Panama transhipment activity is set for double-digit growth in the wake of the canal expansion project due to be completed next year, according to analysts at Drewry Maritime Research.The expansion project, which this week reached 85% completion with the installation of the first gate for the new locks at the waterway’s Pacific entrance, will ultimately allow 14,000 teu vessels to transit the canal, increasing demand for transhipment options.Drewry has forecast a double-digit jump in Panama transhipment activity as a result of the opening of the expanded canal in 2016, and thereafter annual growth of around 5%. On this basis, Drewry added that Panama Pacific coast throughput of 6m teu would be reached by around 2024.Transhipment activity in the wider Central America/Caribbean region will also grow as a result of the expansion.Currently nearly all of the transhipment cargo moved through the canal is handled exclusively by Hutchison’s Balboa terminal, with a small number passing through PSA’s Rodman terminal.In 2014, Drewry estimated that 3.4m teu of transhipment cargo was handled on the Pacific coast of the canal, with Hutchison responsible for 3.2m teu and PSA 230,000 teu.To cope with this influx of cargo, Hutchison and PSA both plan to enhance the capacity of their existing facilities. Hutchison is increasing its capacity to 5m teu in time for the opening of the expanded canal, while PSA signed a 20-year concession in 2014 to expand the capacity of its Rodman terminal to 1.8m teu.Click here to continue reading at lloydsloadinglist.com