In December 31, 1999, the world's
richest nation, the United States of America, will transfer ownership
of the Panama Canal into the hands of a small, relatively poor country,
Panama, after a presence of more than 90 years. The Carter-Torrijos
treaties (1978), ratified in the U.S. senate by a single vote, will
give Panama possession of all of its territory, including several
billion dollars worth of land, buildings, and equipment that were
once part of the canal zone.
Just how important is the canal?
According to figures from Latin Trade magazine, around 13,000
ships pass through the canal each year, carrying an estimated four
percent of the world's goods around the globe. More importantly,
about seventy percent of all the trade through the canal is coming
from or headed to the United States. This valuable artery of shipping
is vital to the flow of goods to and from U.S. factories. And according
to Latin Trade, a one billion dollar improvement program is
well under way that includes a widening of the narrow Gaillard Cut,
and is due for completion by 2002. Single file traffic will be converted
to two-way traffic allowing even the largest ships to pass (delays
have increased in numbers since an increase in traffic rose during
the years 1995-1996). Says Alberto Aleman, the Panama Canal Commissions
senior administrator, "Panama has much to offer," describing it as, "the
only port in the world that has two oceans plus a canal that runs
through it. You can look at it as one big port." Moreover, there
exist many "dry canal system schemes" on the drawing board. A dry
canal system would include new ports where containers are unloaded
and rushed across land to ships waiting on the other side.
