Panama Canal Centennial Featured in ASCE Event

The 100 years of the Panama Canal will be featured in the 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Global Engineering Conference held in Panama City, Panama. This year’s conference hosts approximately 1,000 professionals in the field of engineering worldwide.

The conference commenced yesterday with Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano’s opening keynote address, providing an update on the Expansion Program and its technical aspects.

“This conference is an opportunity for engineers from all over the world to discover first-hand the technical aspects of the design and construction of the Panama Canal Expansion,” Panama Canal Administrator Quijano said. “Attendees will be able to see the past and future of one of the greatest engineering accomplishments of the world.”

During the event, Panama Canal specialists will present different aspects of the Expansion Program and its impact on global trade. Sessions related to the Panama Canal include: The French Attempt to Construct a Canal at Panama; the Management of the Expansion Program; Water Management at the Canal Watershed; and the Construction and Finance Challenges of the Third Set of Locks Project.

Conference attendees will have the opportunity to participate in technical tours of the Panama Canal. The tours will provide an overview of all the components of the Expansion Program, a visit to the Gatun and Madden dams and a visit to the current locks of the 100-year-old waterway.

The ties between the ASCE and the Panama Canal date back to the original construction of the waterway. In 1994, the ASCE named the Panama one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

Founded in 1852, the ASCE represents more than 140,000 members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. The ASCE Global Engineering Conference is organized annually. This is the second time that the ASCE Global Engineering Conference is held outside the United States.