巴拿馬運河的新航道

??? 巴拿馬運河即將年滿100周歲，而近年來突飛猛漲的航運業已讓其不堪重負，所以巴拿馬政府決定開挖第三條航道。這條新航道的間距更寬、水位更深，而且船閘也更長。新工程將耗時8年，預計耗資52.5億美元。在長度為50英里的新航道兩端（分別連接太平洋和大西洋）將各自新建3座1400英尺長，60英尺深的船閘。這些年來，亞洲和美國東部的貿易正變得越來越重要（也越來越有利可圖）。

一些數據：

73%：從2000年到2011年，來往亞洲和美國東海岸的航運量增長量。在這期間，巴拿馬運河的通行費收入增長了201%。

7.88億：單位：立方英尺。在修建巴拿馬運河第三條航道的工程中，挖掘和疏浚的泥土量——足以填滿671，943個標準集裝箱。

12，000：“后巴拿馬型”貨船的集裝箱裝載能力。之所以這么稱呼，是因為它們現在無法通過巴拿馬運河（目前運河的最大集裝箱通過量是5，000）。

來源：巴拿馬運河官方

??? 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