Panama City, Mar 19 (EFE).– Panama’s economy will grow 6.1 percent in 2016 and as much as 7 percent in the coming years thanks to the expansion of the canal and low fuel costs, an International Monetary Fund delegation said in this capital.

Panama has boasted the region’s highest average growth rates over the past decade and will be able to continue expanding at a clip of between 6 percent and 7 percent in the coming years, according to the IMF.

It based that optimistic estimate on an anticipated increase in Panama Canal traffic resulting from the expansion, as well as a dynamic service sector and investments in energy, infrastructure and logistics.

The centerpiece of the nearly completed expansion program for the interoceanic waterway, launched in 2007 with an initial budget of $5.25 billion, is a third set of locks that will enable the canal to handle up to 600 million tons of cargo annually, double its current capacity.

Panama’s government said Friday it would be able to announce a definitive inauguration date for the expanded canal either on Sunday or shortly afterward, once it obtains the results of “crucial” tests currently being conducted on the new locks.

President Juan Carlos Varela made that announcement during his first visit to the expansion project since taking office in July 2014.

The inauguration has been pushed back on several occasions due to contractual disputes and repairs.

The IMF’s division chief for Latin America and Caribbean, Valerie Cerra, who headed a delegation that visited Panama this week, announced that international organization’s growth forecast for Panama in a press conference on Friday.

She cited Panama’s strong economic fundamentals, including a low inflation rate and declining current account deficit, and its stable financial system and said those factors outweighed external factors such as a global slowdown and the appreciation of the dollar.

“While uncertainty in the external environment entails risks, Panama has strong defenses to counter any negative external shocks that may arise,” Cerra added.

Panama’s economy, which has expanded at an average clip of 8 percent over the past decade, grew 5.8 percent in 2015, its slowest pace in six years. EFE