Speaking at September's Universal Congress of the Panama Canal, Nicolás Ardito Barletta, former Panamanian president and head of the Interoceanic Region Authority, said that some 7,000 buildings and other facilities with an estimated value of $4 billion will be sold to private interests. Planned investments already total $800 million.

Preparations for the ambitious program include a set of IDB-financed studies for land use planning and a grant from the Multilateral Investment Fund, the IDB affiliate, to help administer the privatization program. In addition, the Bank will finance programs to help Panama design a policy framework for privatizing public services and attracting private sector investment. The result will provide a foundation for Panama's efforts to integrate the canal area into the country's development, according to Camille Gaskin Reyes, the IDB's Panama representative.

At the conference, which marked the 20th anniversary of the signing to the treaty that reverts control over the canal from the U. S. to Panama, participants discussed issues related to canal maintenance and improvement, security, the environment, expansion plans and the expected growth of cruise ship tourism.

- Its largest Latin American user is Chile.

- About 32 ships pass through it daily.

- Japan ships half of its auto exports through it.