Opinion

Panama Thinks Big, Why Can’t We?

Panama Canal is being rebuilt, and Panama Pacifico is creating a huge mixed use development to support businesses that use the canal.
Panama Thinks Big, Why Can’t We?
In this Oct. 21, 2014, photo, giant lock gates are stored along the waterway in Panama for a third lane in the Panama Canal. The expansion project on the century-old canal is expected to be finished in 2016. AP Photo/Joe Kafka
Mary Silver
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Panama is expanding its canal, and a delegation came to Atlanta from Panama to win friends and influence people. Georgia is deepening its Savannah port in order to accommodate the giant ships the new canal can allow. Leo González, Panama Pacifico government agency administrator, Commercial Manager Robert Pereira, and Frank Terracina welcomed me to a burgundy and gold meeting room at the downtown Ritz on Aug. 28. They spoke with pride and optimism about the canal and their mixed-use development project.

I had a wistful thought. America built the Panama Canal 101 years ago. It’s one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. Would we have the will and unity to do something that big today? Right now it seems we cannot even agree to fix our roads and bridges, much less create a wonder.

A map of the Panama Canal expansion. (Courtesy of Panama Pacifico)
A map of the Panama Canal expansion. Courtesy of Panama Pacifico
Mary Silver
Mary Silver
Author
Mary Silver writes columns, grows herbs, hikes, and admires the sky. She likes critters, and thinks the best part of being a journalist is learning new stuff all the time. She has a Masters from Emory University, serves on the board of the Georgia chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and belongs to the Association of Health Care Journalists.
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