First Valve Shipment Arrives for Panama Locks Project

Panama Canal Expansion Projects receives 47 valves.

The Panama Canal expansion program has received the first shipment of valves that will be used for the operation of the third set of locks.

The 47 valves were built in South Korea by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and transported on board the vessel BCC England. The equipment arrived at Manzanillo International Terminal facilities, near the Atlantic opening of the Panama Canal, and were later transported by land on flatbed trucks to the expansion site.

The valves are part of the post-Panamax locks electromechanical system that will regulate water flow between the chambers.

The shipment also included eight bulkheads of different types for the new locks and four trash racks that will be installed on the wing walls along the water intakes to avoid the passage of debris from the lake and into the lock chambers.