Daily Times

PANAMA CITY: A giant Chinese-chartered freighter is to nudge its way through the Panama Canal on Sunday to mark the completion of nearly a decade of expansion work forecast to boost global trade.

The vessel, especially renamed COSCO Shipping Panama, will inaugurate the widened canal in an hours-long voyage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean via a new shipping lane and gigantic locks that have been fitted to the century-old waterway.

“It is a historic day for the country,” Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela said on Saturday.

Several heads of state and foreign dignitaries have been invited to a ceremony marking the occasion.

The United States — which built the original canal opened in 1914 that is still in operation alongside the additions — will be represented by the wife of US Vice President Jose Biden, Jill Biden, and the US ambassador to Panama.

The United States and China are the two most frequent canal users. Its expansion is expected to greatly benefit commercial traffic between North America and Asia.

Varela said the ability of the expanded canal “to serve world trade is the most important thing.”