El proyecto se estanc\u00f3 durante la administraci\u00f3n del expresidente Laurentino \u201cNito\u201d Cortizo, cuyo gobierno incumpli\u00f3 repetidamente con los pagos al contratista. Esto priv\u00f3 al proyecto de los fondos necesarios para comprar materiales y pagar a los trabajadores.<\/p>\n
Jos\u00e9 Ra\u00fal Mulino asumi\u00f3 la presidencia el 1 de julio de 2024. Desde entonces, las obras del complejo residencial de 8 hect\u00e1reas se han acelerado, seg\u00fan el Ministerio de Vivienda y Ordenaci\u00f3n del Territorio (MIVIOT).<\/p>\n
“Este proyecto naci\u00f3 en el a\u00f1o 2022, pero cuando nosotros llegamos hace a\u00f1o y medio, apenas hab\u00edan 39 viviendas que hab\u00edan realizado. No en muy buen estado y a medio acerco”, declar\u00f3 el viceministro del MIVIOT, Fernando M\u00e9ndez Peralta, en una declaraci\u00f3n publicado en Instagram.
\n“En menos de a\u00f1o y medio, hemos podido completar 116 viviendas. Para poder brindarle soluci\u00f3n a las personas que fueron afectadas por los huracanes Eta y Ota”, afirm\u00f3 M\u00e9ndez, ingeniero civil y contratista general con amplia experiencia. “…Y es nuestro objetivo que m\u00e1s paname\u00f1os reciban la vivienda que tanto necesitan”.<\/p>\n
Para complicar a\u00fan m\u00e1s las cosas, el MIVIOT dise\u00f1\u00f3 originalmente el complejo Paso Ancho como dos licitaciones p\u00fablicas separadas. El primer contrato, para infraestructura, se adjudic\u00f3 a Constructora Pac\u00edfico Atl\u00e1ntico, S.A., o Copasa.<\/p>\n La segunda licitaci\u00f3n fue para la construcci\u00f3n de viviendas. La empresa seleccionada para este trabajo se retir\u00f3 del proyecto, alegando el aumento del costo de los materiales.<\/p>\n El contrato original de Copasa era de $4,530,380.70. El MIVIOT increment\u00f3 dicho monto a $5,662,975.70 para que Copasa pudiera encargarse tanto de la construcci\u00f3n de viviendas como de la infraestructura.<\/p>\n Entre otros desaf\u00edos surgidos: El Instituto de Acueductos y Alcantarillados Nacionales (IDAAN) declar\u00f3 no tener la capacidad para suministrar agua al sitio. Para solucionar este problema, el contratista acord\u00f3 perforar un pozo en el sitio y establecer un sistema independiente de abastecimiento de agua.<\/p>\n Otro problema: El proyecto se ha demorado tanto en completarse que algunas de las familias desplazadas ya no necesitan viviendas. Las autoridades locales tambi\u00e9n detectaron inconsistencias entre la lista original de beneficiarios de 2020 y la actual. Las autoridades indicaron que realizar\u00edan una auditor\u00eda para intentar resolver el problema.<\/p>\n Las viviendas est\u00e1n construidas con paneles t\u00e9rmicos prefabricados, que, seg\u00fan las autoridades, proteger\u00e1n a los residentes de las bajas temperaturas de Tierras Altas. Los paneles tambi\u00e9n son m\u00e1s econ\u00f3micos que los bloques de concreto, que originalmente se hab\u00edan planeado para el proyecto.<\/p>\n Cuando se anunci\u00f3 el proyecto, MiAmbiente pregunt\u00f3 a los residentes su opini\u00f3n. Las entrevistas comunitarias realizadas en diciembre de 2021 mostraron un apoyo abrumador, y los residentes afirmaron que el proyecto era una necesidad urgente.<\/p>\n El proyecto fue aprobado el 22 de abril y se supon\u00eda que tardar\u00eda unos dos a\u00f1os en completarse.<\/p>\n No he visto una nueva fecha de finalizaci\u00f3n.<\/p>\n Aqu\u00ed hay informaci\u00f3n adicional sobre el proyecto:<\/p>\n A translation is below:<\/p>\n Hurricanes Eta and Iota triggered catastrophic flooding and landslides in Panana in November 2020, killing at least 19 people and destroying or severely damage to 999 homes.<\/p>\n More than 2,000 days later, workers this week were advancing in their quest to finish homes for 116 displaced families in Tierras Altas. Jos\u00e9 Ra\u00fal Mulino took office on July 1, 2024. Since then, work on the 8-hectare residential complex has picked up pace, according to the Ministry of Housing and Territorial Planning, or MIVIOT.<\/p>\n \u201cThis project began in 2022, but when we arrived a year and a half ago, only 39 homes had been built. They weren’t in very good condition and were only partially completed,\u201d MIVIOT Vice Minister Fernando M\u00e9ndez Peralta said in a statement on Instagram.<\/p>\n \u201cIn less than a year and a half, we’ve been able to complete 116 homes. This is to provide solutions for the people affected by Hurricanes Eta and Ota,\u201d said M\u00e9ndez, an experienced civil engineering and general contractor. \u201c\u2026 It is our goal that more Panamanians receive the housing they so desperately need.\u201d<\/p>\n Complicating things, MIVIOT originally designed the Paso Ancho complex as two separate public bids. The first contract, for infrastructure, went to Constructora Pac\u00edfico Atl\u00e1ntico, S.A., or Copasa.<\/p>\n The second bid was for the building of the homes. The company selected for that work withdrew from the project, citing the rising cost of materials.<\/p>\n Copasa\u2019s original contract was for $4,530,380.70. MIVIOT boosted that amount to $5,662,975.70 so that Copasa could take on home construction as well as infrastructure.