Panama Canal Portrays Impact of Expansion in Asia

News Release Panama Canal Authority June 8, 2012

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• ACP meets with top
clients and government officials 
 
Panama City, June 6,
2012. – The Panama Canal is
meeting this week with top clients, government officials, and maritime
authorities in China, Japan, and South Korea to reaffirm its relationship with
customers and explain the impact of the Panama Canal expansion program in
Asia.
 
"We always keep a
close communication with our customers and this is a new opportunity to discuss
issues of common interest, while we put into perspective the impact of Panama
and the Canal expansion to maritime trade," said Panama Canal Administrator,
Alberto Alemán Zubieta.
 
China (second), Japan
(fourth), and South Korea (fifth) are among the top five users of the Panama
Canal.
 
As part of the
approach in Asia, the Panama Canal participated in the JOC Container Shipping
Conference 2012 in Shanghai, where the Executive Vice-President of Engineering
and Project Management, Jorge Luis Quijano, presented the "Potential Impact of
the Panama Canal Expansion in Global Supply Chain."
 
In Shanghai, the
representation of the Panama Canal had contact with directors of China Shipping
Container Lines (CSCL), and while in Beijing they met Captain Wei Jiafu,
President of COSCO Group Company and other executives of the firm.
 
"These direct
contacts allow us to know first-hand what our customers and users of the Panama
Canal think, with the goal of always providing quality service to uphold the
competitiveness of the Panama route," added Alemán Zubieta.
 
During this week, in
Japan, Canal executives will also approach Tokyo government officials from the
Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
 
While in Tokyo, Canal
officials will meet with top executives from the Japan Bank for International
Cooperation (JBIC) and in the private sector with representatives of K-Line,
MOL, Mitsui OSK Lines, and Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and the Japanese
Shipowners’ Association (JSA).
 
The meetings will
continue in South Korea with executives from Samsung Heavy Industries and a tour
to the facilities of the Busan Port Authority.  In Seoul, the group will
meet with executives from Hyundai and with officials from the Ministry of Land,
Transport, and Maritime Affairs and the Korean Shipowners’
Association.
 
In the Korean Chamber
of Commerce and Industry, Quijano will depict the Panama Canal expansion and its
future impact in world commerce.
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