Plans for Phase 3 of Cinta Costera reworked

The extension of the Cinta Costera and its attendant reconfiguration of the environs around Panama’s historic Casco Viejo is a changing work in progress.

When the government decided to press on with the extension by building a causeway to the Avenida de Los Poetas and ignore possible repercussions from UNESCO, and the delisting of Casco Viejo as a World Heritage site, Newsroom described it as a done deal. Opponents of the causeway who believed among other things that it could lead to a fall in property values, objected to the phrase, but the government continued building and with muted opposition has now announced a variation in the plans,
 The Ministry of Public Works (MOP) has canceled the plan to construct a landfill in front of the Presidency..
Instead a 2.9 hectare area will be constructed to provide an interface between the second phase of the coastal strip and the area of the Presidency, and will contain plazas, parks and parking lots.
Pitu Jaén, area resident and representative of (AVAZ) the Neighborhood Association thinks the move to cancel the filling is positive but questions the third phase of the coastal strip holistically.
He regretted that it may impact The -World Heritage Site. And considered the project unnecessary and recalled that originally the tender was for a tunnel.
Recent designs released by the MOP also seen a change from the original proposal. The marine viaduct will not connect directly with Balboa Avenue. Instead it will go from the second phase of the coastal strip between the Seafood Market and Casco Viejo, where a roundabout will be built to distribute traffic.
Marina’s are also shown in plans published by La Prensa.