The Panama Canal Expansion has reached another important milestone with the transfer of the first gates to the new locks complex in the Atlantic side.
The gates were moved from the special dock where they were unloaded to the lower chamber of the new locks. The process was carried out following rigorous safety measures to ensure that the more than 3000-ton steel structures could be moved to the dry lock chambers using the pavement ramp built for this purpose.
Panama Canal Expansion 77 Per Cent Complete
Eight of the sixteen rolling gates that will be used for the new locks are already in Panama. The remaining eight will arrive in two separate shipments from its manufacturing site in Italy.
In the next couple of days, the other gates will be moved from the temporary unloading dock to the dry lock chambers to be able to use the area for the arrival of the remaining lock gates.
The Panama Canal Expansion Programme is currently 77 per cent complete.
Picture courtesy Panama Canal Authority.
