R egrettably, yellow fever returned to the Isthmus of Panama and some of the engineers and workers died. Then malaria, the most common of the tropical diseases, attacked the population and seemed never to go away. The disease became part of the landscape for years. This motivated many men of science to come and engage in research to find the cure to these illnesses, to exchange information throughout academic institutions, yet another form of international trade, though this time for education and for science.

In these impossible conditions, the French company went bankrupt. The official end came on Feb. 4, 1889. By January 1902, the French company offered its total inventory, including the railroad they had bought from the American company for an estimated value of US$40 million, to the United States. President Theodore Roosevelt wanted to accept the French offer, regardless of the fact that the U.S. House of Representatives had already decided to proceed with a canal in Nicaragua. And so the Republic of Panama was born and the construction of the Panama Canal restarted under the administration of the United States government. It was completed in 1914.

Many generations of people have contributed to the canal's success - from original construction, to the signing of the U.S.-Panama treaties that turned the canal over to Panamanian control on Dec. 31, 1999.

The signing of the Torrijos-Carter Treaty on Sept. 7, 1977, made Panama's sovereignty over the Panama Canal and its territory official. It marked a breaking point in the history of Panama's relationship with the U.S. As a result, at the turn of the new century, the U.S. transferred 370,000 acres of land, including buildings such as military facilities, warehouses, schools, and private residences to Panama. Panama's historic struggle to recover the canal thus ended with the past century, and a new Panamanian era started with a vision to become the largest per-capita destination of direct foreign investment in the region. It seemed as if we were dormant, as if a piece of land was borrowed for too long and we had to catch up in the race. But over and above all estimates, Panamanians have succeeded, because we were not sleeping, we were in training. By the 1990s, Panama had fully transformed itself. A wholly new country, a democracy, had emerged.

Since the transfer, the ACP (Panama Canal Authority) has profitably managed the Panama Canal for seven years, providing more profit than the U.S. administration during its 85 years of management.

This achievement has been recognized by international financial rating agencies. The Panamanian administration adopted new pricing and managerial structures, both more consistent with Panama's national interests. This new system allowed changes to the old tolls model that had been established two years prior to the inauguration of the waterway, back in 1914. The previous U.S. formula operated on a not-for-profit, cost-recovery basis. As a strictly Panamanian enterprise, the canal needed a system capable of generating benefits for its shareholders: all Panamanians. All through its history, the canal has continually adapted and adjusted its structure to meet commercial requirements and international maritime transport technologies. This is a non-stop dynamic process that forces all the sectors of the economy to be updated and it challenges our society to become aware of the need for improvements. From this perception, technicians and consultants from all over the world are arriving in Panama, just like the expeditions of the 1870s, to offer their expertise and to become part of the best project of the Americas, the expansion of the Panama Canal.

Panamanians voted in a national referendum for the expansion of the Panama Canal in October 2006. The total capital cost is estimated at US$ 5.2 billion and it consists of the construction of two sets of locks with three chambers and nine lateral water basins. It includes dredging the canal entrances both in the Atlantic and the Pacific; widening and deepening the internal navigational channels; and providing the entire infrastructure that is required to bring the project to full operation by 2014. The current operation of the Panama Canal will not be discontinued while the expansion progresses. This is a great opportunity for contractors and professionals from all over the world. It will drive the national economy and improve the quality of life for all Panamanians. Panama's vision, its economic potential, is not limited to our own borders. It would be a waste of the opportunities that geography brings to us. Panama is a rather small economy in size, population, and total surface. Its location and geographical characteristics dictate that Panama fulfil a more international mission.