March 19 (Reuters) - Singapore-based energy developer

Sinolam International has filed for arbitration before a World

Bank international court against Panama following the

cancellation of its license for a gas-fired power generation

project, the company said on Thursday.

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment

Disputes registered a request for arbitration proceedings on

Monday, according to the tribunal's records.

The arbitration is based on the Panama-Singapore Free Trade

Agreement, Sinolam added in a release.

The company said it had invested in the project, intended to

build and operate a 441-megawatt plant to provide low-emission

electricity for Panama, but in 2024, the government unilaterally

cancelled the license through regulatory action.

The arbitration request follows a separate $4 billion lawsuit

filed this year by Sinolam LNG Terminal and Sinolam Smarter

Energy LNG Power in a Virginia court against U.S.-based utility

AES Corp ( AES ) and InterEnergy Holdings.

In its complaint, Sinolam accused AES ( AES ) and its partners of

anti-competitive conduct aimed at derailing Sinolam's planned

LNG terminal and the gas-fired power project in Colon, Panama.

AES ( AES ) in February said the claim lacked merit and that it was

preparing its defense.

The Sinolam case adds to a growing list of international

legal challenges for Panama. Hong Kong's CK Hutchison Holdings ( CKHUF )

is also engaged in a high-profile arbitration process

against the government over its port concessions on both ends

near the Panama Canal.

Panama Ports Company, a unit of CK Hutchison ( CKHUF ), said on Monday the

Panamanian government failed to meet a March 13 deadline to file

its response in an international arbitration brought by the

company before the International Chamber of Commerce.

PPC said Panama had sought a partial extension, claiming it

was not ready to respond because it had not yet hired lawyers.

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino on Thursday called the

PPC comments "outrageous and a lie," adding that the government

has already appointed international lawyers to defend Panama in

the process.