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PANAMA CITY-A privately owned British firm will develop the2,750-acre former Howard Air Force Base on the banks of the PanamaCanal. London & Regional Properties, which is owned by Ian andRichard Livingstone, beat out 16 other bidders, includingMiami-based property firm Easton Group, the only other firm to makeit to the final round. The selection was made this week, two yearsafter the Panamanian Government invited the World Bank to run anauction to select a developer for the site.

Given the site's location between the Panama Canal, throughwhich 60% of trade in and out of the US passes, and the PanAmerican highway, which runs from South America to California, the$700-milion project will include a new multimodal port that willencompass the air-strip, the canal and include massivewarehouse-distribution facilities for goods that pass through thecanal. The property is also earmarked for thousands of new homes,hotels, a golf course and science park.