Panama voted on Sunday in a referendum seen backing an ambitious $5.25 billion expansion plan to give its famous canal its biggest ever face-lift in a move the government hopes will lift the nation out of poverty, Reuters reported. Opinion polls ahead of the simple "yes" or "no" plebiscite showed more than two-thirds of voters supported the project that will double the canal's capacity and allow mammoth modern cargo ships to pass between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The expansion of the canal, which is one of the engineering wonders of the world and was opened in 1914, will create a job bonanza for Panama's 3 million people and boost economic growth, supporters say.
