$5.25 billion to be poured into Panama Canal

Although the world is entering a cyclical phase of recession, Panama has several advantages over other countries in dealing with and weathering this recession. Firstly the Panama Canal Expansion Project, being the largest project in Latin America, ensures economic growth for the next five years at least, this project represents an investment of $5¼ billion. The fact that the facilities of the financing of this project was not done on a traditional basis, but rather through multilateral agencies and consortiums is a positive factor against the effects of the recession. There seems to be a general consensus between local and US economic analysts that Panama is in a more favorable position to withstand this crisis. A local consulting firm has estimated Panama's growth in their economy to be at around 5.8% for the 2009 fiscal year.