Spotlight: Mexico readying tenders for 7 infra projects worth over US$2bn

Mexico’s communications and transportation ministry (SCT) is readying plans to launch tenders for seven infrastructure projects worth more than 44bn pesos (US$2.1bn).

Some of the works have been in the pre-investment stage for years and they will all be public-private partnerships, according to the government project tracker and investment opportunities website Mexico Projects Hub, which is managed by development bank Banobras. 

In a statement released Sunday, the ministry said it is working on promoting the works, which involve a rail link in Nuevo León state, five highways and one port of entry on the US border. 

Project	Capex	State	Tender
García-Monterrey airport rail link	19.8bn pesos	Nuevo León	2H21
Interserrana highway	19bn pesos	Nuevo León, Coahuila, San Luis Potosí	TBD
Tulum bypass	1.2bn pesos	Quintana Roo	TBD
Southern Pachuca bypass	1.3bn pesos	Hidalgo	TBD
Cihuatlán bypass	475mn pesos	Jalisco, Colima	TBD
Champotón bypass	1.3bn pesos	Campeche	TBD
International border crossing Otay Mesa East II	2.8bn pesos	Baja California	TBD

 

SCT confirmed that the García-Monterrey airport rail link will be tendered this year, with hopes of starting works by year-end. 

And although the ministry did not provide calendars for the other projects, the announcement suggests plans are underway for the remaining works. For example, SCT said the tender for the Interserrana highway will involve a public competitive bidding process. 

Some of the projects were included in the first and second stages of the 2020-24 national infrastructure program (PNI), which was last updated in December. But others such as the four bypasses were not, which suggests that the government is expanding its infrastructure agenda for the 2021-23 period. 

On July 19, Rogelio Mauricio Rivero, head of SCT’s highway development unit, said the third package of projects under the PNI, which was due to be presented last month, could include up to 15 communications and transportation initiatives needing total investment of 70bn pesos. 

RAIL LINK

The 62km passenger and freight link will connect the Mariano Escobedo international airport serving Monterrey with García municipality. 

The line will have 25 stations plus two terminals, crossing the municipalities of Apodaca, Monterrey, San Nicolás, San Pedro Garza García, Santa Catarina and García. Three of the stations will be multimodal and will connect to Monterrey metro lines No. 1 and No. 2 and the Ecovía BRT system.

“The project will take advantage of the existing infrastructure in order to offer a complete transportation service that will benefit approximately 164,000 passengers per day and that can serve as a backbone for development and land use planning,” SCT said. 

Nuevo León state’s strategic projects trust (Fideproes), which plans and oversees the works, launched four study tenders in July to help establish the bases for the pre-investment studies. 

According to Mexico Projects Hub, the rail link will cost 19.8bn pesos, of which 90% will come from the private sector. 

Nuevo León governor-elect Samuel García made it a campaign promise to finish the line by 2024. 

Source: Fideproes

INTERSERRANA HIGHWAY

The 103km Interserrana highway involves construction, operation and maintenance of a new four-lane link to connect the existing parallel highways of Matehuala-Saltillo and Ciudad Victoria-Monterrey. The route will cross San Luis Potosí, Coahuila and Nuevo León states.

The highway will have 49 bridges and a 340m tunnel. It will also help decongest freight traffic coming from the border.

According to Mexico Projects Hub, construction is set to start in September, and the idea is to conclude the route by 2025. It is one of the projects that was included in the PNI last year. 

BYPASSES

The 1.35bn-peso Pachuca southern bypass will be funded entirely by the private sector, according to the Banobras site. Works include the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the 25.8km bypass between the municipalities of Pachuca and Huejutla in Hidalgo state.

Other details listed on the project website include a 30-year contract to build four lanes plus shoulders. The bypass will include four junctions.  

Pachuca bypass / Source: Mexico Projects Hub

According to the infrastructure site, the plan for the 16km Champotón bypass in Campeche state entails designing and constructing two lanes and three junctions plus a 30-year operations and maintenance contract.

The project was originally proposed in 2018.  

Champotón bypass / Source: Mexico Projects Hub

After over a decade, the local government of Tulum, one of Quintana Roo state’s most visited tourist destinations, announced last year that it was resuming plans for a 26km bypass that will reduce heavy traffic on the Kukulcán and Tankul boulevards. 

The 30-year contract is to operate and maintain the highway and another is for design and construction. The winner will have to build two lanes and shoulders, as well as three junctions at still unspecified locations. 

Planned to connect with the Maya train’s route, the bypass will also expedite travel time to Playa del Carmen, Felipe Carrillo port and Valladolid, Tulum mayor Víctor Más Tah said in 2019. 

Tulum bypass / Source Mexico Projects hub

The 6.3km, 475mn-peso Cihuatlan bypass will connect the states of Colima and Jalisco. 

Works include two lanes and shoulders, two junctions, and a bridge. 

The highway was not included in the first stage of the PNI, and few details about its progress are known. However, Mexico Projects Hub said the bypass will be officially announced this year. 

Cihuatlán bypass / Source: Mexico Projects Hub

OTAY MESA II

The long-awaited 2.8bn-peso Otay Mesa II port of entry was recently included in an agreement signed by the Mexican, US and California governments to boost border infrastructure. The project is expected to be concluded by 2024. 

The new crossing between San Diego and Tijuana, Baja California will be built about 3.2km from the existing Otay Mesa I port of entry. But, unlike the latter, Otay Mesa II will be a toll crossing. 

It will be 1.25km long and will have four lanes in each direction, in addition to modern technology to reduce waiting times at the busiest crossing point on the US-Mexico border.

Otay Mesa II port of entry / Mexico Projects Hub