Panama, together with the Chinese consortium made up of state-owned China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), signed an addendum to resume construction “in the coming months” of the fourth bridge over the Panamanian interoceanic canal, La Estrella de Panamá reported.
The bridge is expected to speed up daily traffic for more than 70,000 vehicles, benefiting 1.7 million people by connecting Panama Oeste province to Panama City, according to estimates by Panama’s Ministry of Public Works.
“In this mega-work that was awarded under very questionable principles, they [the Chinese consortium] first make an agreement and then begin to introduce addenda,” Euclides Tapia, professor of International Relations at the University of Panama, told Diálogo on May 29.
The project, with an adjusted cost of $1.3 billion, includes an addendum, signed in March, that eliminates the viewpoint and the restaurant that were entertained in the original design, and that adjusts the width of the main deck, interchanges, and the type of columns; as well as eliminates the maintenance phase, Panama’s Ministry of Public Works said in a statement. The addendum also separates the bridge construction from the Panama Metro Line 3, which were originally planned to be built in tandem.
“During the following months the consortium’s team of experts will continue the detailed development of the design, studies, and other field work, with a view to initiating the larger works in the coming months,” said Panama Minister of Public Works Rafael Sabonge, during the signing of the addendum.
History of corruption
Both CCCC and its subsidiary CHEC have a history of corruption, reported investigative journalism platform Diálogo Chino. The World Bank debarred CCCC in 2011 for six years for fraudulent practices in the Philippines.
CCCC’s other track record includes corruption in railway projects in Malaysia and Australia. In Bangladesh, government officials accused CHEC of paying fees illegally. It was also accused of corruption in the construction of a port in Tanzania.
In addition, CCCC is involved in more than 50 works in at least 19 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, supported by capital from the Chinese Communist Party through its Commercial and Industrial Bank, Diálogo Chino reported.
“We should not be surprised if later on there are problems [in the construction of the fourth bridge], the same problems the Chinese have in other latitudes,” Tapia said. “Panama needs a job well-done, not just anything [done by China].”
In San Luis, Brazil, where CCCC is building a huge port, local prosecutors are investigating whether the company profited from the illegal sale of property titles. There were also problems with the contract for a university project in Ecuador, Diálogo Chino added.
Port expansion
“The Chinese always have their strategy, they have their double standard. They don’t do things exclusively for commercial reasons,” Tapia said. “There is also a strategic military objective. We have to be careful with them.”
In a report, U.S. think tank Center for a Secure Free Society details that many Chinese companies involved in strategic port development and investment projects have ties to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
The investments made by Beijing in port terminals on the east and west side of the Panama Canal indicate China’s intention to take full advantage of this infrastructure, the University of Navarra in Spain said in a report.
“The political component cannot be isolated from any Chinese investment in Panama or Latin America,” Tapia said. “The port sector is part of their global strategy.”
Among the evidence that China is targeting Panama as a military objective is its non-adherence to the Panama Canal Neutrality Protocol, under the argument that Taiwan is part of the countries that have joined the treaty, Tapia added.
According to Beijing, “Taiwan does not exist as a country. If it does not exist as a country, what is the problem?” Tapia asked. “Panama maintains a free trade agreement with Taiwan, despite the rupture. The United States warned at the time that we should be ‘very careful’ with Chinese investments.”
Investing entities
“We do not want to put Panama in a situation where they have to choose between the United States and the People’s Republic of China,” U.S. Ambassador to Panama Mari Carmen Aponte told Panamanian media TVN on February 27.
Panama and the United States share values such as democracy, respect for human rights, transparency, accountability, and economic inclusion. These are values that China does not adhere to on many occasions, Aponte said.
“Chinese investments should not be treated lightly, knowing the claims they have on the world. China is creating its own core of native investment entities to create a level of political dependence, to pressure Latin American governments to respond to Chinese interests,” Tapia concluded.