A century after transforming global trade by sea, the Panama Canal again changes world shipping. The newly reopened waterway, a shortcut across Central America that connects the Atlantic and Pacific, has been enlarged to let bigger ships use the 102-year-old canal. The $5.4-billion expansion doubles cargo capacity and gives "mega-ships" with up to 14,000 containers a quicker path between Asia and our country. The original canal, still in use, is limited to ships carrying up to 5,000 containers.

A 684-foot-long Chinese vessel with 9,472 containers made the ceremonial first passage two weeks ago, when President Juan Carlos Varela of Panama described the renovated canal as "the route that unites the world." The head of the Panama Canal Authority, a government agency that oversaw the project, said: "This is the beginning of a new era." New cargo ships were too wide and deep for the canal until now, which had delayed deliveries and added costs for goods and raw materials sent to and from the United States.

It took 40,000 workers nearly nine years to dig a larger lane between the two oceans, a massive engineering feat that rivals the canal's initial opening in 1914. That earlier 50-mile construction job by the United States lasted 44 years and is one of the 20th century's major engineering achievements. The new project, financed entirely by Panama, added two new sets of locks to raise and lower ships between the different heights of the Pacific and Atlantic. Ports in New York, Miami and Long Beach also have invested in expansion projects to draw the bigger ships. About 90 percent of the world's goods travel by sea. The United States and China are the Panama Canal's most frequent users.

Panama's president says: "This is an achievement that all of us Panamanians should be proud of." – Juan Carlos Varela, at June 26 ceremony

Canal administrator says: "This new transit route is the tip of the iceberg in making Panama once again the logistic center of the Americas." -- Jorge Luis Quijano, head of Panama Canal Authority

Shipping executive says: "We look forward to seeing our larger vessels pass through the new locks. It is a very positive development for trade, Panama and the region, and of course the shipping lines that transit this important corridor every day." -- Søren Toft, chief operating officer at Maersk Line of Denmark, the world’s largest container shipping company