Manuel Manrique, the CEO of a top Spanish construction company Sacyr, returned from Panama without concluding negotiations about going over budget and struggling to find cash to finish widening the canal.
The Panamanian government insists on waiting to hear how arbitrators rule on the matter while Sacyr and its business partners in Belgium and Italy complain that any delay is excessive. Everyone knows that money, or lack of it, is the root of the problem. Yesterday the EU offered to help resolve the conflict, but Panama refused to accept help from the region even though the country knows that a failed project will damage international trade significantly. These are good enough reasons for both parties to reach an understanding.
