Panama Canal enters centennial year as expansion continues

As it continues a count down to its centennial anniversary later this year, the Panama Canal is marking 14 years under Panamanian administration.

In addition, the Panama Canal Authority is monitoring progress on its landmark expansion project, which began in 2007. As of 2013's end, the project was 70.7 percent completed and construction work on the new locks was 64 percent complete, authority officials said in a press release.

The expansion will create a new lane of traffic along the Canal via a new set of locks that will accommodate bigger ships featuring more capacity. The work is considered the greatest modernization project of the waterway since it opened in 1914, authority officials said.

The canal will mark its centennial on Aug. 15. In upcoming months, the authority plans to commemorate the event and other important historical milestones linked to the waterway's operation and its importance to world maritime trade