The Panama Canal is advancing the resettlement plan for the Rio Indio communities and plans to sign the compensatory framework with the nine community entities created for this process in March, as explained by the Canal's Deputy Administrator, Ilya Espino de Marotta, in an interview. Espino de Marotta indicated that the plan "is moving forward, it is progressing" and that they have already concluded seven cycles of meetings with the communities. "That can take a year," she explained, noting that each family has different conditions and the relocation will not be simultaneous. The resettlement will be carried out gradually over the four or five years it will take to build the project. "This has been a dialogue, it has not been an imposition," she stated, detailing that in the meetings, housing models have been presented and feedback has been collected on relocation options. These elements serve as general rules that will then be applied individually in the negotiation with each family. In addition, it is developing reforestation projects, rural aqueducts, school improvements, and the installation of solar panels in six educational centers. Espino de Marotta added that the technical component of the project is also on schedule. The goal is to present the study to the Ministry of the Environment between October and November. Regarding the general schedule, she estimated that a tender could be called between September and October of this year, with the intention of awarding the contract by January 2027. The compensatory framework to be signed with the communities covers the main topics discussed during the seven dialogue cycles held in the area. The entity has completed nearly 30% of the necessary geotechnical borings for the terms of reference and is preparing to begin the environmental impact study, whose baseline is in its final phase. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has completed nine of the eleven kilometers of production roads planned and is preparing to tender another 37 kilometers.
