Mexico moves forward with new container terminal at Coatzacoalcos

Plans to launch a tender to construct and operate a container terminal at Mexico’s Coatzacoalcos port in Veracruz state are moving forward with three new study and environmental contracts set to be awarded before year-end.

Coatzacoalcos port authority API opened at the end of November three competitive processes for the new terminal tender. All three will be awarded in December, according to procurement site Compranet.

The first involves a soil mechanics study for the design, construction and equipment of the terminal on the Gulf of Mexico coast. 

The area (pictured), which is in front of the Pajaritos lagoon, was donated by state-owned oil company Pemex to the API Coatzacoalcos in 2019 to build the terminal.

Although the restricted contest says that at least three firms were invited to participate in the tender, only the name of Supervisiones Técnicas y Control de Calidad appears in the documents. 

Bids will be presented on December 6 and a winner will be picked 10 days later. 

The second tender involves an expert’s opinion on an already-completed analysis for the first stage of the terminal, while the third is for environmental studies. 

Bids for the second contest will be presented on December 13 and a winner is due to be picked on December 20, while bids for the third tender will be presented on December 14 and the winner chosen on December 21. 

Background

The terminal is part of the 9bn-peso (US$452mn) stage 2 of the Pajaritos lagoon infrastructure project, for which several contracts have been awarded this year by API. 

It is also part of the 20bn-peso, 300km Tehuantepec isthmus rail corridor, which will link Coatzacoalcos and Salinas Cruz port in Oaxaca state on the Pacific coast. 

Last year, API Coatzacoalcos director Antonio Luna said the terminal would be fully financed by the private sector. 

However, he also said the tender for the port’s new terminal would be launched during the first quarter of 2021. 

Plans for a new terminal area in front of the Pajaritos lagoon have been underway since 2008 when the government started stage 1 of the project. However, stage 2 progressed only under the Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) administration. 

Also read: Mexico’s Salina Cruz port modernization plan involves 20 projects