Panama has published their second Infrastructure Transparency Index score, showing strong growth from their first score.

The results reflect a strong foundation with Panama’s enabling environment highlighting a robust legal framework aligned with international standards, and increasing publication rates on infrastructure project data, showing major progress in the digitalisation of public procurement. Platforms such as PanamaCompra and PanamaenObras are helping make infrastructure data more accessible and easier to track across the project lifecycle.

But one of the most striking findings is that progress has not been driven by the size of budgets. Instead, the report shows that transparency is achievable through effective systems and institutional commitment. Entities with more moderate resources have outperformed others by adopting stronger accountability practices and making better use of available data.

This shift is particularly visible at the local level. Municipal governments have emerged as leaders in transparency, surpassing central government performance and demonstrating how decentralisation can support more responsive and accountable infrastructure delivery.

Despite this progress, challenges remain. While data availability has improved significantly, citizen participation continues to lag behind.This highlights a critical gap: making information public is not enough on its own — it must also be actively used.

Looking ahead, the focus is on turning transparency into accountability. Strengthening the use of platforms like PanamaenObras, improving internal data management systems, and promoting more active citizen oversight will be key to sustaining progress.

“The ITI has been a key tool for identifying concrete gaps in Panama’s infrastructure transparency ecosystem and turning them into actionable reforms. The ITI has not only improved the availability and quality of data but also strengthened coordination between institutions and increased accountability.” Aída Martínez Mórtola, CoST Panama Country Manager

Panama’s experience offers a clear message: transparency is not just about publishing more data, but about creating the conditions for that data to be used. As countries mark Infrastructure Transparency Index week, it stands as a compelling example of how progress can be achieved — and where the next efforts must be directed.

For a short video on Panama’s ITI launch watch this: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5sDS3PLh_c8