Jul 3, 2015

AGUA CLARA, Panama (AP) — Engineers began flooding a newly enlarged section of the Panama Canal on Thursday as authorities prepare to test a series of new locks that will allow the waterway to accommodate much bigger ships, affecting trade around the world.

: Workers of the Panama Canal observe as the water of the Miraflores Lake goes through the piping of the new locks in Cocoli, 7 km from Panama City on June 22, 2015. The last lock of the new Panama Canal started to be filled Monday as the equipment is ready to be tested before its launch on 2016. (Ed Grimaldo/AFP/Getty Images)

: The water of the Miraflores Lake goes through the piping of the new locks in Cocoli, 7 km from Panama City on June 22, 2015. The last lock of the new Panama Canal started to be filled Monday as the equipment is ready to be tested before its launch on 2016. (Ed Grimaldo/AFP/Getty Images)

: The water of the Miraflores Lake goes through the piping of the new locks in Cocoli, 7 km from Panama City on June 22, 2015. The last lock of the new Panama Canal started to be filled Monday as the equipment is ready to be tested before its launch on 2016. (Ed Grimaldo/AFP/Getty Images)

: Workers go up the stairs as the water of the Miraflores Lake goes through the piping of the new locks in Cocoli, 7 km from Panama City on June 22, 2015. The last lock of the new Panama Canal started to be filled Monday as the equipment is ready to be tested before its launch on 2016. (Ed Grimaldo/AFP/Getty Images)

: A worker goes up the stairs as the water of the Miraflores Lake goes through the piping of the new locks in Cocoli, 7 km from Panama City on June 22, 2015. The last lock of the new Panama Canal started to be filled Monday as the equipment is ready to be tested before its launch on 2016. (Ed Grimaldo/AFP/Getty Images)

: A man looks as the water of the Miraflores Lake goes through the piping of the new locks in Cocoli, 7 km from Panama City on June 22, 2015. The last lock of the new Panama Canal started to be filled Monday as the equipment is ready to be tested before its launch on 2016. (Ed Grimaldo/AFP/Getty Images)

: Workers of the Panama Canal observe as the water of the Miraflores Lake goes through the piping of the new locks in Cocoli, 7 km from Panama City on June 22, 2015. The last lock of the new Panama Canal started to be filled Monday as the equipment is ready to be tested before its launch on 2016. (Ed Grimaldo/AFP/Getty Images)

: The water of the Miraflores Lake goes through the piping of the new locks in Cocoli, 7 km from Panama City on June 22, 2015. The last lock of the new Panama Canal started to be filled Monday as the equipment is ready to be tested before its launch on 2016. (Ed Grimaldo/AFP/Getty Images)

: The water of the Miraflores Lake goes through the piping of the new locks in Cocoli, 7 km from Panama City on June 22, 2015. The last lock of the new Panama Canal started to be filled Monday as the equipment is ready to be tested before its launch on 2016. (Ed Grimaldo/AFP/Getty Images)

: Fresh water is pumped into the new locks on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal expansion project in Cocoli, near Panama City, Monday, June 22, 2015. Water from an artificial lake has begun flooding into the new section of the Panama Canal and will spend the next several months filling the new locks on the Atlantic and the Pacific side of the project, as engineers begin testing the locks. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

: Fresh water is pumped into the new locks on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal expansion project in Cocoli, near Panama City, Monday, June 22, 2015. Water from an artificial lake has begun flooding into the new section of the Panama Canal and will spend the next several months filling the new locks on the Atlantic and the Pacific side of the project, as engineers begin testing the locks. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

: Fresh water is pumped into the new locks on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal expansion project in Cocoli, near Panama City, Monday, June 22, 2015. Water from an artificial lake has begun flooding into the new section of the Panama Canal and will spend the next several months filling the new locks on the Atlantic and the Pacific side of the project, as engineers begin testing the locks. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

: Fresh water is pumped into the new locks on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal expansion project in Cocoli, near Panama City, Monday, June 22, 2015. Water from an artificial lake has begun flooding into the new section of the Panama Canal and will spend the next several months filling the new locks on the Atlantic and the Pacific side of the project, as engineers begin testing the locks. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

: A pair of herons fly next to a set a pipes as fresh water is pumped into the new locks on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal expansion project in Cocoli, near Panama City, Monday, June 22, 2015. Water from an artificial lake has begun flooding into the new section of the Panama Canal and will spend the next several months filling the new locks on the Atlantic and the Pacific side of the project, as engineers begin testing the locks. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

“Today we start seeing light at the end of the tunnel,” Panama Canal Authority head Jorge Quijano said minutes after 10 valves were opened to allow a rush of water into a set of locks. “It’s the beginning of the end. In less than a year, Panama will be enjoying the benefits of the expansion.”

A crowd of construction workers applauded the first gush of water from an artificial lake into some of the giant locks that are a key part of the canal’s multibillion-dollar expansion.

Workers will spend the next several months filling the new locks on the Atlantic side of the canal and later those on the Pacific side as they perform stress tests.

The expansion, which began in 2006, will allow the canal to handle vessels capable of carrying 2.5 times the number of containers held by ships currently using the canal.

The project has been beset by a nasty battle with European builders over cost overruns and delays, but work is now 90 percent complete. Officials expect the expanded canal to open by April 2016.

Expanding the Panama Canal

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