A private development group, Panama Colon Container Port LLC, has received permits from the Panama Maritime Authority to build a $600 million container terminal here on the Atlantic side of the country.

A company spokesman says that many ports along the East Coast and in the Caribbean don’t yet have the capacity to handle the big ships. This PCCP project will allow the big ships to stop and move cargo to smaller ships.

Construction will start this summer, and should finish by the canal completion date, Carver says. His firm will soon bid out the dredging and marine construction, and will announce a terminal operator later this year.

From Globe St.