Panama Canal and South Carolina ports renew alliance

THE Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and the South Carolina State Ports Authority (SCSPA), which owns and operates the Port of Charleston, have formally renewed an understanding that reaffirms their alliance for three more years.

Collaboration includes joint marketing, exchange of data, market studies, expansion plans, training and technology, said a joint communique.

This extended understanding will seek to grow the increasingly important all-water route from Asia to the US east coast via Panama.

"Through the renewal with the South Carolina State Ports Authority, we are investing in a strong partnership based on close coordination," said ACP chief executive Alberto Aleman Zubieta.

The area within 60 miles of the Port of Charleston is set to gain more than 20 million square feet of industrial distribution centres and manufacturing capacity, plus a 1,300-acre logistics centre in Orangeburg County.

"When you combine Panama's tremendous role in global trade with Charleston's world-class productivity, expansion opportunities, navigational advantages and distribution centre developments, the importance of this partnership becomes clear," said South Carolina States Ports Authority president Bernard Groseclose.