The consortium at the heart of the historic Panama Canal expansion project is threatening to stop construction work because of financial problems on the project.  The Panama Canal Authority is calling on the consortium to honor its contracts.

The Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC) is made up of international heavyweight construction and civil engineering firms; it is led by Spain's Sacyr Vallehermoso, and also includes Italy’s Impregilo, Belgian firm Jan De Nul, and Panama's Constructora Urbana.

It originally signed contracts to expand the Panama Canal for ships that can carry up to 12,000 containers.  That’s more than twice the capacity of the current “Panamax” size ship that goes through the canal.

But the contract is US $1.6 Billion over budget, and GUPC put in a request for the money a year ago.  So far, the Panama Canal authority has refused.  So the consortium is giving it three more weeks to come to some accord, or it’s calling off work.  Five percent of the world’s shipping goes through the Panama Canal, and the expansion project is crucial to the country’s growth projections.