Economy & Business - November 2025

PANAMA | Arbitration victory. On 31 October the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (Uncitral) delivered a victory for Panama in an arbitration initiated by Spanish construction company Sacyr in 2018, related to the expansion of the Panama Canal. Sacre had a 41.6% share in Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC), the consortium in charge of the design and construction of the third set of locks within the Panama Canal expansion project. It alleged that Panama had violated the Panama-Spain Bilateral Investment Treaty during the bidding process and subsequent execution of the project. Uncitral rejected all of Sacyr’s claims and ordered the Spanish firm to pay Panama the costs of the proceedings totaling nearly US$6.4m. Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino described the result as a “big achievement”.