Today, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced the final composition of the ACP Evaluation Committee that will review proposals submitted by consortia vying to win the largest contract under the $5.25 billion Canal Expansion Program – the design and construction of the new set of locks. The Committee is comprised of 15 Canal employees selected through a rigorous progress launched in October 2007.

“The selection of the Evaluation Committee is the next step in the fair, rigorous and transparent process to award the locks contract,” said ACP Contracts Administration Manager Francisco Miguez. “Since releasing the request for proposals in August 2007, we have received interest from some of the world’s most renowned companies to construct the new set of locks. We are now ready to evaluate the proposals and award the most important contract under the Canal Expansion Program.”

Proposals for the new set of locks contract will be submitted to the ACP March 3 and separated into two categories – price and technical. Price proposals will be moved to an independent and secure environment while technical proposals are evaluated. The 15 Committee members will asses select aspects of each technical proposal in separate teams divided by areas of expertise.

During the evaluation process, members will receive support from more than 40 local and international specialists and work in coordination with the ACP’s Official Contracting Office. The ACP also hired Deloitte to audit the technical review process and certify the Committee follows the rigorous analysis procedure to evaluate the bids.

The four pre-qualified consortia are comprised of more than 30 companies and include the following: Consorcio C.A.N.A.L.; Consorcio Atlántico-Pacífico de Panamá; Consortia Bechtel, Taisei, Mitsubishi Corporation; and Consorcio Grupo Unidos por el Canal. The winner of this contract will design and construct the new set of locks that will create the new lane of traffic along the Canal. Construction for the expansion project is slated to conclude by 2014, ultimately doubling Canal capacity to more than 600 million Panama Canal tons and allowing more traffic and the transit of longer, wider ships.