Panama assumes control of two key ports operated by Hong Kong-based company in the canal

Authorities in Panama assumed control of two ports on the Panama Canal, after concluding the legal process that revoked the concession granted to the Hong Kong-based company CK Hutchison Holdings, according to an official source.

The ports in question are Balboa, on the Pacific, and Cristobal, on the Atlantic—located at each end of the inter-oceanic waterway—whose contract was declared unconstitutional by the Panamanian Supreme Court of Justice in January.

"The Panama Maritime Authority took possession of its ports and guarantees the continuity of the operation," announced Max Flórez, director of Ports and Auxiliary Maritime Industries of the official agency, at a press conference.

A transition process

The decision was made official by means of a decree, issued a few hours after the court's ruling was published by the official press office, the last step necessary for it to take effect.

The "occupation decree" will open an 18-month transition period, Flórez explained. During that time, the operation of the ports will remain in the hands of two different companies, until they are awarded again through a bidding process.

"We are going to define the model … of international bidding" to have long-term operators, said Alberto Alemán Zubieta, in charge of the transition, at the same conference. Minister of Labor and Development Jackeline Muñoz assured that there will be no layoffs at the two terminals, where around 1,200 people work.