Panamanian Vice President Juan Carlos Varela called the Panama Canal expansion a “disaster” after a group led by Spain’s Sacyr Vallehermoso SA won a $3.1 billion contract to accommodate larger ships, a confidential U.S. diplomatic cable said.
The cable, released by WikiLeaks and published in Madrid’s El Pais newspaper, said that Varela expressed concerns that Sacyr is in “deep financial trouble” and may not be able to complete the work.
“The Canal expansion project is a disaster,” the cable cited Varela as saying at a lunch with U.S. Ambassador Barbara Stephenson on Dec. 29, 2009. “In two to three years, it will be obvious this is all a failure.”