About

The company behind the keys.

FRESH® is built by Gatun Lake Construction S.A. — an established Panama construction company delivering homes the country can count on. Real builders, real projects, real accountability.

Building in Panama since 2015.

Who we are

Gatun Lake Construction S.A. is a licensed Panama construction company that has been building since 2015. Out of that experience — and a frustration with slow, unpredictable, hard-to-trust building — came FRESH®: a modular steel-and-panel system engineered to give buyers what traditional construction rarely can, a fixed price, a fixed timeline, and a home built to last.

FRESH® was developed in collaboration with the Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá, the country’s foremost technological university — the kind of engineering partnership that turns a good idea into a system you can trust with a home.

We’re a Panama-based team with deep local knowledge and an international outlook, and we build for people who are often buying from abroad. That means the thing we protect most carefully is trust — which is why every FRESH® home is delivered finished, by one accountable team, with real, completed projects today. To date, we’ve built seven FRESH® homes across Panama — from Coco Beach on the Pacific to the highlands of Campana and the surf coast at Cambutal — with an eighth currently under construction.

How the system works →
Proven, not promised

A decade of building in Panama.

Gatun Lake Construction has delivered projects across Panama since 2015 — from single FRESH® homes to multi-villa communities, on the coast, in the mountains and on difficult terrain. A selection of what we’ve built:

30+ Projects delivered across Panama
Since 2015 Building the FRESH® system
1–50 Units per project — single homes to communities
FRESH® homeThree-story FRESH® home on a 30° slopeThe first FRESH® home — proof the system builds where conventional construction struggles.2018–2019
Beach villasMultiple FRESH® villas at Coco BeachCompleted beach villas on the Pacific coast near Puerto Armuelles.2021–2023
Mountain villasCustom FRESH® villas in the Campana highlandsMulti-story custom homes set into a mountain slope at the Yuma Mountain Community.2022–2024
ResortResort development on the Azuero coastMasterplanning and engineering for a Pacific-coast resort at Cambutal.2022–now
FRESH® homesThree FRESH® model homesA new set of FRESH® model homes in development — the system, shown at full scale.2026–2027
InfrastructureCoastal & water infrastructure projectsErosion control, drainage and water-infrastructure work across multiple sites.2020–now
See where we build →
In their words

What our clients actually say.

Verified reviews from the homeowners, architects and developers we’ve built for — in Panama and abroad.

GLC built our dream home — hire them to build yours! Given this was their inaugural FRESH® System project — at the end of the road on top of a hill, planned across three countries during a global pandemic — completion was nothing short of incredible. We’re now proud to call the team friends.
Aaron HambyFRESH® beach home owner
As an international architecture firm we need solid, professional and trustworthy partners. With its years of experience and no-nonsense approach, Gatún Lake Construction has been and will be our much-appreciated partner in Panama.
Renée BronZeelenberg Architecture, Netherlands
The team at GLC have all been courteous, honest, organized and transparent — my four most important factors in a business relationship. They’ve proven to deliver on time and under budget.
Kent KreitlerOceano, Panama
Our experience has been exceptional. The FRESH® system is innovative and efficient — thanks to its modular approach and lightweight components, the build was fast and adapted to our specific needs. We highly recommend them for any project in Panama.
Juan EscalonaDirector, Panama Portfolio Group
Gatun Lake Construction is a very professional, organized company with high technical and ethical standards. Highly service-oriented and dedicated to their work. One of a kind in Panama.
Bernard BezemerGoogle review
Good precast company. Recommended.
Jorge Javier AzcárragaLocal Guide · 26 reviews
Why it's different

A builder you can actually trust.

Buying a home from abroad means trusting a company you may never meet in person. We try to earn that the only way that counts: an engineered system, an established track record, and homes already standing that you can go and see.

See where we've built →

Engineered, not improvised

A solid steel frame and insulated panels, developed in collaboration with the Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá — designed for earthquakes, storms and the coast, not improvised.

Over a decade building

Gatun Lake Construction has delivered projects in Panama since 2015 — FRESH® is the system that experience produced.

One accountable team

From first call to handing you the keys, one team owns the design, the build and the result. No hand-offs, no excuses.

Built for Panama

Local knowledge of the land, the climate and the permits — from the highlands to the Pacific coast to the islands.

Already built, already lived in.Built & standing
Real homes, not renders

Already built, already lived in.

FRESH® beach villas stand today at the Coco Beach Community on Panama’s Pacific coast, and custom FRESH® villas at the Yuma Mountain Community in the Panamá Oeste highlands, where FRESH® is the preferred builder for Panama Portfolio Group’s mountain development. Two real communities, on two very different terrains — the clearest proof that the system performs.

  • 2015Building since
  • 7FRESH® homes built in Panama
  • +1Under construction now

Real, completed homes you can point to — the difference between a company with a track record and a brochure.

See where we build →
The people behind your build

Real people, accountable.

Building from abroad means trusting whoever holds the keys. This is the team that designs, engineers and delivers your FRESH® home — named, and reachable.

Sjoerd van Dooren Partner & Performance Director
Izaak van Drongelen Partner & Managing Director
Jordi van Marion Partner & Financial Director
Bob Knijnenburg Partner & Project Supervisor
André Marquínez Lead Architect & Engineer
Andrés Navarrete Engineer
Leiris Flores Office Manager & HR
Evelyne Samaniego Marketing & Sales
Let's build something that lasts

Build with the team that delivers.

See the models, design a custom home, or just tell us about your land — we’ll come back with a clear, honest answer.