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Panama's unfinished public works projects double in cost, leaving citizens without services
🇵🇦 Panama /Economy & Trade

Panama's unfinished public works projects double in cost, leaving citizens without services

From TVN Panamá · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Ongoing story
  • Panama faces a significant challenge with numerous unfinished public works projects, including hospitals, schools, and security facilities.
  • These stalled projects leave citizens without essential services, and the cost to reactivate them has more than doubled.
  • The Ministry of Health is working to restart 16 suspended projects, but the financial implications are substantial, with costs rising from $528 million to over $1.16 billion.

Panama is grappling with a persistent problem of unfinished public works, leaving thousands of citizens struggling to access essential services while the cost of completing these projects skyrockets. Hospitals, schools, sports facilities, and security infrastructure remain paralyzed across the country, reflecting a systemic challenge for the Panamanian state.

In Puerto Caimito, the abandoned Minsa-Capsi health center serves as a stark example. Once a promising facility designed to bring medical care closer to the community, it now stands vandalized after years of inactivity. Residents lament the loss of a valuable resource that could have alleviated the burden on smaller existing health centers and reduced travel costs for medical attention.

Much sadness because they had left that Minsa Capsi so beautiful, it had everything, and now everything is vandalized.

— Nelva de TejadaA resident of Puerto Caimito expresses her dismay over the condition of the abandoned Minsa-Capsi health center.

The Ministry of Health acknowledges the issue and is developing a plan to reactivate 16 inherited projects, including hospitals, Minsa-Capsi centers, and polyclinics. However, the financial reality is daunting. The initial cost for these projects was $528 million. Although $414 million has already been disbursed, reactivating them will require an additional $754 million, bringing the total cost to a staggering $1.168 billion, more than double the original budget.

Examples of escalating costs include the Metetí Hospital, initially tendered for $63 million and now projected to cost $148 million. The Curundú Health Center's cost has ballooned from $5 million to $16 million, and the Bugaba Hospital's price has risen from $54 million to $101 million. The educational sector is also affected, with projects like the Desmond Byam Educational Center in San Juan de Colón stalled for eight years due to legal disputes, impacting thousands of students.

They should have finished that, because the health center down there is too small. Many people would not have to go to private clinics or pay more.

— Nelva de TejadaThe resident explains the necessity of the Minsa-Capsi center for her community.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by TVN Panamá in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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