The Cabinet Council approved Cabinet Resolution No. 113 on October 13, 2026, published in Official Gazette No. 30642 of October 26, 2026. The resolution authorizes the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) to sign an administrative concession contract with the company Trans Ocean Submarine Cable, Corp. to install, operate and maintain the Trans Ocean One submarine cable system in Panama's territorial waters for twenty (20) years.

Its Article 1 authorizes the contract between the MEF, acting through the Directorate of State Property, and the company, with a total estimated value of B/.1,224,372.00. According to the recitals, the appraisals set a monthly fee of B/.5,101.55, equivalent to B/.61,218.60 per year. The application was filed on April 9, 2024; the entities consulted stated no objection, and the National Economic Council (CENA) issued a favorable opinion on October 8, 2026, through Note CENA/359. The legal basis is Article 1-B of Law 35 of 1963, added by Law 23 of 1997, which empowers the MEF to grant concessions to lay submarine telecommunications cables.

The recitals describe the route: a branch of 16 fiber optic pairs linking María Chiquita, on the Caribbean, with the Dominican Republic, and Panama City with Las Brisas de Santo Domingo, in Chile. On the Pacific side, the cable will land at a beach manhole in Amador and continue through an already built underground duct to Panamá Digital Gateway, in Corozal; on the Caribbean side, it will land at a beach manhole in María Chiquita, connected to the Trans Ocean Network, Corp. station.

For the digital sector, a new submarine route usually expands the capacity and redundancy of international connectivity, a factor that weighs on the decisions of data centers, carriers and cloud service companies. The resolution, however, does not set investments, rates or capacity commitments for the local market, and the benefit will depend on how the network is commercialized.

The effect is not yet complete. Article 2 empowers the Minister of Economy and Finance, or the Vice Minister of Finance, to sign the contract, which must be endorsed by the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic; Article 4 provides that the resolution takes effect upon promulgation. Nexo Capital will follow the signing and endorsement of the Trans Ocean One concession contract.

Research assisted by Sentinel, with editorial verification of official sources. Discover Legislat.ai