Sacyr, the Spanish building company leading a consortium expanding the Panama Canal, said on Friday it was making progress in negotiations with the waterway’s operator over financing to avoid a damaging work stoppage on the massive project. Visiting Panama, Sacyr Chairman Manuel Manrique played down an acrimonious spat over cost overruns, in which the consortium demanded more money from the canal administrator to continue work. The canal authority and consortium have both floated financing proposals, but it was not immediately clear how they would ensure cash-flow in the short term to keep the project going.
