� Business Monitor International Ltd Page - industry being one of the largest drivers of economic growth in Panama, employing -.- of the total labour force, we believe strong political pressure will drive the Government of Panama to spend heavily to sustain this critical sector. We have noted a large number of high-value projects in the pipeline ready to fill the void left by the completion of the canal, and are now seeing many of these begin to move forward. ...� Business Monitor International Ltd Page - industry being one of the largest drivers of economic growth in Panama, employing -.- of the total labour force, we believe strong political pressure will drive the Government of Panama to spend heavily to sustain this critical sector. We have noted a large number of high-value projects in the pipeline ready to fill the void left by the completion of the canal, and are now seeing many of these begin to move forward. While we still expect the construction industry to contract in ----, we have revised up our forecast for ---- due to stronger-than-anticipated growth in Q---. ...With our continued expectation for a slowdown maintained, we are forecasting -.- real growth for the year. Over the ---year forecast we expect continued, but relatively muted growth, with the construction industry growing by an average of -.- in real terms annually.
...We have revised up our construction industry forecast for ---- and ---- as major transport projects have buoyed the industry, and canal expansion construction lingered into this year. Over our forecast period we expect the industry value to remain high as the government liberally to maintain the politically and economically crucial construction sector. ...The USD-.-bn line - is currently under way, with the USD-.-bn line - also reaching major milestones and set to move forward this year. The development of port infrastructure alongside the upgraded Panama Canal will also be a growth driver, with the USD---mn PSA terminal project breaking ground in late ---- and a number of other projects in the pre-construction phase. � Investment in the power sector will also help maintain industry value. ...� Investment in the power sector will also help maintain industry value. Major works include the USD-.--bn, ---MW Costa Norte II gas power plant, on which US-based AES Corporation began work in May.
...We have revised up our forecasts for ----, as a number of high-value transport projects, and the fact that the Panama Canal expansion project carried into ----, have converted into strong construction growth (--.- real growth Q-). We had previously highlighted considerable upside potential to our forecast given the possibility for major works, especially Panama City Metro, to move forward rapidly and buoy the industry - a view that is playing out. ...
