{"id":4561,"date":"2016-06-24T16:02:01","date_gmt":"2016-06-24T16:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/minutes.machine.market\/?p=4561"},"modified":"2016-06-24T16:02:01","modified_gmt":"2016-06-24T16:02:01","slug":"the-5-3-billion-panama-canal-expansion-project-in-pictures-opens-sunday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/machine.market\/blog\/the-5-3-billion-panama-canal-expansion-project-in-pictures-opens-sunday\/","title":{"rendered":"IN PICTURES. The $5.4 Billion Panama Canal Expansion Project. Opens June 26th."},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2006, Panamanians approved a referendum to expand the Panama Canal, doubling its capacity and allowing far larger ships to transit the 100-year-old waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific. Work began in 2007 to raise the capacity of Gatun Lake and build two new sets of locks, which would accommodate ships carrying up to 14,000 containers of freight, tripling the size limit. Sixteen massive steel gates, weighing an average of 3,100 tons each, were built in Italy and shipped to Panama to be installed in the new locks. Eight years and $5.2 billion later, the expansion project is opening this Sunday.<\/p>\n