MiCultura delivers keys to restore Portobelo's Customs

The Ministry of Culture (MiCultura) held an event to surrender the keys to the construction project manager, S.A. (APORCOSA) for the restoration of the Customs Building at Portobelo, as part of the project "Restoration of Customs at Portobelo District Portobelo, Colón Province," which was awarded to that company by means of a national public tender in July 2020 amounting to B / 3, 794.240.00.

Following the signing of the Act of Retirement of Building, APROCOSA will be responsible for the care and custody of this cultural property and of the whole environment that is an integral part of this historic monument and will start to carry out the activities referred to in the contract of the work.

The project includes the conduct of studies, design and approval of construction and construction plans for intervention works at the tile cover at Portobelo Customs and its perimeter walls.

Carlos Aguilar Navarro, Minister of Culture, stated on behalf of the National Government that the restoration of this project is of great importance not only for the country but for the whole world as the Monumental Set of Portobelo and of the Upper Coast of Colón, so we hope that at the time stated in the statement we will have that Customs restored for usfruct not only of the people of Portobelo and of the Upper Coast of Qzx23qqQ, but also be a place of reactivation in tourist matters, as emphasized by the President of the Republic of Cortizo.

Also that it will allow the inhabitants of the area through the training that we are giving them through our project with the Inter-American Development Bank (BID) to generate jobs, to generate wealth for the area from exploitation in a good sense of the word of this historic and cultural attractiveness of humanity we have in Panama, added Aguilar Navarro.

Yessenia Sánchez, Special Project Manager at BID, noted that this delivery represents that the company aproCOSA can already install its camp and start construction works for the building. At this stage the company is at its initial stage of planning and museography and for the next few months between February and March, the company should be working in place with the contracted workers.

Sánchez emphasized that this delivery goes into phase 1 of design, that's as of today, and the company APORCOSA will be able to get the materials, equipment and machinery to the site and will be committed to protecting the authenticity of the building and to returning its use to the service of the community and the visitor as an asset of Panamanian culture.

The construction phase will last about 1 and a half years till we have delivered the building. It's expected that by the end of 2022 we will be opening the Portobelo Customs with all the equipment and all the museography installed.

The project will be financed by the Inter-American Development Bank under the Programme to Support the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Heritage PN-1146.

Once the performance of construction contract No. LPN-001-2020 and received to satisfaction the work with an act of final acceptance, the company APORCOSA will return the good.

Before this surrender was made according to Sanchez, the maintenance and transport of the pieces that had been held inside the building of the Customs of Portobelo, emphasized Sanchez. He received the keys from the company aproCOSA, the engineer Arturo Diez.

"So we put into the hands of APORCOSA this whole part that has to do with the future of the country that we will leave a building that we also aspire to be an important museum that will speak about the entire African diaspora that came to the American continent and that came through that area of Portobelo before being distributed throughout the continent. So we hope to have that restored work," stated the regent of Panamanian culture.