Panama Canal Expansion Facts
The Panama Canal expansion began in 2007, and will be finally completed next year. The project, costing $5.25 billion, will have a large effect on international trade.
The most important result will be the amount of tonnage travelling through the canal. Yearly tonnage is expected to increase 218% from 275 million tons to 600 million tons.
An important boon of the expansion will be to LNG exporting countries, as most LNG carriers will be able to fit through the new canal. As an example, a Bloomberg report has the cost for an LNG ship from Sabine Pass, Louisiana to make it to Fukuoka, Japan pre-expansion at $11.4 million, taking 63.6 days. With the new Panamax expansion, it would cost $8 million and take only 43.4 days for a carrier to make the voyage.
Original graphic: Tuscor Lloyds
