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Business Daily: Panama Canal 100 Years On

Panama Canal 100 Years On

15/08/2014

BBC World Service - Business Daily, Panama Canal 100 Years On

The iconic waterway's importance for global trade and the Panamanian economy

The iconic waterway – which links the Pacific and Atlantic oceans - has been of huge importance for global trade and for the Panamanian economy.

Business Daily looks at the iconic Panama Canal – which is celebrating its centenary. The iconic waterway – which links the Pacific and Atlantic oceans - has been of huge importance for global trade and for the Panamanian economy. The BBC's Katy Watson in Panama looks at the canal’s history, and what has happened since the US ceased to control the operations in 1999. She also asks what the future may hold now that Nicaragua’s plans for its own Atlantic to Pacific canal are underway. Plus, while the canal may have made some Panamanians very rich, others are falling far behind in a country with high levels of inequality. Katy Watson speaks to Eric Lew, Gatun Lock’s maintenance manager; Alberto Aleman Zubieta, who was in charge of the canal when it was handed over to the Americans; to economist Horacio Estribi, and others whose lives have been impacted by the shipping route.

(photo: Panama Canal, credit: AP)

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