THE expansion of the Panama Canal has reached a new milestone after the construction of the first monolith for the new locks on the Pacific end of the canal was completed.

A statement issued by the Panama Canal Authority said this monolith is the first one to be completed from a total of 46 such structures being built in the Pacific locks upper chamber. The term monolith refers to each of the sections in which the lock walls are being divided to facilitate their construction.

"As we reach another milestone, we at the Panama Canal are proud to acknowledge that this new third lane will be a game changer in world maritime commerce," said ACP administrator and CEO Alberto Zubieta.

The massive concrete and steel structure, on the upper chamber's east side, is 34 metres high, 7.5 metres wide and 27 metres deep. Enormous culverts are part of the locks' filling and emptying system and will run along the lock walls. To give an idea of their dimensions, the main culvert alone is 8.3 metres wide by 6.5 metres high, big enough to enable the simultaneous passage of two trains.

The construction of this monolith required 232 tons of reinforced steel and 2,605 cubic metres of concrete.