
The issue of funding for a new public health system is already agreed. The Social Security Fund (CSS) presented its economic proposal as did the “Group of Guarantors” last week at the health discussion conference. The guarantors suggest that the Ministry of Health provide 8% of the highest minimum wage in force in the country to cover each uninsured person, and the government intends to make a contribution similar to that made for CSS policyholders. The doctors and medical workers group, Comenenal, has doubts about the proposals.

Expovivienda
About 150 exhibitors will participate in the 2008 Expovivienda Fair to be held from April 17 to 20 at the ATLAPA Convention Center, announced the president of the organizing committee, Ivan De Icaza. Housing developers, real estate companies and financial institutions will participate.

Poor city fisherman receive a new park

The Panama City neighborhood of Boca la Caja will have a new waterfront park by the end of July of this year. The area can be seen from the "marine bridge" on the Corredor Sur toll road. This low-income fishing community has become a notable anomaly in Panama City in recent years, surrounded entirely by new tower blocks in the San Francisco area on one side of the road and the new suburb of Punta Pacifica on the other.

The fishermen, accustomed to beaching their boats in front of their houses will now have to walk home through the park since their beach has moved further out.

The park will be built on fill and will cost $800,000. The park will have trees, trails and sports facilities. The project is being financed by the Mexican company ICA Panama, who built and operate the toll roads and who state that the residents of Boca La Caja will still have access to the bay.

Return trip charge at Chorrera toll booth

Travelers take note. You may have wondered why you were charged double this past Easter weekend when passing the Chorrera toll booth on the Inter American Highway leaving the city to go to the interior or the beach. Usually, long weekends end in horrific traffic as the majority of people return to the city on Sunday afternoon and into the evening. The congestion is only worsened by having to pay at the Chorrera toll booth on the way back home.

During this past holiday and reportedly for Carnival as well, the tool booth operators charged one dollar (instead of the usual fifty cents) to leave the metropolis but it was for the round trip. Motorists did not have to stop on Sunday at the toll booth.

Unfortunately, there was no sign or official warning that the toll would be doubled which resulted in much horn-honking and discussion between motorists and the toll booth operators, who had to quickly explain the new operation to sometimes disbelieving drivers. However confusing, zipping through the toll booth back to Panama City was surely worth it for the holiday travelers.

Boquete expats move

The regular Tuesday morning expat meeting in Boquete which has been a tradition since 2003 has outgrown its original venue, the bar at Panamonte Hotel and will shortly move to the Hotel Fundadores.

"The normal attendance varies between 60 and 100 people and we are still growing" said organiser Diane Heidke proprietor of The Zapadora in Potrerillos Abajo.

The meeting provides networking and the sharing of information on all aspects of living in Panama, and especially in Chiriqu . Speakers at the meeting range from the Mayor and the Governor of the province to lawyers and other professionals-- anyone who can add to the Panama experience .

The meeting was started in 2003 by Philadelphian Sylvan Cohen of The Springs development in Palo Alto. He handed his "flock" to Australian Diane in 2005.

Emergency helicopter arrives

LifeFlight plans a total of three

LifeFlight Panama announced the arrival in Panama of their first air ambulance helicopter,"LifeFlight 1". The Bell 206 Long Ranger III aircraft arrived after being flown to Panama from Virginia in the USA by the company«s Senior Pilot, Joseph Rios. Co-pilots, Colin Lawrence, and LifeFlight«s President, James Thomson, also flew with Rios on the eight day journey.

"We are thrilled that our first aircraft arrived safely and in fine shape," said Thomson. The next few weeks here in Panama will be very busy getting the aircraft's dedicated medical interior installed, paperwork completed for life flights within the country, and safety training for the company«s personnel"

The company's service covers the country of Panama with 3 to 4 more helicopters planned for faster response as the service«s membership grows. More information is available on the company s website at www.lifeflightpanama.com

Horsing about in Clayton

Another national qualifying equestrian competition for Panama will be held March 29 and 30 at the Clayton Equestrian Center. Club La Huaca is organizing the two day event that will qualify youngsters and adults in the art of equitation.

This is the second qualifying event this year. The first was organized by Club Castillo de Oro in Coronado.

Major League fame

Panamanian pitcher
Manny Corpas is tasting
fame.

These days New York Yankee star pitcher and Panamanian Mariano Rivera has to share the coveted spot of big name Panamanian closer with an up-andcomer of the Colorado Rockies, Manny Corpas.

Corpas inherited the closer role on July 7, 2007 from threetime All Star Brian Fuentes. From then until the end of the season he converted his ?rst 16 saves and retired 21 straight batters in September, as well as pulling in a Rockies record for lowest ERA in a season with 2.08.

To reward him, the Rockies gave Corpas a four-year, $8.03 million deal that could turn out to be $22.78 million, with team options for 2012 and 2013.

While he stumbled a bit during some of this years spring training games, he seems to be coming into stride as he pitched a perfect inning against the Chicago Cubs on Friday, March 21.

Corpas, signed to the Rockies in 1999 at just 16 years of age, plans to keep the pace up and hopefully help the Rockies to another World Series, this time for a win.

“I’m very happy,” he said. “I thank the Rockies for the opportunity. I want to come in and do my job.”

"Mindi" to retire

Canal dredge to be replaced

This dredge has been in service since 1942.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) awarded on March 14 the contract to design and build a new cutter suction dredge to IHC Beaver Dredges B.V.

