News Room
Reuters - April 3, 2007
Panama Awards UK Company $750M Development Project
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) – Panama has awarded a $750M property
development deal to UK-based London & Regional Properties to
convert a former U.S. military base into a new mini-city, the
Panamanian government said on Tuesday.
The property described as “one of the world’s largest
development deals” aims to transform the 4,950 acre former Howard
Air Force Base, as Panama bids to transform itself into the
“Singapore of the Americas”.
"We are looking at $405M in investment during the first phase,
followed by three more phases taking the minimum total to $750M
over eight years" said a government official who declined to be
named.
Panama took control of dozens of U.S. military installations in
2000 after the United States, which built the Panama Canal, pulled
out of the country under a 1977 agreement.
Disagreements in Panama about how the bases should best be used
have meant that many of the red-tiled, concrete buildings have
stood empty, decaying in the intense tropical heat and rain.
Panama aims to develop its strategic location as the geographic
centre of the Americas to become a trade and business hub similar
to Singapore in Asia.