PANAMA CITY, Panama - The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) awarded Consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal a $3.1 billion contract to design and build the waterway's new set of locks, a major part of the Panama Canal Expansion Program.

Grupo Unidos por el Canal, composed of Sacyr Vallehermoso S.A., Impregilo S.p.A., Jan De Nul n.v., and Constructora Urbana, S.A., was one of three consortia vying for the largest contract under the canal's expansion. Designers working as subcontractors for the Grupo Unidos por el Canal consortium include Montgomery Watson Harza (United States), IV-Groep (Holland), and Tetra Tech (United States).

The winning consortium garnered the highest point totals for its combined technical and price scores. At a July 8 event, the ACP revealed the technical scores and opened the consortias' sealed price proposals. All scores were displayed on large video screens in the presence of a Public Notary and the ACP's independent auditing firm, Deloitte, which attested that the established evaluation process was thoroughly followed by the ACP Technical Evaluation Board. The ACP then calculated a final weighted score - constituting 55 percent for the technical proposal and 45 percent for the price submission - live and on-screen. The highest total score became the "best value" offer.