PANAMA CANAL ADOPTS GREEN BUILDING POLICY

News Release Panama Canal Authority August 28, 2012

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The ACP guideline launches environmentally sustainable practices
Panama
City, Panama, August 27, 2012. - 
The Panama Canal will implement more sound “Green Building” practices with
regards to future constructions in order to improve compatibility with the
environment.
Green
Construction, also known as Sustainable Building, refers to designing building
structures using processes and materials that are environmentally responsible
and efficient during the life cycle of the building.  This concept includes
the process from design and construction to operation, maintenance, renovation
and demolition of buildings.  Green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the built
environment on human health and the natural environment.
Panama
Canal Authority (ACP) Administrator/CEO, Alberto Alemán Zubieta said, "with the
application of these parameters when building at the Panama Canal, we take a
step further to ensure energy efficiency, reduce water consumption, and improve
recycling practices which are cornerstones of the green building concept, along
with the use of renewable energy sources."
Beginning
in August, the Panama Canal announced that all works or construction projects by
ACP, designed by the Engineering Division, by contracts or its internal
workforce, must use sustainable design specifications contained in a list of
Green Building Construction Specifications applicable to ACP for short-term
renovations and new constructions.  
Among
the measures contained in the list of Green Building Construction Specifications
applicable to the ACP are the use of natural light with the application of
modern skylight domes with heat insulation and light diffusion for spaces that
do not require air conditioning, for example, in galleys, workshops, hallways,
bathrooms and other similar areas.  
Another
measure is the installation of occupancy sensors and timers to control lights in
kitchens, dining rooms, hallways, bathrooms, classrooms and conference rooms,
the use of air conditioning systems with efficiency ratios and the prohibition
of air conditioning units without fresh air.
Likewise,
construction of new buildings will be aligned with the path of the sun, to
minimize the exposure of the windows to the sun and the insulation requirements
for walls and roofs will be increased, in order to reduce the load of air
conditioning.
Additionally,
the use of white roofs with high solar reflectivity will be required, and
installation of low water consumption valves for bathrooms, faucets and
fixtures.
New
buildings will include areas for centralized waste recycling to simplify the
logistics of recollection.
These
measures apply to the construction of new buildings, such as offices that are
required for operations around the new locks.
About the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) The ACP is the autonomous agency of the Government of Panama in charge
of managing, operating and maintaining the Panama Canal. The operation of the
ACP is based on its organic law and the regulations approved by its Board of
Directors. For more information in English, please refer to the ACP's Web site:
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