page_title: Panama Canal expansion project
section_title: The project
hierarchical_section_title: Panama Canal expansion project / The project
caption_attribution_description: English: Aerial view of Gatun Locks, Panama Canal. On top, several vessels waiting to cross the locks at Gatun Lake. At the bottom is exit canal to the Atlantic Ocean. At the left of the existing locks is the construction area for the new locks part of the Panama Canal expansion project.
context_page_description: The Panama Canal expansion project, also called the Third Set of Locks Project, doubled the capacity of the Panama Canal by adding a new lane of traffic allowing for a larger number of ships, and increasing the width and depth of the lanes and locks allowing larger ships to pass. The new ships, called New Panamax, are about one and a half times the previous Panamax size and can carry over twice as much cargo. The expanded canal began commercial operation on 26 June 2016.
  The project has:
  Built two new sets of locks, one each on the Atlantic and Pacific sides, and excavated new channels to the new locks.
  Widened and deepened existing channels.
  Raised the maximum operating water level of Gatun Lake.
  Then-Panamanian President Martín Torrijos formally proposed the project on 24 April 2006, saying it would transform Panama into a First World country. A national referendum approved the proposal by a 76.8 percent majority on 22 October, and the Cabinet and National Assembly followed suit. The project formally began in 2007.
caption: Aerial view of Gatun Locks. On top, several vessels at the Gatun Lake waiting to cross the locks. At the bottom is exit canal to the Atlantic Ocean. At the left of the existing locks is the construction area for the new locks and water-saving chambers part of the Panama Canal expansion project.
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