An inter-institutional team made up of officials from the Tourism Authority of Panama, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Culture and the Tourism Cabinet, met in Portobelo and presented to local authorities and members of the private sector, the progress of the projects developed by the Government National, whose amount of investment in this tourist pole of the Sustainable Tourism Master Plan is 144 million dollars.
The projects that aim to improve the quality of life of locals and the experience of tourists are: water treatment plant with a capacity for 1.5 million gallons of drinking water, whose construction progress is 90%, as a complement a network is managed sanitary sewer; the rehabilitation of the road to Fort San Lorenzo is 59% complete and in this month of February the study, design and construction of the Quebrada Ancha, María Chiquita highway will be tendered; 29% of the management and conservation works at the Portobelo Customs and the San Lorenzo Castle have been carried out, and specifically, the interpretation center that is being built in the San Lorenzo Castle and which includes an exhibition area, a lookout tower , cafeteria and conference room is 29% complete.
These programs, which are based on improvements in infrastructure, public services, connectivity, enhancement of historical heritage and conservation of the protected area and its biodiversity, have as a priority to empower locals, create opportunities for entrepreneurship, generate jobs, promote community development and its economic growth by promoting the cultural and natural heritage of the area.
At the end of the meeting, the administrator of the ATP, Iván Eskildsen and his work team moved to one of the foreign tourism investment projects, located in the Marina Linton Bay on the Costa Arriba of Colón, where the company Ocean Builders, build floating houses that contribute to the generation of corals and other species of marine life in the area. There are 60 local people working on the project.
