Cost of Panama Metro Extension Rises to $277.8 Million

According to the Comptroller's Office, with the approval of the fourth addendum to the contract with OHL and Mota Engil, companies that make up the Panama Line North consortium, the total cost of the project rises to $277,866,716.33. The General Comptroller's Office of the Republic ratified a fourth addendum to the contract for the extension of Line 1 from San Isidro to Villa Zaíta, for $35,017,680.15. The original contract with the consortium was signed in 2019 for $177,967,848.33, which indicates that after six years and four addenda, it has increased by $99,898,868.03. According to the record of ratifications appearing on the comptroller's website, this is the fourth addendum made to contract No. MPSA-04-2020 for engineering design services, construction of civil works, auxiliary lines and stations, and interfaces with the comprehensive railway system for the extension of Line 1. The last addendum appearing on Panama Buy, the third, was ratified by Comptroller Anel Flores on June 20, 2025. Last December, Virginia Martínez, road manager of the Panama Line North project, informed TVN Noticias that the road widening and reordering of the Villa Zaíta area will be completed in April. The notable aspect of this ratification is that the addendum does not appear on the Panama Buy portal. Through direct contracting, the aforementioned companies will be in charge of project management for 22 months, until March 31, 2026, at a cost of $3.5 million. It is known that on November 18, 2025, the Council of Cabinet authorized Metro de Panamá, S.A. to directly contract the Japanese and French companies Nippon Koei Lac, Inc., Systra, and Nippon Koei Co., Ltd. to manage the final remaining works on the extension, which has been operational since April 2024. The document established the amount of the work at $242.8 million, which included $23.1 million for the relocation of public services, $3.9 million for the urban planning of the terminal's surroundings, and $21.5 million for the relocation of the polyclinic of the Social Security Fund (CSS), which opened its doors last May. What has been delayed is the expansion of the Transisthmus highway to six lanes and the construction of the interchange for the metrobuses, similar to the one in San Isidro and Nuevo Tocumen. In addition to the extension of Line 1 by 2.2 kilometers and the construction of the station, the project included a parking building and the CSS polyclinic that are already ready. The delay of these works causes heavy traffic congestion in this area during peak hours, generating discomfort for drivers and passengers.