Panama Central Canal Area Ecotourism Investment Opportunity

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. October 14, 2008

PANAMA CITY, Panama, January 18, 2005. The Government of Panama, through the National Environmental Authority (ANAM) which administers protected areas in Panama, issued a public invitation for a services and administration concession in Soberania National Park. Interested parties are being sought to co-invest in the 1) design, construction, and concession operation of a visitors center on a two hectare site; 2) the design, development and operation of two new ecotourism attractions to be proposed by the concessionaire (such as canopy walks and interpretation trails); and 3) the improvement and concessional operation of two existing trails in the Park (Plantation Road and the historic Camino de Cruces). The Government of Panama has reserved $150,000 and the United States Agency for International Development has reserved $400,000 in a contract with the Academy for Educational Development for co investment with the concessionaire in the site development and infrastructure that will be operated by the concessionaire.

Soberania National Park is a 19,700 hectare park that borders the Panama Canal and is only a half hour drive from Panama City. It was the first part of the old U.S. administered Canal Zone that was transferred back to the Government of Panama in 1980. The park is a mature tropical rainforest that has world recognition as an excellent bird watching destination and also has the largest well preserved remnant of the historic Spanish Colonial Camino de Cruces, the primary trans Isthmus crossing used before the completion of the Panama Railroad in 1855 and the Panama Canal in 1914. A recent study on the tourism potential of Soberania National Park conducted by George Washington University in June 2005 is available in PDF format on www.aedpanama.org .

The two hectare site reserved for the location of the visitor's center is on the Rio Obispo next to the Summit Park. It is on the main road parallel to the canal between Panama City and the Gamboa Rainforest Resort in Gamboa that was opened in 2000. Strategically it is expected that the Soberania National Park Visitors Center will be the portal and first stop for tourists visiting the central canal area for ecotourism purposes. Central canal ecotourism destinations include the Gamboa Rainforest Resort, Canopy Tower Lodge, Summit Park, Summit Golf Course Resort, the Tropical Rainforest Discovery Center at Pipeline Road, attractions within Soberania National Park such as the Camino de Cruces, the indigenous villages of San Antonio and Ella Puru on the Chagres River, and attractions on Lake Gatun and the canal itself accessible by boat such as Monkey Island and fishing for peacock bass.

The interpretative message at the Visitors Center would be strongly linked with the Frank Gehry designed Biodiversity Museum on the Amador Causeway in Panama City that is under construction as well as with the nearby Miraflores Locks Visitors Center on the Panama Canal.

The overall administration of the Soberania National Park would remain with ANAM. The concessionaire would collect fees for entrance and use of the park and would enter into an agreement with ANAM for transfer of part of these fees to ANAM with the remainder as income for the concessionaire. The concessionaire can charge and retain 100% of the profits for the use of the ecotourism attractions it will build and operate as well as any businesses it may choose to establish, such as gift shops and restaurants. All proposed construction and activities would have to conform with ANAM's master plan for Soberania National Park.

Evaluation criteria to be used for selection of the concessionaire include experience with similar projects, amount of funds to be invested by the concessionaire, technical qualifications of people assigned to the project by the concessionaire, business skills of company, financial capacity, and the quality of the business proposal. The public offer document can be seen on www.anam.gob.pa . However, interested parties can submit an offer only if they have formally obtained the written public offering document at the offices of the Center for Water in the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean (CATHALC) from 8:00 a.m. a 4:00 p.m. in Panama City by paying a nonreimbursable fee of $100. On February 13, 2006 at 10am there will be a public meeting conducted at CATHALAC with interested parties to answer any questions regarding. The offices of CATHALAC are located in the City of Knowledge, Building No. 801, in the installations of old Fort Clayton in front of the Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal.

Inquiries on the use of the $400,000 in USAID funds administered by AED can be directed to the AED offices in Panama City by calling (country code +507) 213 1383 or by email to [email protected] .