| <No.548> |
| Panama Canal Turns 100 Amid Growing Pains, Competition |
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Taking over 30 years to build,
tens of thousands of workers -
and more than 27 million kilograms of dynamite -
it's considered
one of the biggest engineering feats
of the 20th century.
University of Maryland Professor Julie Greene
is author of the book, "The Canal Builders."
"The Panama Canal is one of those phenomenal moments
in history.
Terrific example of engineering and technological strength of the
United States,
and really the coming of age of the United States
as a global power."
But the work exacted a heavy toll.
By the time the first ship crossed the canal,
nearly 26,000 workers had died,
some from accidents,
many from malaria.
Today more than four percent of the world's commerce
passes through the canal -
some 14,000 ships per year.
But the canal's locks are now too small
for much of the world's container fleet
and the largest oil tankers.
A Hong Kong company is backing a $40 billion plan
to dig an alternate route through Nicaragua.
If successful,
it could pose a serious challenge to the canal.
But critics say the project is redundant and impractical,
especially when the Panama canal is in the midst of a $5 billion
expansion.
Once complete, the new locks will accommodate ships
the length of the Empire State building
and as wide as three basketball courts.
Autodesk, the New Hampshire-based company
that created the software for the project,
is thrilled.
Not only has the expansion created over 250,000 jobs,
once finished, it will create thousands more around the world,
says Autodesk spokesman Paul Sullivan on Skype.
"The ripple effect here is interesting
because once this canal is completed
and these ships are able to transit the canal,
you're going to see a lot more cities around the world competing
for improving their ports
so they can support those larger ships."
Of the approximately 160 ports in the U.S.,
only about 15 can accommodate the larger supertankers
that will pass through the expanded canal.
By early 2016,
experts say this grand canal will be able to handle
97 percent of the world's container ships,
doubling the canal's capacity
and ensuring that it remains a marvel of engineering
a hundred years from now.
Mil Arcega, VOA News, Washington |
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