On April 28th, 2015 the Panama Canal expansion reached a key milestone in its progress with the installation of the last of the 16 gates in the new locks.

The locks are a part of Panama Canal’s 5.2 billion upgrade project to make room for rapidly growing ships.

The project is expected to be completed by December 2015, 16 months behind schedule due to work suspension triggered by cost overruns.

The following gallery brings you a taste of the ongoing project.

World Maritime News Staff; Gallery: Panama Canal