The mayor of Arraiján, Stefany Peñalba, stated: "The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) is putting a spanner in the works." She referred to the ACP's position of not granting permits to advance the rehabilitation of the Nuevo Emperador-Centenario road. The construction of the Forestal road costs B/. 23,207,457.87 and was awarded to the Nuevo Emperador Consortium through an exceptional procedure in February 2025 by the Ministry of Public Works (MOP). The ACP's position arises from the impact on a water source due to the road rehabilitation works. The project is already seven months behind schedule, the mayor of Arraiján indicated, which affects more than 500,000 people who would benefit from the opening of this road. She also said that "the ACP is currently obstructing the development processes" that we have for the Nuevo Emperador district. She insisted that this road would help alleviate the traffic on the Centenario road. Peñalba also referred to the opening of the coastal road from Veracruz to Vacamonte, which depends on the payment of nearly 9 million dollars to the construction company. "What we want is for them to help us with the Veracruz road to see how this project can be completed, because it's useless for it to be finished if the road cannot be opened," Peñalba said.
