Jamaica may not be as prepared as it should to exploit the benefits of the newly expanded Panama Canal waterway, but Minister of Transport and Mining Mike Henry thinks there is a good chance for the country to catch up.

Henry and Prime Minister Andrew Holness will be in Panama today, joining dozens of heads of state and government, regional transport ministers, diplomats and shipping executives at today’s inaugural ceremony.

Holness and Henry left Jamaica yesterday for the long-delayed but historic ceremony, which will be highlighted by the transit of the vessel,

Andronikos, a container ship owned by China’s COSCO Shipping, which won the draw to become the first to sail through the expanded conduit.

Henry told the Jamaica Observer Friday night that he is confident that while Jamaica may not be able to realise as many benefits as it should, at least at the start, the country should be able to do some catching up in the near future.

“The delays caused by the previous Government means that we are not as prepared as ought to be, but we will have to wait and see,” Henry said.

He stated that without the necessary air connections in place, it will be difficult to catch up with the rest of the region “very quickly”, but insists that Jamaica still can achieve tremendous benefits from the project as time goes by.

He said that getting air service links, which will allow for large quantities of goods to be brought here to be distributed to the rest of world, will be a key element in Jamaica’s efforts to catch up.

“But we still can achieve that. Panama has been trying to achieve that for itself having done a lot of things which we were supposed to do, but they are not close enough to the equator to capitalise on it as we are,” he said.

“In short, we have a lot of catching up to do and re-establishing the railway will also complement the speed by which we would be able to move goods from boat to air,” Henry added.

It has since been reported that more than 100 Neopanamax ships have already made reservations for commercial transit through the new locks, which begin operating on Sunday following the ceremony.

Neopanamax ships are a new-generation cargo vessels built specifically to pass through the broadened Panama Canal. They can carry up to three times the number of containers the previous generation of smaller Panamax ships do.

Panama has spent nine years and some US$5.4 billion on the expansion project, which is expected to transform shipping in the Americas, primarily aimed at boosting the competitiveness in finding the best shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The opening of the expanded waterway is expected to stimulate trade between the United States and Asia, and also grab some business from the rival Suez Canal.

Henry said that the possibility of the operators of the Suez route reducing usage rates, as well as the recent decision by Britain to withdraw from the European Union, may offer some improved possibilities for Jamaica. However, he said that these would depend on a number of factors.

The United States is the canal’s largest client by far, transporting some 160 million tonnes a year through the waterway.

China is next, with 48 million tonnes, then Chile with 29 million tonnes and Japan with 22 million tonnes.

With room for bigger ships now, the main market the canal is looking to attract is transporting liquefied natural gas from the United States to Asia, mostly Japan.

Forecasts say 600 million tonnes of goods a year will pass across Panama this way, twice the current volume, within the next decade.

Panama expects it will triple the US$1 billion in revenues it gets from shipping fees.

It also wants to bring back clients that dropped the canal for its rival, Egypt’s Suez Canal, which had been the only passage able to handle the bigger ships up to now.

Panamanian authorities say that using the Panama Canal would save ships two weeks compared to the Suez Canal.