Ricaurte Vásquez leaves Panama Canal post, urges continuity for water and logistics projects

As he left the Panama Canal administration, Ricaurte Vásquez delivered a clear message to his successor: projects tied to water, ports, logistics and energy should continue through the canal.

Speaking during the inauguration of Ilya Espino de Marotta as the new administrator, Vásquez said the initiatives had already undergone extensive evaluation and offered opportunities to move Panama into a new stage of development. He pointed to port terminals, a logistics corridor and the movement of energy products through the canal and its banks.

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The greatest challenge Panama faces is water.

Vásquez argued that the canal remains the best vehicle for carrying out those projects. He described the logistics corridor as necessary to create a circuit around the logistics zone centered on the waterway, while calling port terminals an opportunity for national development.

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The best vehicle for the development of these projects is the Panama Canal.

Water, however, remained the central issue in his farewell remarks. Vásquez recalled that when he was appointed on February 15, 2019, he identified water supply as Panama’s biggest challenge. Although the country is rich in water resources, he said it still has much to do to manage them, emphasizing the importance of the watershed to national and canal operations.

He also recalled President José Raúl Mulino telling him that a reservoir would be built to secure water for the canal. Vásquez said the project had been set in motion by the administration now ending. He added that any water solution must include communities in the watershed and those affected by the development projects.

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Catín can respond to you that this project was set in motion by the administration that is now ending.