Three groups have entered bids to dredge and excavate the Pacific Access Channel of the Panama Canal. The contract is the final major civil project to be put out to tender in the Panama Canal expansion project.

When work is complete, larger ships will be able to access the new set of locks being built on the Pacific side of the Canal via the Galliard Cut, the narrowest stretch of the route.

The lowest bid for the work was from Jan De Nul at US$ 54.6 million. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) said it would award the contract to the lowest bidder, provided all the terms and conditions of the proposal have been met. The contractor would then be given a 90 day procurement and mobilisation period before receiving the notice to proceed.

ACP executive vice president of engineering and program management, Jorge L. Quijano said, "Today's bid opening is an important step for this project. We look forward to awarding the contract very soon. We are very pleased to have reached this phase, where we will award the last major contract under the Canal's expansion programme."