The areas just west of the Panama Canal, encompassing Howard, a former US air force base with one of the largest airstrips in Central America, Veracruz, with it truly stunning beaches, Farfan, with direct access to the Panama Canal, and Majagual are in for a drastic change in the next years to come. These areas located within just 30 minutes of downtown Panama City and will play host to a number of very significant developments, including a few mega-projects.

Among the developments planned for this prime area are:

• Howard is projected to receive investment of roughly $10 Billion USD. London and Regional, a UK based company has been awarded the contract to develop Panama Pacifico -- a mini city complete with medical facilities, golf course, hotel and resort area, residencies, and commercial areas.
• Farfan is well on its way to becoming home to a $600+ Million "mega port" project. The plans for a much needed mega port have been cleared of a legal hurdle thrown up by the Panama Ports Company (PPC) and the government of Panama can proceed with the bidding process to select a design, builder, and operator.

Either of the above developments is capable of a significant positive, impact on the demographics of the area, add to that the proximity of these lands to downtown Panama City, not to mention their beautiful natural amenities which include their gorgeous beaches, stunning ocean views, and dramatic mountain backdrop.

By Sara Miller Llana - csmonitor.com

Panama City - The hilltop view overlooking the former Howard US Air Force Base in Panama says it all.

The vacant barracks will be the site of a $10 billion minicity slated to be the size of Central London. Just beyond the hills, the Panama Canal is undergoing a $5 billion expansion, and in the background cranes hang over new skyscrapers that seem to rise every week.

Panama, it seems, is in its prime.

Once overlooked as nothing but a canal, this tiny Central American nation of 3 million is attracting residents, businesses, and investors the world over. Some are seeking a haven from political situations in the region. Others are jumping on what they see as one of the best investments around. But as the government markets itself as the Latin American lodestone, many caution that the city is growing too quickly out of its own infrastructure.

"We are the geographic hub of the Americas," says Ivan Carlucci, the president of the Panamanian Association of Real Estate Brokers and Developers, adding that 11,000 new units will come online this year. He boasts that 99 percent have already sold. Some say that speculators have fueled the boom, but Mr. Carlucci says he expects the real-estate market to maintain its momentum because of other large infrastructure and industrial projects throughout the country. "We will be sustained by all the other aspects."

The most visible changes to Panama City are the homes rising for new residents. According to the Ministry of Housing, nearly 400 projects are under construction, with permits, or awaiting approval. "This is extraordinary, we've never seen this before," says José Batista, the director of urban planning in the Ministry of Housing.

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By Andrew Beatty - Reuters

Panama is backing a private $40 billion proposal to make the country a regional energy hub, the latest in a string of similar initiatives, Vice President Samuel Lewis Navarro said on Tuesday. The project, put forward by Energias, a consortium led by Spanish firm Tecnicas Reunidas (TRE.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) and Singapore's Jurong Consultants Pte Ltd, would create two energy parks - one each on Panama's Pacific and Caribbean coasts. If the project gets financing and overcomes environmental concerns, it would include facilities to refine around 2 million barrels of crude oil a day. It would also include include liquefied natural gas import terminals and petrochemical production plants.

Jesus Barderas, head of the consortium, said he believed there was room for the project alongside at least two previously announced regional energy development deals.

Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is planning to build a $8 billion refinery at Puerto Armuelles, on Panama's Pacific coast near the Costa Rican border.

Central American governments, working with private companies, have announced plans to to build a refinery in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras or Panama, as part of a wider energy project.

The two energy parks in Panama would be linked by a 56-mile (90-km) long oil pipeline that would follow the route of the Panama canal.

The planned route for the oil pipeline would pass close to Gatun Lake, which supplies drinking water for many Panamanians and the water needed for the Panama canal.

The project would source oil from South America and bring it to markets on the both coasts of the United States, as well as the emerging markets of China and India.

"We want to take advantage of Panama's geographic position," Barderas said. "The country is equidistant between sources of oil production and the centers of consumption."

Talks are ongoing with BP Plc. (BP.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Total S.A. (TOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Petrobras (PBR.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Samsung and PetroChina Company Limited about their involvement in the project, consortium vice president Luis Marin said.

Hotels are currently lacking rooms to attend the amount of visitors arriving to Panama. Panama is expected to surpass the 2 million mark of inhabitants per year in 2008, but it needs to increase its hotel capacity in order to achieve this. As of now, the figure of 16,000 total rooms is not enough to deal with the increasing demand. A total of 971,000 travelers have visited Panama between January and September of this year.

According to IPAT, there are currently 16 hotel projects in development.