<\/p>\n Among the other challenges that emerged: El Instituto de Acueductos y Alcantarillados Nacionales, or IDAAN, said it didn\u2019t have the capacity to furnish water to the site. To solve that problem, the contractor agreed to drill a well on site and establish an independent water supply system.<\/p>\n Another problem: The project has taken so long to complete that some of the displaced families no longer need homes. Local authorities also discovered inconsistencies between the original 2020 and the current beneficiary lists. Officials said they\u2019d do an audit to try to sort out that issue.<\/p>\n The project includes 106 two-bedroom, 47.15-square-meter homes, and 10 50-square meter homes that are assessible, that is, constructed so that anyone can use the space regardless of age or physical ability.<\/p>\n The homes are made of prefabricated thermo-panels, which officials say will protect residents from chilly Tierras Altas temperatures. The panels are also cheaper than concrete block, which was originally planned for the project.<\/p>\n The project was approved in April 22 and was supposed to take about two years to complete.<\/p>\n I haven\u2019t seen a new completion date.<\/p>\n Here are additional facts about the project:<\/p>\n Los huracanes Eta e Iota provocaron inundaciones y deslizamientos de tierra catastr\u00f3ficos en Panam\u00e1 en noviembre de 2020, dejando al menos 19 muertos y 999 viviendas destruidas o gravemente da\u00f1adas. M\u00e1s de 2000 d\u00edas despu\u00e9s, esta semana los trabajadores avanzaban en la construcci\u00f3n de viviendas para 116 familias desplazadas en Tierras Altas. (Click here for … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[130,306],"tags":[354,353,356,355,352,313,351],"class_list":["post-5619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-panama","tag-fernando-mendez-peralta","tag-jaime-jovane","tag-jose-raul-mulino","tag-laurentino-nito-cortizo","tag-miviot","tag-tierras-altas","tag-urbanizacion-paso-ancho"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceyeaton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceyeaton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceyeaton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceyeaton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceyeaton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5619"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/traceyeaton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5630,"href":"https:\/\/traceyeaton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5619\/revisions\/5630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceyeaton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceyeaton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceyeaton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceyeaton.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/traceyeaton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/PANO_0005-copy-1024x768.jpeg\")
<\/a>El ministro del MIVIOT, Jaime Jovan\u00e9, se\u00f1al\u00f3 que su agencia se vio paralizada cuando el presidente Mulino asumi\u00f3 el cargo, ya que la administraci\u00f3n anterior dej\u00f3 140 millones de d\u00f3lares en cuentas impagas. Esto inclu\u00eda 23 millones de d\u00f3lares en saldos impagos adeudados a contratistas. La crisis financiera paraliz\u00f3 el proyecto Paso Ancho y otros en todo el pa\u00eds.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/traceyeaton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-27-at-2.20.33-PM-1014x1024.png\")
<\/a>El proyecto incluye 106 viviendas de dos rec\u00e1maras y 47.15 metros cuadrados, y 10 viviendas de 50 metros cuadrados accesibles, es decir, construidas para que cualquier persona pueda usarlas, independientemente de su edad o capacidad f\u00edsica.<\/p>\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/traceyeaton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Main-3-1024x1024.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nEnglish version<\/h2>\n
\nThe project languished under former President Laurentino \u201cNito\u201d Cortizo, whose administration repeatedly failed to pay the contractor on time. That starved the project of cash needed to buy material and pay workers.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/traceyeaton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/PANO_0030-copy-1024x768.jpeg\")
<\/a>MIVIOT Minister Jaime Jovan\u00e9 said his agency was hamstrung when President Mulino took office because the previous administration left behind $140 million in unpaid accounts at his agency. That included $23 million in unpaid balances owed to contractors. The financial crisis stalled the Paso Ancho project and others around the country.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/traceyeaton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DJI_20260527075605_0213_D-1024x768.jpeg\")
<\/a>When the project was announced, MiAmbiente asked residents what they thought about it. Community interviews in December 2021 showed overwhelming support, and residents said the project was an urgent necessity.<\/p>\n\n