The expansion project, originally slated to be completed in 2015, saw , strikes, and cost overruns, which brought the mega-project’s final cost to . The project is slated to create up to 45,000 new jobs, increasing employment on the canal by 10-15%.

Panamax ships -- a name that describes the maximum sized ship that will fit through the Panama Canal -- are no longer the industry standard. Moreover, despite the significant increase in GDP in the last 15 years, Panama remains the second most unequal nation in Latin America.

The Panama Canal has been in operation for more than a century. The CPA will deepen Gatun Lake by five feet and nearly double its width, allowing millions more gallons of water to collect in the lake. Jeremy Luedi is the editor of Asia by Africa, a publication highlighting under reported stories in Asia and Africa, as well as special features on how the two regions interact. The Suez has no locks, and thus is not at risk to water level changes from climate nor seasonal changes.One may assume that Panama has a monopoly on Western hemispheric trade, yet this not the case.

A "Panamax" ship is a category defined as the largest the Panama Canal can handle. Yet as international trade focuses more on Asia, routes from the new global hubs such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and Shanghai are equidistant to America’s East Coast regardless if one goes via Suez or Panama.Given the choice, shippers will use larger ships and head through the Suez. The basins will collect water from each lockage and reuse it for the next transit, ultimately losing 7% less water per transit than in 2007.In all, more than 130 million tons of earth will be excavated -- more than half the amount of earth removed during the canal's construction.

By 2005, 5% of worldwide shipping traffic was passing through the Panama Canal, including nearly 70% of all cargo to and from the U.S. In 1932, FDR was elected on a campaign promising a New Deal for the American people. So Panama is spending billions of dollars and several years to widen the canal and update it. Life for workers in the Canal Zone was filled with hardships: constant rain, backbreaking work, racial tension, and the constant fear of yellow fever or malariaA conceptual view of the third set of locks with the water saving basins, Courtesy: Autoridad del Canal de PanamaSign up for the American Experience newsletter! While congestion due to construction is unremarkable, the role of weather highlights a growing problem for the canal.The Panama Canal has been upgraded to accommodate larger vessels up to 12,500 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEU). The BBC's Vanessa Buschschluter reports from Panama City on concerns among tugboat captains about safety in the Panama Canal's new locks. The canal was originally constructed to facilitate trade between South America and the U.S, and between the West and East Coast of America. )Get the latest on new films and digital content, learn about events in your area, and get your weekly fix of American history. Before the expansion project, the canal could allow vessels carrying up to 5,000 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), often referred to as “Panamax”, to pass through; these ships were up to 106 feet wide, 965 feet long, and 39.5 feet of draft. The United States completed the canal in 1914. Panama is banking on the expanded canal boosting growth, yet there exist sizable risks to Panama’s hopes. By 1939, more than 7,000 ships a year were traveling through the canal, but it did not turn a profit until the 1950s. However, with the development of even larger, “post-Panamax” ships, the canal be…