巴拿马运河的新航道

    巴拿马运河即将年满100周岁，而近年来突飞猛涨的航运业已让其不堪重负，所以巴拿马政府决定开挖第三条航道。这条新航道的间距更宽、水位更深，而且船闸也更长。新工程将耗时8年，预计耗资52.5亿美元。在长度为50英里的新航道两端（分别连接太平洋和大西洋）将各自新建3座1400英尺长，60英尺深的船闸。这些年来，亚洲和美国东部的贸易正变得越来越重要（也越来越有利可图）。

一些数据：

73%：从2000年到2011年，来往亚洲和美国东海岸的航运量增长量。在这期间，巴拿马运河的通行费收入增长了201%。

7.88亿：单位：立方英尺。在修建巴拿马运河第三条航道的工程中，挖掘和疏浚的泥土量——足以填满671，943个标准集装箱。

12，000：“后巴拿马型”货船的集装箱装载能力。之所以这么称呼，是因为它们现在无法通过巴拿马运河（目前运河的最大集装箱通过量是5，000）。

来源：巴拿马运河官方

    The shipping industry has outgrown the nearly 100-year-old Panama Canal, so the canal is adding a third lane with wider, deeper, and longer locks. The eight-year, $5.25 billion project will add three 1,400-foot-long, 60-foot-deep chambers to each end of the 50-mile route connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans -- an increasingly vital (and lucrative) passage between Asia and the Eastern U.S.

By the numbers

73%: Growth in shipping from Asia to the East Coast of the U.S. from 2000 to 2011. During that time the Panama Canal's toll revenue grew 201%.

788 million: Amount of dirt, in cubic feet, excavated and dredged for the canal's Third Lane Expansion project -- enough to fill 671,943 standard shipping containers.

12,000: Container capacity of post-"Panamax" cargo ships, so called because they aren't yet able to pass through the canal (current maximum size is 5,000 containers).

Source: Panama Canal Authority