Panama Canal’s $2.6 billion terminal plan draws carrier interest
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The Panama Canal Authority plans to name the companies prequalified to compete for 2 new container terminals before the end of 2026, moving forward with a $2.6 billion project that would add 5 to 6 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) of annual capacity.
Canal administrator Ilya Espino de Marotta set out the timeline at the International Maritime Conference in Houston on Nov. 4. The terminals will be built at Corozal on the Pacific coast and Telfers on the Atlantic coast, and they form part of an $8.5 billion program to expand the canal’s logistics and energy activities.
Shipping lines Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) are among the potential bidders, according to reports by Reuters and Bloomberg. The final list of participants has not been confirmed.
For carriers and shippers, the project matters because it would turn more of the canal’s traffic into business on land. Container transshipment, where cargo is moved between ships at a hub port before continuing its journey, is one of the main ways a strategic waterway can capture value beyond transit tolls.
Panama Canal terminals move toward a mid-2027 award
The tender has been running for most of 2026. The canal authority published the prequalification documents on Jan. 30 and issued 3 amendments after a consultation period. The window for companies to submit their documents closed on July 9.
Since then, the authority has been evaluating submissions against technical, financial, and legal criteria. Once the prequalified list is published, those companies will receive a formal request for proposals and enter discussions with the canal over final terms.
Concessions could be awarded by mid-2027. The canal authority expects construction to take about 3 years, and the new facilities would begin operating between 2030 and 2031.
That is a long runway, but it is typical of port infrastructure on this scale. Dredging, quay construction, cranes, and yard equipment all take years to deliver, and the operators that win the concessions will be committing capital for decades.
Transshipment capacity is the prize for global carriers
Interest from Maersk and MSC would fit a wider trend. The largest ocean carriers have spent recent years securing stakes in terminals at key hubs, giving them more control over port calls, berth access, and schedule reliability.
A carrier that operates a terminal at both ends of the canal could build services around it, using the Pacific and Atlantic sides to connect Asia, the Americas, and Europe. That kind of hub-and-spoke network depends on reliable berth access, which is easier to guarantee when a line holds a stake in the terminal.
For Panama, the terminals offer a way to earn more from cargo that already passes through its waters. Existing port infrastructure has struggled to keep up with demand from international maritime trade, and new capacity at Corozal and Telfers would give the country more room to compete for transshipment volumes.
The canal authority describes the wider $8.5 billion program as an effort to diversify its activities. Port and energy income would give Panama revenue that depends less on the number of ships making the transit each day, a useful hedge for a waterway whose traffic can swing with water levels and global trade.
Competition and timing remain open questions
Several questions remain unresolved. The authority has not said how many companies applied or who will make the prequalified list, and the reported interest from Maersk and MSC has not been confirmed by the canal.
The ownership mix will also be watched closely. Panama’s ports sit at the center of a strategic trade route, and the companies that win these concessions will shape how cargo moves between the Atlantic and Pacific for years.
Timing is another variable. The award is targeted for mid-2027 and operations for 2030 to 2031, but projects of this size often face delays from financing, environmental reviews, and construction.
For shipping lines weighing their network plans for the next decade, the prequalified list due before year-end will be the first concrete sign of who is likely to control Panama’s next generation of transshipment capacity.
Source
Port Technology
