REAL ship testing of the Panama Canal's new locks will begin within a year, said the waterway's chief Jorge Quijano, Reuters reports.

"We hope to start a series of tests with the locks next year in the month of July or August," said Mr Quijano after overseeing the arrival of four new gates for the locks from Italy.

The 100-year-old canal is in the midst of a massive expansion that will more than double the size of the ships using the facility, from 4,500-TEU to 13,000-TEU capacity.

The expansion, which involves building a third set of locks in the 80-kilometres long waterway, was first scheduled to be completed this year, but has been delayed several times and is now is scheduled to open in January 2016.