PANAMA CANAL BREAKS RECORD

A total of 322.1 million tons of cargo transited the Panama Canal during its last fiscal year, a record figure in the nearly century-old history of the waterway, the Panama Canal Authority announced.
Preliminary figures showed that the Panama Canal closed the fiscal year (October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011) with 322.1 million tons, up 7.1 percent compared to the previous period when it was 300.8 million tons.

This mark exceeds by 2.9 percent the previous record, which dates from 2007 when the number of tons crossing the waterway was 312.9 million, according to a statement from the Panama Canal Authority (ACP).
“This is an unprecedented achievement in the 97 years of operation of the Canal, a concrete reflection of the ability of Panama to operate and administer this major maritime trade route,” said the administrator of the Canal, Alberto Aleman Zubieta.
Currently, the Canal is in an expansion phase, estimated to cost $5.250 million.www.visitpanamadejavu.com