$40 million: Crossing behind Amador Cruise Port

A cruise ship port being built on the Amador Causeway It’s part of a major move that will cost Panamanians more than $40 million, above the price accepted by the consortium that won the contract in 2017.

The financial move was made by the current management of the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP), headed by Noriel Araúza, one of the most frequently questioned officials of the administration of President Laurentino Cortiz due to alleged irregularities, negotiations and negligence that led to the crisis of the until then recognized ship registration system in the country.

The project was marked by irregularities from the very beginning. In October 2017, the Cruceros del Pacífico China consortium, made up of China’s Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) and Belgium’s Jan De Nul Panama (JDN), submitted the sole bid for the Amador Cruise Port contract, offering $197 million.

In the framework of the competition led by the management of Juan Carlos Varela, it was pointed out that the process was manipulated in favor of the finally selected consortium, to the extent that the bond and insurance formulas were changed to force the competing bid to withdraw from presenting its bid. And that despite the fact that the company already had everything ready for that day, it was a consortium made up of Meco.

Square plans from the Varela administration and the then AMP administrator, Jorge Barakat, squared off, but not completely. Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) and Jan De Nul Panama (JDN) were the only bidders: $197 million.

However, the offer of the consortium was significantly above the reference price for this project.

In order not to invalidate the bid, Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) of China and Jan De Nul Panama (JDN) agreed to lower their bid to the reference price, which was set at $165.7 million.’

165.7

million dollars was the reference price for the construction of the port of Amador.

A consortium led by a Chinese company promised to deliver the works at a reference price, in exchange for winning the contract.

Along the way, this was distorted to the detriment of the state treasury. The project has a significant delay in the delivery of the final works, since according to the original plan, the construction company was supposed to hand them over in September 2022.

But the most scandalous thing is that in September 2019, Araúz negotiated with the contractor to give him an allowance that increases the cost to the state by $40.9 million.

AMP only claims that events occurred that increased the cost of the work by more than 40% of the original cost. Araúz did not take into account that there was already an obligation of the contractor to complete the work at the agreed price in 2017, in exchange for not calling another bidding process.

Now the port will end up costing much more than the consortium’s first offer. That is, more than 205 million dollars. While the AMP admin he never explained the reason for his decision to give him the additional $40 million.

Last week, amid heated questions from the plenary session of the Assembly, Araúz gave some details about the port, already admitting that it is barely 89% complete, despite the fact that there are already cruise ship docks.

The arrival of cruise ships in the port of Amador, with no unfinished business, has already caused accidents that tarnish the country’s image.

Apart from the agreed issues, the MPs criticized Araúz for allowing the infrastructure of the cruise port to be already used for other activities such as fuel barge repairs.

These were the questions that Araúz did not answer to this means of communication: Based on what justification did this administration increase the price of the Amador cruise port, through the supplement? Why 40 million dollars, if in 2017 the consortium decided to do it at 169 million, in the middle of the process where it was the only offer and for that it had to be adjusted to the reference price? How late is the project?