How IoT is keeping Panama Canal shipping flowing just in time
-April 5th, 2017
Source: ZDNet
The Panama Canal sits between North and South America, enabling thousands of tons of shipping to avoid a detour around Cape Horn.
Like the rest of the world, the canal relies on computer systems to keep it operating efficiently 24 hours a day, and those systems are undergoing a major overhaul that aims not only to keep them up to date, but also to help the Canal handle more traffic.
Quintiq, a subsidiary of Dassault Systems, which also has systems working at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the International Space Station, and the UK's Ministry of Defence, is the company handling the upgrade.
According to Quintiq, the new system means that, for the first time, the canal will be able to execute an entirely integrated operating plan for all its critical resources.
"Improved situational awareness and data can inform better decision-making, which in turn will help mitigate operational risk," the company said in a statement. "Quintiq will also help reduce costs by optimising the way in which the Canal plans and programs its resources."
FCC Wins Contract to Build Vopak´s Storage Terminal in Panama
-April 5th, 2017
Source: Tank Terminals
The consortium FCC and Felguera IHI has won the contract in Panama for the construction of Vopak’s independent oil storage terminal in Bahía las Minas (province of Colón), on Panama’s Atlantic coast. The contract was awarded by Royal Vopak, the world's leading independent tank storage provider for the oil and chemical industry.
The new terminal will be located next to the existing 509,000 cbm Chevron terminal in Panama, which is operated for Chevron by Vopak. The new independent Vopak terminal will have nine storage tanks for marine oil, fuel oil and clean oil products (diesel, gasoline and Jet A) with an aggregate capacity of approximately 360,000 cbm. The project entails, in addition to the new tankage, complementary marine infrastructure, including jetties to handle ships of up to 80,000 dwt.
Panama Seen Regaining Crown as Region's Fastest Growing Economy
- April 6th, 2017
Source: Bloomberg
Panama will regain its crown as Latin America’s fastest growing economy this year on a surge in trade through the newly-expanded canal and government investment in other infrastructure projects, the finance minister said.
Central American country will leapfrog the Dominican Republic, growing 5.8 percent in 2017, a year after the $5.3 billion expansion of the canal allowed the passage of larger ships, Dulcidio de la Guardia said in an interview in Buenos Aires.
“We are seeing an acceleration in the economy, product of the Panamanian economy being highly open and very tied to global growth,” de la Guardia said in an interview in Buenos Aires. “The global perspectives are much better this year than last year and that is generating a cascade effect in Panama, increasing the demand for Panamanian services.".
Panamá atrae a grupo inversionista chino
-7 de Abril de 2017
Fuente: Forbes México
Shanghai Gorgeous, uno de los grupos de inversión privada más grandes de China, anunció este jueves 6 de abril que escogió a Panamá como el primer país de Latinoamérica para desplegar su plan de inversión en la región.
El grupo de inversión privada, uno de los mayores en China, informó este jueves en un comunicado que obtuvo recientemente una licencia para operar en Panamá como Sede de Empresa Multinacional (SEM) y que ya estableció una empresa, que bajo ese régimen especial está exenta del pago del impuesto sobre la renta y del gravamen de dividendos, entre otros.
De acuerdo con la información obtenida por ANPanamá, la empresa que se maneja en negocios de energía, portuarios y alta tecnología, estaría invirtiendo en Panamá unos 1,800 millones de dólares (mdd), y se llevará a cabo a través de la ejecución de dos megaproyectos que estarán ubicados en la provincia de Colón.
El primero de ellos se trata de un puerto de contenedores “Panamá Colón Container Port”, que contará con 12 grúas y capacidad para manejar 2.5 de TEUS al año.
El puerto que estará ubicado en la zona de Isla Margarita, contempla en una segunda fase el desarrollo de un parque logístico, que aportará valor agregado a la carga, potenciará la competitividad del país y fortalecerá su plataforma logística.
Latin America Economic Outlook: Uncertainty And Risks, But With Opportunities
-April 7th, 2017
Source: Eurasia Review
While the economic performance of Latin America is expected to be better this year and next compared to 2016, uncertainties and risks could get in the way of the opportunities, leaders from government, finance and international organizations concluded in a session on the economic outlook for the region at the 2017 World Economic Forum on Latin America.
“The region is pulling out of recession,” said David A. Lipton, First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC. “The region has the chance to make important strides.” He pointed out that the global context is favourable, with growth momentum picking up on the back of a rise in industrial production around the world. “It’s time for the region to make the most of an opportunity.” Growth in the region could run to 2.5-2.7% in the short term, he added.
“The main risk for Panama and the region is the lack of certainties,” Dulcidio De La Guardia, Minister of Economy and Finance of Panama, said. He too argued that the rhetoric of the US presidential campaign does not reflect what is really happening. “We have seen far more reasonable steps taken than what we heard.”