China eyes bid to build new Panama Canal ports amid US control concerns
China is reportedly among the parties interested in bidding to construct two new ports on the Panama Canal, the canal’s administrator said, despite US discussions about reclaiming control of the strategic waterway.
"We have to be open to participation of all interested parties," and solicit "the broadest possible competition," canal administrator Ricaurte Vasquez told journalists, News.Az reports, citing AFP.
He said all parties would bid on an equal footing.
He declined to speculate about a possible increase in tensions with the United States if the projects were awarded to Chinese firms in the future.
Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump suggested the US might retake control, claiming China has significant influence over the canal because Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings operates the existing ports at Cristobal on the Atlantic and Balboa on the Pacific.
In March, CK Hutchison agreed to transfer control of both ports to a conglomerate led by US-based BlackRock. However, the deal, which has raised suspicion in China, has yet to be finalized.
Panama is aiming to attract $8.5 billion in investment over the next decade to expand port capacity and undertake projects including a gas pipeline and a new reservoir.
The Panama Canal Authority, which has begun meeting with interested parties ahead of the bidding process, plans to award contracts for the two terminals in late 2026 and begin operations in 2029.
Hong Kong's Cosco Shipping Ports and Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) are among international players that have expressed interest -- along with Singapore's PSA International, Taiwan's Evergreen, German Hapag Lloyd, Denmark's Maersk and France's CMA Terminals.
Panama's five main ports are all located near the canal and are operated by concessionaires from the United States, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.
The 80-kilometer canal is used mainly by the United States and China and carries five percent of the world's maritime trade.
The United States built and operated the Panama Canal for a century before handing control to Panama on the last day of 1999.
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