Panama Canal expansion, California is in a hurry

Panama Canal expansion, California is in a hurry (Alberta Times) Panama Canal expansion, California is in a hurry? According to former Panama President Martin Tor…

(Alberta Times)

Panama Canal expansion, is California in a hurry? According to the bill signed by former Panamanian President Martin Torrijos in 2006, the Panama Canal, an important channel for American shipping, will expand a new channel by 2014, which will allow ships with larger tonnage to pass through the Panama Canal, making shipping from the east and west coasts of the United States faster and faster. California ports could have benefited from this, but due to environmental constraints, the expansion rate of California ports simply cannot meet the cargo throughput after the expansion of the Panama Canal in 2014. The Southern California Association of Government (SCAG) joined forces with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and others on the 9th to launch the "Beat the Panama Canal" campaign, aiming to speed up the construction of California ports and reduce approval procedures and time in order to create jobs and meet future challenges. The co-organizer of the event, the non-profit organization Job 1st Alliance, stated that the activities to welcome the Panama Canal are not limited to ports, but also involve more than 65 public and private construction projects. It aims to call on environmental protection and decision-making organizations to speed up the approval time and procedures of these constructions, which will not only provide more jobs in the current economic downturn, but also upgrade California's infrastructure construction to meet future challenges. These construction projects have received financial support, but have been delayed in starting construction due to resistance from environmental protection and other aspects. Wally Baker, chairman of the organization, said that it only takes a few months for China to approve a construction project, but it can take up to 15 years for California. How can this speed compete with China? Willie Brown, the former mayor of San Francisco, said that if the Panama Canal campaign succeeds, California, the sleeping lion, will wake up and face more challenges. The event is supported by several California organizations, including the Newport Beach government. "The pain of democracy" has been tormenting California for more than a day or two. In April this year, The Economist magazine devoted a special discussion to the topic "Too Much Democracy?" on California's overly cumbersome democratic procedures that restrict social and economic development. This event is also based on the theme of the Panama Canal, hoping that California's infrastructure construction will be accelerated.