The Panamanian government is seeking $30.5 million to clean up a site contaminated with explosives in Colón, enabling its sale to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) for $126 million. Minister of Economy and Finance, Felipe Chapman, appeared before the Assembly National's Budget Committee to request a reallocation of budgetary funds for the cleanup. The 695-hectare plot, located on the banks of the Piña River in Lower Colón, was used by the U.S. Army during its presence in Panama as a troop training area and is now contaminated with unexploded ordnance. Of this total, 456 hectares will be cleared to remove the explosive devices. The project will cost $30.5 million and will be carried out by the company FATUTTO, S.A. According to Jorge Díaz, executive secretary of the Administrative Unit of Reverted Assets (UABR), the company was awarded the project through an online procurement process on the PanamaCompra portal, a “quote with certification of no other bidders.” Díaz also clarified that the ACP has already “purchased and paid for” the land. “This land was requested by the ACP to develop a logistics corridor, as a zone for related operations with the Panama Canal,” he explained. One of the deputies who intervened, Betserai Richards, questioned the amount allocated, noting that this company has been hired in previous governments for similar work. “These amounts really sound exaggerated,” Richards stated after confirming the existence of a previous mapping of the area, and even more so “in these complex times,” he added. In response, Díaz maintained that the UABR conducted market studies reviewing “more than 17 awards” granted to FATUTTO, S.A., in both the public and private sectors, concluding that it has the necessary experience to carry out this type of work. He also pointed out that more than 90% of the contracts awarded to this company in the public sector have been granted in processes with no other bidders. Another question arose regarding the future use of the land. He added that the payment “has already been made by the Panama Canal.” He warned that if the budget is not approved, the cleanup would have to be carried out by the ACP, possibly for a similar amount, which would be deducted from the dividends the state receives from the canal authority. However, after what he called an “exhaustive” analysis, the Executive opted to clean the area to sell it for $126 million, representing a significantly greater gain. The minister explained that a sales contract has already been signed with the agreed-upon price, and the Executive, through the MEF and UABR, is committed to delivering the cleaned land. According to the deputy, in 2023, $11 million was allocated for a similar project in the same province, while in 2018, $5 million was allocated in Río Hato and adjacent areas, also executed by the same company.
