Carver expects competition for the property to intensify once news of the opportunity spreads, with residential and resort developers giving industrial bidders a run for their money. In addition, he says, operators of the Panama Free Trade Zone, the second largest such zone in the world, are also eyeing the property for expansion. He notes, however, that the marketing effort is targeting only industrial and residential/resort developers at this time. Marketing will expand if the offers fail to meet the expectations of the sellers. No asking price has been set because of the property's unique characteristics.

Carver says the canal widening will generate a need for new warehouse and freight-handling space and acknowledges Isla Margarita is the best location for such development. But he adds there is land a bit farther from the canal that could be used for this purpose if Isla Margarita sells to non-industrial buyers. That land, however, is owned by the Panama Canal Railway Co. of Balboa, Panama, which so far has not indicated it will offer it for development.

Carver adds that new industrial development will also be needed at the Pacific end of the canal because of the new "megaport" being built there. It is intended to serve today's post-Panamax ships, which have at least one dimension greater than the size of the Panama canal and are consequently too large to navigate it. The megaport will occupy a 2,752-acre site adjacent to the canal in Panama City. The super ships will dock at the port, where their cargo will be broken down for placement on smaller vessels that can pass through the canal or on railcars for transport across the isthmus by train. In March, the Panama Maritime Administration awarded Singapore-based PSA International Pte Ltd the contract for the port's first phase, which will have a capacity of 2.4 million TEUs annually.

While the megaport and canal expansion create a need for new industrial space in Panama, Carver says they will also boost demand at ports on the East and Gulf coasts of the US. These ports are already growing due to importers' desire to avoid congestion at the California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which traditionally have been the primary entry points for goods from Asia. But freight companies' growing use of super ships has limited the potential for growth in ports that depend on the Panama Canal for access. Completion of the megaport will remove those limits.