{"id":13224,"date":"2026-05-11T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/?p=13224"},"modified":"2026-05-10T10:11:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T15:11:26","slug":"calle-50-renovation-scrapped-as-panama-city-shifts-spending-to-cleaning-and-parks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/politics-government\/calle-50-renovation-scrapped-as-panama-city-shifts-spending-to-cleaning-and-parks\/","title":{"rendered":"Calle 50 Renovation Scrapped as Panama City Shifts Spending to Cleaning and Parks"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Panama City<\/strong> Municipal Council<\/a> approved a major shift in the city’s investment budget for 2026. Officials eliminated several high-profile infrastructure projects, including the renovation of Calle 50 Panama<\/a>, to prioritize street cleaning, park maintenance, and a new market. The change was formalized in Agreement No. 106 on April 28, 2026.<\/p>\n

The total value of the Annual Plan of Works and Investments remained unchanged at $67,729,654. But the contents changed dramatically. City officials sacrificed urban renewal and community sidewalk projects to fund new spending categories. The Mayor’s Office justified the changes by citing a formal “evaluation” of all projects included in the original plan approved in February.<\/p>\n

\"Bella
By LittleT889 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=117007723<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sidewalk Projects Cut Across Multiple Districts<\/h2>\n

Among the most notable eliminations was the urban renewal of Avenida Nicanor de Obarrio, better known as Calle 50. That project had an initial allocation of $500,000 for this year. The total estimated cost was $8 million. The municipality cited a lack of funds in April. The work would have covered a 1.7-kilometer stretch between Avenida Federico Boyd and Via Brasil in Bella Vista. It included new trees and street furniture.<\/p>\n

Other casualties included sidewalk construction in Carrasquilla, San Francisco, valued at $600,000. Officials also cut sidewalks in Panama Viejo<\/a> in Parque Lefevre for $1.1 million. The La Do\u00f1a project in 24 de Diciembre, worth $1.05 million, was scrapped. Villa Za\u00edta in Ernesto C\u00f3rdoba Campos lost $1 million in sidewalk funding.<\/p>\n

The council also eliminated $350,000 for repairing synthetic soccer fields. Three digital libraries in Chilibre, Las Garzas, and Tocumen were cut entirely, saving just $75,000. A bus stop project at the Don Bosco roundabout in Chilibre, valued at $400,000, was also removed. Community boards lost a $193,719 park improvement project in Pueblo Nuevo.<\/p>\n

“We conducted a thorough evaluation of the 2026 plan,” a spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office said. “These changes allow us to redirect funds toward projects with greater technical priority and new citizen requirements.” [Translated from Spanish]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"fish
by mupa.gob.pa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

New Priorities Focus on Cleaning and a Major Market<\/h2>\n

While old projects vanished, new ones appeared. The Mayor’s Office added urban equipment, pedestrian crossing signals, and bus stop improvements. A new sports complex called La Concepci\u00f3n in Juan D\u00edaz was included. The city also added upgrades to the Municipal Video Surveillance System. Sidewalk work on Camino Real in Betania and a municipal swimming pool in Caimitillo, Panama North, are now in the plan. Community boards in Juan D\u00edaz and Santa Ana received smaller projects, including bus stops on Avenida Domingo D\u00edaz and new curbs and gutters.<\/p>\n

The most dramatic financial shift involved the Peripheral Market of Tocumen. Its budget jumped from $100,000 to $2 million. That is an increase of $1.9 million. The project was originally put out to bid during the administration of Mayor Jos\u00e9 Luis F\u00e1brega (2019-2024). It was awarded to the Bioecological Block, S.A. Consortium for $11.2 million in March 2024. The contract sat idle until September 2025. That is when the current administration of Mayor Mayer Mizrachi got it approved by Comptroller Anel Flores. The city plans to build the market on land facing the National Institute of Vocational Training and Human Development (Inadeh).<\/p>\n

Other increases included sidewalk widening on Via Italia, which rose from $500,000 to $1.47 million. The budget for maintaining and cleaning parks and plazas, split into four sectors, increased by $602,500. That total now stands at $12,350,627. The company Tr\u00e9bol Services, Inc. handles the cleaning work. Renovations to the old Juan Ram\u00f3n Poll building in Calidonia went from $75,000 to $500,000. The first phase of the Municipal Park of the North received a boost to $1.5 million.<\/p>\n

The Santa Ana Community Board saw its budget jump from $13,982 to $136,000. The Calidonia Market, also known as the Flower Market, received an increase from $50,000 to $140,000.<\/p>\n

The Panama City<\/strong> budget 2026<\/a> now reflects a clear choice. Leaders opted for cleanliness and market development over major streetscape renovations. The council and mayor’s office insist the total spending level remains stable. They argue the new mix better serves the immediate needs of residents across the capital’s diverse districts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Panama City Municipal Council approved a major shift in the city’s investment budget for 2026. Officials eliminated several high-profile infrastructure projects, including the renovation of Calle 50 Panama, to prioritize street cleaning, park maintenance, and a new market. The change was formalized in Agreement No. 106 on April 28, 2026. The total value of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13225,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[4235,2483,4234,2223,4236],"class_list":{"0":"post-13224","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics-government","8":"tag-2026-budget","9":"tag-calle-50","10":"tag-calle-50-renovation","11":"tag-panama-city-council","12":"tag-panama-city-council-redirects"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13224"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13226,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13224\/revisions\/13226"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}