Weekly Report - 16 September 2003

Roger Noriega, US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, has said that his government is not interested in getting involved in planned works to enlarge the Panama Canal. Noriega had remarked that the US had done its bit by financing the construction of the Canal, and that private enterprise should take care of the enlargement. Panamanian officials say that China has taken an interest in the project, which is expected to cost somewhere between US$4bn and US$6bn. A spokesman for the Japanese embassy in Panama said that this government was also interested in taking part with financing; a decision would be confirmed when the total cost is known. The main users of the Canal are the US, Japan and China. [The US took on the Panama Canal when Nicaragua refused exclusive right and decided to court Russia and Japan instead. It also helped overthrow the Nicaraguan government.]