Panama New sewage system in Colón already broken

New sewage system in Colón already broken
la prensa

A new sewage system in Colón does not have the capacity to handle waste flowing into it.

Despite numerous warnings from engineers, the government of Martín Torrijos authorized the payment of $12.8 million from the Fund for Social Investment to the firm of Transcaribe Trading for the construction of a new sewage system in Colón in August 2008.

Now, less than two years later, the system has numerous problems.

The work was deemed to be satisfactory by the Torrijos administration when it signed off on the project. But this approval was given despite a number of studies by engineers from water and sewer agency IDANN warning that the work had serious problems.

Francisco Israel Rodriguez, director of the Social Investment Fund at the time the work was presented, said he remembered nothing about the project, then refused to answer any further questions. New IDAAN Director for Colón Mariel Lima Young confirmed that the project lacks the proper capacity and that the pumps are constantly breaking down.

Transcaribe Trading owner David Ochy said that the project was built according to government specifications and that the firm will not replace the pumps because the contract has already been completed.