A Dispute Resolution Board (DAB) has dismissed a USD 99 million complaint filed by Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC) for cost overruns in the construction of Panama Canal’s third set of locks, according to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP).
GUPC, the consortium that built the canal’s new locks and which includes Spain’s Sacyr, Italy’s Salini – Impregilo, Belgium’s Jan De Nul and Panama’s Constructora Urban, SA (CUSA), complained about the additional, unpredictable costs incurred as a part of a USD 5.4 billion expansion project .
However, on July 26, the board decided to reject the complaint in which GUPC demanded from the waterway authority to cover the cost overruns.
The unplanned costs occurred due to the seepage found in the concrete sill between the lower and middle chamber of the Panama Canal’s expanded Pacific Locks, which was the result of insufficient steel reinforcements in the area.
The DAB, formed to hear disputes arising between the ACP and the contractor during the execution of design and construction of the third set of locks, is comprised of members of GUPC and the ACP.
According to the ACP, the case is subject to the final decision of an Arbitral Tribunal in Miami constituted under the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).