3 projects moving forward in Quintana Roo state

Three infrastructure projects in Mexico’s Quintana Roo state could finally move forward next year after the federal government confirmed their construction. 

The three are the rehabilitation and modernization of the 12.5km Luis Donaldo Colosio boulevard that leads to the main thoroughfare of the Cancún hotel district; the 8.7km Nichupté road bridge that will cross the Nichupté lagoon; and a fourth cruise ship dock on Cozumel island near Playa del Carmen. 

The last two involve public-private partnership deals that, combined, could surpass 10bn pesos (US$472mn) in investments. 

BNamericas takes a look at the progress of these works. 

 Luis Donaldo Colosio boulevard

The rehabilitation and modernization of one of the most transited roads in Cancún city were confirmed Monday during President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s morning press conference. 

“We have already committed to redoing [the boulevard] and it will be, in effect, with hydraulic concrete, taking care that the drainage and water systems are also rehabilitated. It is a work that the state government and the federal government are going to do together,” the president said. 

Planning for the works has been underway since earlier this year. 

In May, Cancún mayor Mara Lezama made her campaign promise to modernize and rehabilitate the boulevard. She took office in September, after winning the June elections.

In October, Lezama and her team met with federal authorities from the infrastructure, communications and transportation ministry (SICT) and national tourism board Fonatur to ready the project. Days later, the ministries and the Benito Juárez municipality, which includes Cancún, signed an agreement to carry out the project. 

Fonatur director Rogelio Jiménez Pons told local news site PorEsto! that works would kick off in 2022, but an estimated investment has not been announced yet. 

Nichupté bridge

Construction for the vehicular bridge project, estimated at 4.5bn pesos, was also mentioned by AMLO during his Monday press conference. 

“A bridge is also going to be built to solve the road problem at the tip of the Cancun hotel zone. We are going to invest in general around 10bn pesos,” he said. 

The project was included in the 2020-24 national infrastructure program and later added to the Oaxaca Pact infrastructure program in August. But its tendering – requiring a private developer to design, build and operate it – has been postponed until the fourth quarter of 2022.

The bridge is the first PPP approved by the state congress, which passed funding for the next three decades.

Cozumel’s 4th cruise ship dock

Despite local opposition, Mexico’s environmental ministry Semarnat has approved the construction of a fourth cruise ship dock in the northern area of Cozumel island. 

According to El Economista daily, which obtained a copy of the project’s environmental impact statement (EIS), its construction involves an investment of 551mn pesos, which had been included in the first stage of the 2020-24 national infrastructure program. 

While activists have cited potential damage to the environment, Semarnat decided to approve it under the condition that the developer presents an environmental plan to mitigate the impact. 

In September 2019, the environment ministry refused to grant a permit to SSA Mexico to expand the area, but in October 2020, when the first stage of the national infrastructure program was presented, the federal government confirmed that local operator Muelles del Caribe would invest, construct and operate the new cruise dock.

“The proposed structure will be L-shaped and will cover an area of 1.16 hectares that will allow the docking of vessels up to 362 meters in length. It will be built on steel piles and precast concrete slabs,” El Economista said.