The building of canals was important because it

ANSWER:

The Panama Canal is necessary because it connected the Pacific and the Atlantic  Ocean

EXPLANATION:

It opened up trade between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In the old days, Alfred  Thayer Mahan thought that a strong navy meant a great country. So we would need two  navies, one for the Atlantic and one for the Pacific. However, the canal presented it possible to lack only one Navy.

because the center-south is called the heart of the country