The Panama Canal Authority has completed work on the new access channel for the expanded canal section south of the Centennial Bridge in the Panama Canal, a few metres from Pedro Miguel Locks.

The new access channel will join the third set of locks with the Culebra Cut.

After two years, the excavation and dredging work was completed in October. Four million cubic metres of material were removed from the site to become the entrance for neo-Panamax vessels on the Pacific side, reports said.