His grey hair is combed straight back, and he is wearing the sharpest, whitest shirt you've ever seen. The multicoloured maps depict a grand scheme. It is the dream of Mr. Zambrano and his boss, former Panamanian president Nicolas Ardito Barletta. They have been thinking about the canal's future ever since the 1970s, when they helped negotiate the treaties under which the United States will hand over the waterway on Dec. 31. Never mind, Mr. Zambrano says.
Glossy brochures aimed at foreign investors tout the area's attractions.
Already functioning are projects most closely related to the canal, which is still the most efficient way to transport bulk cargo between the Atlantic and Pacific. Container terminals on the Caribbean side serve the duty-free zone in the city of Colon, where bulk goods are repackaged for export. Taiwanese firms are assembling clothing, auto parts and other items in an export processing zone in the former Fort Davis, a U.S. Army base, and a second similar zone near Panama City is planned. Shopping centres and a variety of public housing projects are also being built. Perhaps the most ambitious plans relate to tourism, where Panama has historically lagged because of high prices, poor infrastructure and distance from major markets.