The new dredge replaces“Mindi”, which has been in service since 1942 and only has a 9,000 KW capacity as compared to the new dredge’s 12,000 KW capacity. The ACP expects to have the dredge delivered by May 2011 so“Mindi” still has a few more years of work.

The new dredge will be constructed in the Netherlands and will be able to dredge the entire Canal, including the Gaillard Cut, Gatun Lake, and the Atlantic and Pacific entrances.

“With this new dredge, the ACP will boost the production capacity of our dredging fleet. The increase is necessary to meet the demands of the expansion, as well as the maintenance and modernization projects of the waterway,” said Manuel Benitez, ACP vice president of operations.

Tourism Industry News

Official Tourism Numbers
According to the Comptroller of the Republic, users of the Tocumen International Airport are up by 25% this year in the month of January compared to 2007. Some 89,708 passengers arrived, an increase of 17,920 over last year. The total increase was of 6.7% country wide, counting in border crossings with Costa Rica and maritime ports. A total of 145,177 visitors entered Panama in January of 2008.

Hotels with 100 rooms or more had a 78.5% occupancy rate.

KLM will land on Sunday
The inaugural KLM flight direct from Amsterdam will land in Panama’s Tocumen International airport in Panama City on Sunday, March 30 at 5:40 p.m. The Mc-Donald Douglas MD-11 will carry 294 passengers, of them 24 will be ?rst class and 270 economy class. The flight, which will arrive three times per week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, is a great achievement for the Panamanian Tourism Bureau (IPAT), who promoted this flight heavily in European tourism fairs. Many Dutch tour operators will be visiting Panama in the month of April as a result of the flight on five day trips. They will visit Panama City, Bocas del Toro, El Valle and the western Pacific beaches.

IPAT supports culinary arts in Bocas
The Panamanian Tourism Bureau (IPAT) is taking steps to conserve traditional Bocas del Toro culture. Youngsters in the northwestern Caribbean province of Panama are taking cooking classes to keep local dishes like One Pot, Journey Cake and Rice with Beans, Coco and Pork tail alive. The government agency is also putting a program together to create culinary professionals. The “Junior Chefs” will be ready to work in Bocas del Toro restaurants or even in the capital after two months of training.

A rendering of the Panama International Merchandise Mart.

Plans for Panama International merchandise mart
The Panama International Merchandise Mart (PIMM) plans to be the largest wholesale merchandise center in Latin America.

There will be 6,800 showrooms in the PIMM, of which China makes up the largest contingent with 1,150 showrooms. There will also be four hotels with a total of 1,000 rooms, on-site condominiums and an office park.

The PIMM will raise Panama’s importance as a regional commerce hub, which is already strong thanks to the Canal, the world’s largest shipping registry, and the Colon Free Trade Zone, the word’s second largest zone next to Hong Kong.

Construction is due to begin in September of this year and be completed by 2010. The PIMM will be developed in the Colon province about 40km from Panama City and from Colon, near the new Colon Highway. The total cost of the PIMM will be around $1 billion for Mexico’s Bufete Industrial de Ingenieria y Construccion SA de CV (BIICSA).

Cruise season ends
The cruise ship season is coming to an end. At Colon 2000, Panama’s new Caribbean cruise ship port, the ships left to call at port here this year are numbered. The Vollendam will call on March 27 and the Coral Princess on March 31. The Constellation will call on April 1 and the Brilliance of the Sea will call on April 9.

About 200 cruise ships call port in Colon per year and an estimated 300,000 tourists disembark at Panamanian ports annually.

One of the last cruise ships to call at Colon 2000 this season.

The blacklist barrier

To get canal work, Spain
may bend her "principles"

The expansion of the Panama Canal may get Panama off the “black list” of the world’s highest taxing countries, like Spain, which frown on Panama as a tax haven.

Spain wishes to bid to participate in Canal expansion projects. But their designation of Panama as a tax haven is a barrier because Panama’s law blocks public contract business with countries.

Panamanian authorities recognize that in order to make the change, Spain and Panama must sign an agreement about exchanging tax information. “Talks have been going forward, and I hope that we will reach an agreement soon,” said Ángel Martín Acebes, vice president of Spain’s Instituto de Comercio Exterior. According to Spain’s ambassador in Panama, José Manuel López Barrón, the hopeful companies“are requesting insistently that this description be withdrawn.”

Saladino, Panama's hope for Olympic gold medal

Panama’s Olympic hopes are resting on the shoulders– and perhaps the heels – of the country’s world champion long jumper Irving Saladino. The athlete chose not to compete in an international indoor competition in Valencia this month due to a heel injury. Upon medical advice, he is resting to await the Summer Olympics in Beijing where he hopes to bring home a gold medal to his country, which would be a first in history. Saladino holds the world long jump record right now and no other competitor has yet come close to his 8.45 meter hold on the sport this year.

Fiscal report

Growth in Colon Free Zone

At the end of February 2008, the Colon Free Zone marked 18.1 percent growth in trade activity in comparison to February 2007, according to a report issued by the Colon Free Zone.

The total commercial activity for import figures was $605,300,000, which is a 19.6 percent increase from the same period a year before. Also the re-exports saw growth as well, with the total figures coming in at $671,500,000, representing a 16.7 percent rise from the same period last year.

The last few months have been good for the Colon Free Zone, as the period between January and February saw a total of $2.7 billion in commercial activity, which is a 22.2 percent growth from the $2.2 billion in the same period last year.