Ineco is carrying out the Independent Safety Assessment (ISA) of lines L1 and L2 of the Panama Metro for the company Alstom. Specifically, Spanish public engineering is carrying out the ISA for the revision and adaptation of L1, in commercial service since April 2014, increasing its capacity. The new trains of this latest line will have five cars instead of three, and the fleet will include 26 trains instead of 20, involving modifications to the tracks and installations, new supplies and other complementary works. In relation to L2, the ISA includes all subsystems, amongst others, rolling stock, a signalling system, energy supply, supervision and control of trains, communications and SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition).

The ISA can only be performed by an accredited assessor and they are essential for ensuring that a new line is reliable and safe, and can enter into or continue in service. Ineco has the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) recognition as an inspection entity for the Independent Safety Assessment of railway applications at an international level. The company has been working for more than a decade carrying out independent safety assessments on the Spanish rail network, (see IT56).

Last November, the government of Panama entrusted Ineco with its National Collection and Treatment of Waste Plan 2016-2026. This strategic plan takes into account the current state of waste collection, treatment and disposal on a nationwide level. The plan will also propose the legal framework as well as the actions required to solve current and future waste management issues in Panama.

The contract represents the definitive strengthening of Ineco’s role in the area of solid urban waste planning –a project that the company is also carrying out for the city of Quito (Ecuador). According to Miryam Sánchez, the technical director of Environmental and Waste Management at Ineco with 25 years in the sector, “we will draw on the great deal of experience we have in order to develop a 21st century waste management plan”.

The company has an office in Panama City where it is also conducting an assessment in addition to developing a proposal for remodelling work on Cerro Patacón –Panama City’s landfill.