Starting November 28, Panama City is planning to transform the Cinta Costera to include an ice skating rink. "Christmas Ice World"  will cost the country about 2 million dollars. The event, organized by the Gaitan Bros will run until early January 2016.

The ice will be open to the public from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm weekdays, and on weekends reserved for musicals, plays, inflatables, fitness events, ice dancing and even cooking shows.

Wondering how they plan to keep the ice frozen? Alberto Gaitan, explained to keep the 40 meter ice rink frozen water and chemicals are applied, then a specialized machine is used to continually freeze water into ice. These machines will work 24 hours a day to get the job done.

The ticket price for free skating is expected to be between $5 and $ 8 and the rink should accommodate about 150 people at the time.

Some Panamanian citizens have expressed concerns, calling for the event to be canceled through a petition against Christmas Ice World on the Cinta Costera in Panama City.

Recently the government of Panama called a state of emergency due to a lack of water in the country. The state of emergency was to last until 60 days after the temperature of the equatorial tropical Pacific Ocean droped 0.5 degrees Celsius below what is considered the "normal" temperature, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). This time period has yet to be reached. The installation of an ice rink will require a lot of power. Due to Panama temperatures keeping ice in large quantities will also require a lot of water.

Other reasons for rejecting the installation of an ice rink on the Cinta Costera include the following. It will create traffic congestion, causing those who use the Cinta Costera to use alternative routes. Furthermore many believe it is simply a bad investment for the country. Almost a decade ago an ice rink was installed in Allbook mall and it was not a successful venture.

Finally some feel that an ice rink simply does not fit in Panamanian culture or tradition.