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KEY LATIN AMERICAN HIGHWAY TO BE UPGRADED

WASHINGTON, DC - A 90-mile stretch of a key highway linking Panama and Central America to Mexico will be rehabilitated and upgraded with a loan provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

According to the Bank, the $37-million loan to Panama will be used to bring the Pacific corridor of the Pan American Highway up to standards agreed upon by the eight countries in "Plan Puebla Panama," a regional economic development program that aims "to improve infrastructure links in the region."

The IDB said a 30-mile stretch of road between the Panamanian towns of Divisa and Santiago will be expanded by two additional lanes, with three new bridges built and 12 elevated crossings for pedestrians.

In addition, a severely deteriorated 45-mile stretch of road linking Santiago and the community of El Pajal, highway slabs will be replaced and technical specifications improved regarding drainage and road shoulders.

The IDB loan will also complement funding by Panama to rehabilitate another stretch of highway from Divisa to Paso Canoas, on the border with Costa Rica, the Bank said.

The 2,700-mile Pacific corridor of the Pan American Highway - a system of roads linking the nations of the Western Hemisphere - connects Panama City with the Mexican city of Puebla, while the 1,300-mile Atlantic corridor of the highway runs from the southeastern Mexican port town of Coatzacoalcos to the port of Cutuco in El Salvador.
 
EVERGREEN GROUP ORDERS TEN NEW CONTAINERSHIPS

TAIPEI - The Evergreen Group of Taiwan, one of the world's largest containership operators, has ordered 10 large containerships from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' shipyard in Kobe, Japan.
The new ships will be the largest in Evergreen's fleet with each capable of stowing  6,724 20-foot containers (TEUs).
 
Mitsubishi said it will deliver the ships between August, 2005 and October, 2007.
In June, the latest month for which figures are available, Japanese shipbuilders secured an all-time monthly high for ship export contracts with a total tonnage of 5.12 million gross registered tons for 121 ships, according to the Japan Ship Exporters' Association.
 
ALAMEDA CORRIDOR AWARD PRESENTED
 
SAN PEDRO - The Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Long Beach, the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority, and the California Department of Transportation (District 7) recently received the "2003 Excellence in Transportation Award" for their role in the completion of the recently activated Alameda Corridor rail-truck project.

The Alameda Corridor, a 20-mile railroad express line that connects the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to the intermodal rail yards adjacent to downtown Los Angeles, opened in April, 2002.
Vying for the award were more than 100 entries from state and local government agencies, design firms and contractors throughout California.

YANG MING AGENT RENAMED; NEW SHIPS ORDERED

OAKLAND - Yang Ming Line (YML) has absorbed the operations of its North American general agent "to enhance the company's global corporate image."
 
Formerly known as  Solar International Shipping Agency Inc., the company has been renamed as Yang Ming (America) Corp., effective from July 1, 2003.
 
In another move, the carrier has announced it will order four 1,500-TEU containerships for use on the company's intra-Asia routes. The four ships will be delivered in 2005 and will form the core of the company's long-term fleet expansion plans, a spokesman said.

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