The Panama Canal Authority tendered the first contract for the $5.25-billion canal expansion on May 14, marking the start of outside participation in the massive upgrade to the historic waterway.

C.J. Schexnayder First phase of canal widening would remove 7.3 million cubic meters of material near canal’s Pacific entrance.

The contract is for the excavation of 7.3 million cubic meters of material near the Pacific entrance of the canal that will be part of a 6.7 km access channel connecting the new Pacific locks and the canal’s navigation channel, said officials with the ACP, the Spanish-language acronym for the quasi-governmental organization that oversees the waterway’s administration.

"We are making history with the release of the first construction project tender. The expansion is moving forward with great progress," said ACP Engineering and Programs Management Director Jorge L. Quijano in a press release. "We hope to attract firms with significant experience in this type of work as we begin this important phase of the project."

Interested parties have until July 9 to submit bids and the ACP expects to award the job at the end of July or early August.

The tender is the first of five planned dry excavations contracts for the Pacific Locks Access Channel. The entire access channel excavation will require the removal of 46.8 million cubic meters of material at an estimated cost of $400 million.

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The first contract will mainly consist of removing the top of a large hill of Pedro Miguel locks and will make up approximately 16 percent of the total excavation for the new Pacific Locks Access Channel.

The work under the contract will include the removal of non-classified material and disposal of excavated material at indicated locations, and the construction of new gravel roads and ditches, according to the ACP.

The expansion project will add a new lane of traffic through the waterway by the construction of new larger sets of locks on each end of the canal. When completed in 2014, the project will double the tonnage capacity and allow the transit of substantially larger vessels.