The Ministry of Public Works (MOP) awarded the second contract under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) modality for the West Pan-American Highway. The project covers 192 kilometers, from Loma de Campana to Santiago, one of the country's most trafficked sections. The project was awarded to the APP Vías del Istmo Consortium, which achieved the best technical and economic evaluation in the process. Its proposal included an initial investment of B/. 359.4 million. Other companies also submitted multi-million dollar offers and ambitious plans. The difference now will be in the execution, not the announcement. Official reports published on PanamaCompra tipped the scales in favor of a single proposal. The intervention will not be immediate or uniform. The highway will be worked on in stages, divided between the Loma Campana–Penonomé section and the Penonomé–Santiago section, with staggered works to avoid traffic collapse. The plan includes returns at strategic points, improvements in signage, weight controls for heavy transport, video surveillance systems, and bus stops with bays, elements that are currently lacking on much of the road. The contract will have a duration of 20 years, counted from the endorsement of the Contraloría General de la República. The scheme contemplates preliminary studies, construction, operation, and maintenance, before the infrastructure returns to the Panamanian state. During the project's execution, the generation of more than 2,000 direct jobs and thousands of indirect positions is expected, with a direct impact on more than 280,000 people who live or travel along the highway. With this award, the Government advances on its second PPP project in road infrastructure, after the East Pan-American Highway.
