Panama Canal FY2027 budget targets $5.56b revenue

Panama’s Canal Authority has presented a fiscal year 2027 budget to the Cabinet projecting $5.56 billion in revenue and a $3.61 billion direct transfer to the national treasury, an increase of about $414 million from the prior year’s approved figure. The plan also forecasts total state payments of $3.94 billion when factoring in items such as income tax, social security, and educational insurance, and it assumes 10,750 high-draft vessel transits despite the possibility of worsening water conditions and a strong El Niño. While toll structures and customer tariffs are expected to remain unchanged, the per-net-ton fee is set to rise from $1.00 to $1.75 per CP/SUAB ton. The budget includes $341.3 million in new investment spending, including $82 million for the Rio Indio water-management project, with initial resettlements and construction design tenders slated to begin during the fiscal year. The authority’s projected net profit is slightly lower, but the overall budget is designed to continue delivering a substantial surplus, and the proposal will now go to Panama’s National Assembly for review.