“A ruling of justice” is how Cristóbal Valencia, president of the Portobelo Chamber of Tourism, describes the decision of the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ), which lifts the provisional suspension of the construction of the Quebrada Ancha-María Chiquita highway project in Colón, better known as the Caribbean Corridor.

According to Valencia, this project is an important step for the development of Colón, since the corridor will benefit not only the population up the coast, but all sectors of the province.

“This is something fair for the coast upstream, the province of Colón itself and all its residents […] The Court accepted the lawsuit that was filed against the construction of the corridor but, thank God, it took its time and they have ruled within the justice system,” said the president of the Portobelo Chamber of Tourism to La Estrella de Panamá .

Despite the SCJ’s order, Judge María Cristina Chen stressed that the decision was taken prioritizing the general interest, but that this measure does not imply a final decision on the case, which will be determined after a comprehensive analysis of the applicable regulations. She also stressed that it does not represent an advance of the final ruling.

The magistrate said that, after analyzing the documentation presented by the forensic firm, maintaining the suspension of the work would affect the interests of nearby communities. Currently, these populations suffer from the lack of safe roads that guarantee their connection with the rest of the country.

According to the president of the Portobelo Chamber of Tourism, all that remains is to “put strength” into the Caribbean Corridor to finish it as quickly as possible and it will become “a path of progress, hope and well-being for the coast up, Portobelo and Santa Isabel.”

The impact of this project will not only improve the province’s tourism sector, but will also allow for better traffic flow and better transportation to the city centre for daily activities.

He also mentioned that in different parts of the province, small and large projects to boost the economy are underway, and the Caribbean Corridor would be a way to support their development.

“We all have to come together to start developing the province and make the population the main beneficiary, because that is what defines a tourist destination,” he explained.

While for some sectors the order of the SCJ was a cause for celebration, others received the news with concern. “We were surprised by the lifting of the suspension by order of the Court, accepting a request from the promoters of the work, the mayor of Colón, tourism promoters, businessmen and others,” biologist and environmentalist Guido Berguido told La Decana.

While the plaintiffs acknowledge the need for connectivity within the province, they also point out that the decision is inconsistent with the country’s current environmental regulations.

“We are aware that the community has the right to better living conditions with accessibility and connectivity, we respect that, but addressing this situation should not be something that goes against our laws,” he argued.

In the SCJ’s statement, Chen explained that the suspension would negatively impact the quality of life of the inhabitants of these communities, according to the documents evaluated.

The project was redesigned in agreement with the Panama Canal Authority to avoid intervening in the Chagres National Park and minimize damage to natural reserve areas. For its part, the Ministry of Public Works reported that the work will affect 84 hectares, following a route that coincides with 17 kilometers of existing roads in the area.

In response to this, Berguido said that from the beginning the impact that the work will have on the population near the project has been claimed, however, the solution is not to continue building the work and then deal with its environmental consequences.

“The SCJ has the duty to ensure that the Constitution and international agreements are complied with, and we hope that in this regard it will end up taking the appropriate measures to safeguard the environmental integrity of the area,” said the expert.

The biologist also said that other routes could have been taken that would not have affected the environment, such as the Quebrada Ancha-María Chiquita route.

As for the impact that remote communities could have from this project, he mentions some of the effects that residents are already seeing: contaminated water, lack of fish, air pollution and the loss of the unique biodiversity of the area. This is because the project breaks into the Central American Biological Corridor.

“We are interested in taking precautions for other alternative routes to avoid the corresponding impact on this area of ​​the province,” concluded Berguido.