1 week Ago By Reuters
By Valentine Hilaire and Elida Moreno PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panama's president-elect, Jose Raul Mulino, said on Wednesday he will urge lawmakers to approve a law enabling the Panama Canal to build large water reservoirs in the face of an unprecedented drought that has hit the capacity of the vital waterway. In an interview at his office in Panama City, Mulino said he wants the law, which would grant the waterway permission to operate on land needed for the reservoirs, to be the first approved under his administration. The canal, he added, needs a solution to the lost revenue linked to adverse climate conditions.
Mulino also said he wanted to make a major new tourist train - similar to one built in Mexico- a flagship project of his administration. "One of the first decisions I am going to announce is the creation of a national railway secretariat," Mulino said, adding that studies show the line could help boost tourism. Mulino, a 64-year-old former security minister, won Panama's election on Sunday with 34% of the vote and said his government would be pro-investment and pro-business, adding that the Central American country would honor its debts, while he vowed to not forget the poor.
He won with the help of popular former President Ricardo Martinelli who was barred from running due to a money laundering conviction. Mulino, who served as security minister during Martinelli's administration from 2009 to 2014, had been Martinelli's vice presidential candidate and took his plac.
