Maximum capacity?
A study by the Panama Canal Authority in the early 2000 showed the canal would reach its maximum sustainable capacity between 2009 and 2012.
A bold proposal?
Then-Panamanian President Martín Torrijos formally proposed a project with three goals:
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- Build two new sets of bigger locks, one each on the Atlantic and Pacific sides, and excavated new channels to the new locks.
- Widen and deepen existing channels.
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- Raise the maximum operating water level of Gatun Lake.
The project was to be completed by 2014 – to coincide with the canals 100th anniversary. A national referendum approved the proposal by a 76.8 percent majority on October 22.
