The inauguration of the Panama Canal expansion is expected to usher in significant investment opportunities in the country’s industrial real estate market, with increased demand for manufacturing, warehousing and distribution facilities.

The office segment, meanwhile, has seen supply far outstrip demand in recent years, yet indications point to a return to a more balanced market in coming years.

The opening of the $5.3bn expansion project – which includes a third set of locks and deeper navigation channels – on June 26 will enable the canal to accommodate post-Panamax vessels of up to 13,200 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

As well as doubling the canal’s capacity, the expansion project has triggered a raft of infrastructure developments, including a $1bn investment from Panama Ports Company to increase the combined annual capacity of the ports at either side of the canal – the Port of Balboa and the Port of Cristobal – to 6.5m TEUs.

The expansion project is expected to boost Panama’s competitiveness as a node in the global maritime logistics network.