The Panama Canal expansion has marked its 10th anniversary. With the benefit of hindsight, we can reaffirm the success of this mega-construction project, which placed Sacyr and its professionals at the international forefront of engineering and civil construction.
The Third Set of Locks, a unique and truly innovative project, has operated optimally during its first decade, despite its unprecedented complexity. Behind this achievement is the highly qualified team of 10,000 workers representing 40 nationalities who made it a reality.
The expansion once again placed the Canal at the center of global trade. Three percent of maritime trade passes through this strategic waterway: it connects 180 routes, 170 countries, and 1,920 ports around the world.
The Panama Canal Expansion in 60 Seconds
The Third Set of Locks not only increased the number of ships that can pass through the Canal but also allowed the passage of the imposing, larger Neo-Panamax vessels: 366 m in length, 49 m in beam, and a draft of 15.2 m.
These giants are also more sustainable than smaller ships, since carrying much more cargo results in lower energy consumption and a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
The expansion itself was also designed and developed with strict sustainability criteria in mind: it is capable of reusing up to 60% of the water in each lock passage and reducing the water required for its operation by 7%.
A colossal project…
The new locks of the Panama Canal are one of the largest man-made structures in history: they are 427 meters long, 55 meters wide, and 18.3 meters deep.
To put their magnitude into perspective with a few figures, the volume of structural concrete poured on site for the Pacific and Atlantic locks reached 4.5 million cubic meters—the equivalent of 2.2 Pyramids of Cheops.
The reinforced steel totaled 250,000 metric tons—the weight of 25 Eiffel Towers.
And 62 million m³ of earth were moved, equivalent to the load of 2.6 million dump trucks.
The 16 gates of the Third Set of Locks are one of the project’s most notable features: they were built and transported from Trieste, Italy, on a journey that lasted one month.
The logistics and the precise positioning of these gates represented one of the most exciting and spectacular milestones of the project. There are six different models, and the heaviest ones, weighing 3,900 metric tons, have colossal dimensions: 57 meters long, 10 meters wide, and 32 meters high.
… success lies in the details
Paradoxically, on a project of such gigantic proportions as this one, success lies in the smallest details; every piece must fit together with the precision of a Swiss watch.
The finishes required perfect precision to ensure maximum watertightness and efficiency. For example, all concrete surfaces—totaling 280,000 square meters—were meticulously sanded to minimize water resistance. The clearances at the sealing edges of the gates and their recesses were measured in microns.
This approach—treating a massive project with the precision of a goldsmith—was key to the success and durability of the Panama Canal expansion, a legacy left by Sacyr and its partners for the progress of humanity.
