Panama will grow 4.5% in 2010, according to CEPAL

Panama will continue in the group of the most dynamic economies in the region next year and will grow by 4.5% its gross domestic product (GDP), according to projections released Thursday by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL) .

The local growth will be driven by the “recovery of world trade and the implementation of infrastructure projects, among which the construction of the third set of locks of the Panama Canal and the expansion of the coastal strip.

The agency forecasts growth ‘even higher’ if some of the projects announced by the Government become a reality, “as the construction of the subway in the capital, another international airport and housing.”

The economic recovery and tax reforms that will reduce the fiscal deficit, while inflation will remain low.

To the end of this year, CEPAL provides an improvement of 2.5% in GDP, half a percentage point lower than the government’s estimate.

The economist Raul Moreira spoke of other agencies which projected a growth of 3% and 5% this year and next, noting the positive expectations generated by the Panamanian economy.

The picture presented by CEPAL for Latin America and the Caribbean is also optimistic, with growth of 4.1% set in 2010.

“The worst of the crisis is behind us. The engines of growth are lit, but we do not know how long the fuel will last,”said Alicia Barcena, Executive Secretary of CEPAL.