Around 13,000 ships travel the canal each year, hauling an estimated 5 percent of the world's goods around the globe

In addition to the Panama Canal and its world-class port terminals, the area offers businesses interconnectivity on a global scale

Tocumen International Airport in Panama City is in the process of expanding to accommodate 40 percent more traffic

The Panama Canal

Situated on the cusp of the Panama Canal and just across from bustling Panama City, Panama Pacifico benefits from its proximity to both. For nearly a century, the canal has been a significant global asset, bringing wealth and stability to the region. Panama City, a busy metropolis of 1.5 million residents, serves as the area’s economic hub and multimodal transportation center.

Fulcrum of International Trade

Bridging Panama City on the Pacific Ocean and Colón on the Caribbean Sea, the Panama Canal spans approximately 80 km (50 miles). It is widely considered one of the world's great engineering achievements.

The United States is the largest canal user based on cargo tonnage, followed by China, Japan, Chile and South Korea. Ships bound for Japan from the East Coast of the United States save approximately 3,000 miles by going through the canal; ships sailing from Ecuador to Europe save about 5,000 miles.

World Importance

Around 13,000 ships travel the canal each year, hauling an estimated 5 percent of the world's goods around the globe. Approximately 70 percent of all canal trade is bound to or coming from the United States. And traffic is projected to increase 2 percent every year.

Maintaining Global Competitiveness

Thanks to a 2006 voter-approved referendum, $5.25 billion in improvements are underway to allow two-way traffic of even the largest ships. Panama is in the process of improving and updating the canal by widening and deepening the channel, as well as constructing new locks. The project is slated for completion in 2014 and will double the channel’s capacity.

Robust Supporting Infrastructure

In addition to the Panama Canal and its world-class port terminals, the area offers businesses interconnectivity on a global scale. The Pan-American Highway grants direct access to Panama City and continues up through Central America, Mexico, the United States and Canada. Panama City has the modern Tocumen International Airport with direct flights to every major city in Latin America, as well as numerous global destinations. At the crossroads of the world with its natural land bridge between two oceans, Panama’s cross-isthmus, inter-oceanic rail lines and freeways complete the picture, making the country an excellent worldwide distribution hub.


Telecommunications Connectivity

Panama benefits from five of the major submarine telecommunications loops traversing through the country. The physical location of these fiber-optic lines provide unlimited connectivity capability for global communications. Panama Pacifico benefits from one of these loops being located onsite in the new global business hub – which is one of the reasons DELL located their second largest call center in the world here five years ago. Click here to download the Multimodal Transportation Map for Panama Pacifico.


Panama Facts

  • 12 percent of the United States’ sea-borne international trade tonnage passes through the Panama Canal annually.
  • The canal’s capacity is set to double once the expansion project is completed in 2014.
  • Tocumen International Airport in Panama City is in the process of expanding to accommodate 40 percent more traffic.