CH2M Hill lands Panama Canal expansion contract

Engineering company CH2M Hill has been given the program management contract for the massive $5.25-billion project to expand the Panama Canal.
CH2M has over 700 employees in Canada, while its headquarters are in Denver, Colorado, and it employs 19,000 people worldwide. Subcontractors on the Panama project team include DHV Group, Grupo TYPSA, CSA Group, and Earth Consultants International.
The canal, which links the Pacific and Atlantic oceans across the Americas, was built in 1914. The expansion is to make it able to carry post-Panamax container vessels by 2014, the 100th anniversary of the completion of the original canal. Locks are to be added on both ends of the canal, and there will be substantial excavations and dredging. Eventually it will be able to carry vessels of up to 12,000 TEU in size.
CH2M Hill will assist the Panama Canal Authority in managing all the contracts and coordinating between the different design-build and construction teams. The program manager at CH2M Hill for the expansion is Jhan Schmitz.
Michael Kennedy, President of CH2M HILL Transportation Group, said in an announcement: We are proud to contribute our global experience to help build not only one of the worlds major infrastructure projects, but to build it in such a way as to leave a lasting legacy of sustainable socioeconomic growth and environmental responsibility…