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<No.548>
Panama Canal Turns 100 Amid Growing Pains, Competition
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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