The president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, met this Wednesday with representatives of Royal Caribbean Group, who expressed interest in establishing a floating dry dock in the Punta Piedra area of Puerto Armuelles, Chiriquí province, in the western part of the country. This had been anticipated last week by the Panamanian leader. According to a statement from the presidency, this will generate 500 to 800 jobs in the coming years. They added that the executives explained the project, which would be designed to service and repair their own cruise ships, as well as other container ships and large specialized vessels. The company explained that with this operation, they could take advantage of the transit of their cruise ships through Panama for repairs, instead of traveling all the way to Asia. The 130,000-ton floating dock, projected at 400 meters in length, has the capacity to lift fully loaded ships. Likewise, they referred to the different stages of the project between 2026 and 2031, the services they plan to offer with the construction of the dock, the design of a low-carbon and resilient industrial platform, with responsible management of wastewater and applying international safety and environmental standards. President Mulino highlighted that this project would contribute to elevating Panama's strategic importance as a maritime center, as well as generating qualified jobs for the Barú region and the entire province, revitalizing an area that has been abandoned for years. Mulino stated that he will support the efforts to make the initiative a reality, whose investment is currently Panamanian and its start could occur this year, 2026. While this project is being developed, personnel can be trained, expanding the program of the National Institute for Professional Training and Human Development (Inadeh) in Puerto Armuelles, the president added. He also thanked them for seeing and choosing Panama to invest in, where Japanese entrepreneurs are also interested in developing other projects. The meeting was attended by presidential advisor Alberto Alemán Zubieta; Luis Roquebert, administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority; Joshua Carrol (Senior Vice President of Destinations for Royal Caribbean Group); Cristóbal Bernstein (Senior Business Development and Destinations Manager); Andre Pousada (Regional Vice President); and Alfonso Tarazi, Isaac Tarazi, Paolo Mele, and Edward Dolan.
