Panama Canal marks 10‑year anniversary of expansion with record traffic and revenue

The Panama Canal celebrated ten years since the 2016 inauguration of its third set of locks – the Agua Clara (Atlantic) and Cocolí (Pacific) complexes – built by a consortium led by Spain’s Sacyr and others. The $5.25 billion project added a new, wider lane for Neopanamax vessels, tripling the canal’s capacity. By May 2026 the expanded locks recorded over 31,000 transits and now handle 51‑55 % of the total cargo tonnage, with ships up to 17,640 TEU passing through.

Revenue surged after the expansion; fiscal year 2025 saw earnings of $5.705 billion, a 14.4 % increase over the previous year. Former canal administrator Jorge Quijano noted that more than 90 % of the 30,000 workers on the project were Panamanian. Current administrator Ilya Espino highlighted water scarcity as the biggest operational challenge, especially after the 2023 El Niño‑driven drought that forced a reduction in daily transits.

The canal also withstood the COVID‑19 pandemic, the Russia‑Ukraine war, and the Israel‑Gaza conflict, which altered global shipping patterns. Looking ahead, the authority is exploring additional logistics infrastructure, such as new ports on both coasts and an inter‑isthmus gas pipeline, while monitoring market trends to adapt to ever‑larger vessels. A new museum exhibit commemorates the expansion with interactive displays and artifacts, including a meg​alodon tooth found during construction.