Panama president raps canal ex-chief

[PANAMA CITY] Panama President Ricardo Martinelli has blamed the Panama Canal's former administrator for the crisis surrounding its massive expansion project - where work has been halted over a billion-dollar payment dispute.

Mr Martinelli said on Monday that Alberto Aleman Zubieta was "responsible for what has happened", referring to the row over who will cover US$1.6 billion in cost overruns in the project to enlarge the 80-kilometre waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Mr Aleman Zubieta, a Panamanian engineer, was in charge of the independent Panama Canal Authority in 2009 when it awarded the largest contract in the expansion project - worth some US$3.2 billion - to the GUPC consortium led by Spanish company Sacyr.