Colombia, France, and later the United States controlled the territory surrounding the Panama canal during its construction. France started the project in 1881 and passed the baton to the United States in 1904. After finishing the project in 1914, the US continued to control the canal and surrounding Panama Canal Zone till 1977. There onwards, after a period of joint American–Panamanian control, the canal was taken over by the Panamanian government in 1999. It is now managed and operated by the government-owned Panama Canal Authority.