The canal employs 8,000 workers and the expansion is expected to generate as many as 40,000 construction jobs. Unemployment in Panama is 9.5 percent, and 40 percent of the country lives in poverty.

Panama’s voters approved a 2006 referendum authorizing a major expansion of the canal to accommodate larger, modern cargo ships. The expansion took until 2016 and cost more than $5.2 billion.

Panama’s voters approved a 2006 referendum authorizing a major expansion of the canal to accommodate larger modern cargo ships. The expansion took until 2016 and cost more than $5.2 billion.

Panama's voters approved a 2006 referendum authorizing a major expansion of the canal to accommodate larger modern cargo ships. The expansion took until 2016 and cost more than $5.2 billion.