Four groups bid for major Panama canal contract

PANAMA CITY, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Four multinational construction groups are vying to build a third set of locks for the Panama Canal, the biggest part of a $5.25 billion expansion of the waterway, a canal official said on Thursday.

The companies will compete to design and build a set of locks that will allow some of the world's biggest ships to pass through the canal.

"We have to wait until the proposals are submitted, but (the contract) could be worth 60 percent of the total value of the (expansion) project," Jorge Quijano, a senior canal official involved in the expansion project, said.

The new locks will be more than 328 feet (100 meters) longer than the existing lock chambers and will be around 30 percent wider.

Quijano said the consortia will be asked to present their proposals by Aug. 15. The proposals will then be judged on price and technical details and a contract will be awarded on Dec. 15, 2008.

The expansion project is expected to be completed by 2014, in time for the centenary of the canal's opening.

Below is a list of the main firms competing in each consortium:

Consocio C.A.N.A.L.: ACS Servicios (ACS.MC: Quote, Profile, Research), Spain; Hochtief Construction (HOTG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), Germany; ICA (ICA.MX: Quote, Profile, Research)(ICA.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Mexico.

Consocio Atlantic-Pacifico de Panama: Bouygues Travaux Publics (BOUY.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), France; Bilfinger Berger, Germany; Vinci Construction (SGEF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), France; Alstom, (ALSO.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), France; Andrade Gutierrez, Brazil; Aecom (ACM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), United States.

Bechtel-Taisei-Mitsubishi; Bechtel International, United States; Taisei Corp (1801.T: Quote, Profile, Research) Japan;

Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T: Quote, Profile, Research), Japan.

Grupo Unidos por el Canal: Sacyr Vallehermoso (SVO.MC: Quote, Profile, Research), Spain; Impregilo (IPGI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research); Tetra Tech (TTEK.O: Quote, Profile, Research), United States. (Reporting by Andrew Beatty)