Spotlight: Mexico's Baja California infra projects

Six months after the Mexican state of Baja California presented an infrastructure portfolio of 21 priority projects to develop in the next four years, the state government has reportedly canceled two water projects and rescheduled transport infrastructure proposals.

The projects were put together by the state’s infrastructure and urban development ministry Sidurt, which divided them into four categories – strategic projects, urban mobility and highways, public spaces and water. 

State governor Jaime Bonilla approved the portfolio, which involves a mix of resources from public and private funds, according to the ministry. 

The projects are for the state’s five main municipalities – Tijuana, Mexicali, Tecate, Ensenada and Rosario – two of which are on the US border. 

While expectations for the projects are high, the ministry is not very open about planning and changes in the administration have affected transparency. 

BNamericas takes a look at the state’s most important projects and how its agenda has evolved during the first six months of 2020.

WATER PROJECTS

Two long-awaited desalination projects in the arid state have reportedly been aborted by local water authorities this month. 

The state’s water commission (CEA) announced on July 14 that it had decided to cancel the US$453m Playas de Rosarito desalination plant near Tijuana city.

The project, which was awarded to consortium Aguas de Rosarito more than five years ago, is not financially viable, authorities said, adding that the local government would have to pay 170mn pesos (US$7.75mn) a month over the next few years to pay for the plant. Authorities also argued that the plant was too big for the needs of Tijuana. 

The government had until June 30 to decide whether it would assume debt to pay for the project and begin construction. 

Meanwhile, the head of the ministry for water management, sanitation and protection (SEPROA), Salomón Faz, told local media that other projects were being considered to replace the plant, but defining one could take the state up to three years. 

He also said the ministry was reviewing the 875mn-peso San Quitín desalination plant, which was awarded in 2018 to operator Desaladora Kenton, and that a decision would be announced soon.

According to local news site El Vigía, Sidurt has already notified Desaladora Kenton that it decided to cancel the construction of the San Quitín desalination plant near El Rosario as well, but a reason as to why was not provided and neither the government nor the company has officially confirmed the decision. 

El Vigía cites Sidurt’s head Karen Postlethwaite as confirming the cancellation. 

The Playas de Rosarito plant would have had desalination capacity of 4.4m3/s to supply clean water to Tijuana and Playas de Rosario cities, while the San Quitín plant would have supplied 250l/s to five nearby municipalities and benefited almost 91,000 residents, according to CEA. 

Both projects were inherited from previous administrations and construction had been on hold for years. The government is still to define how much it will pay for canceling the projects while also proposing other alternatives to supply water to the urban regions of the state. 

The state government is also working on binational projects with help from the North American Development Bank (NADB). 

ALSO READ: Mexico desal projects move forward despite COVID-19

MOBILITY PROJECTS

Among the transport projects included in the Bonilla administration’s original plan are two railways. 

The first is the 2.8bn-peso Tijuana-Tecate interurban train that will be financed by Baja California and its tender is expected to be launched in August.

The second is the Tecate-El Sauzal train between the Tecate border limit to the coastal town of El Sauzal in Ensenada municipality. 

While there are no recent updates on this project, certain news outlets have suggested that the rail link is, in reality, the Baja California coastal train that the federal government included in the first stage of the 2020-24 national infrastructure program (PNI) in November, and which received an investment of 10.2bn pesos from the private sector. Construction of the project is expected to begin in 2023. 

There are also three main highway projects included in Baja California’s plans, but these have reported very little or no progress this year. 

These are the 500mn-peso Tijuana-Rosarito corridor 2000, the 3.2bn-peso Tijuana-Ensenada bypass and a 1.8bn-peso beltway to connect the airport of Tijuana with Playas de Tijuana. 

Regarding the Tijuana-Rosarito corridor, a 42km highway connecting both cities, work on the project began in 2018 by the previous administration, but construction was not resumed in 2019 when the new administration took over. The project was split into three stretches and 12km were completed with an investment of 500mn pesos, local news site Zeta Tijuana reported. 

According to the site, the Bonilla administration is seeking federal financing to complete the remaining 30km.

The Tijuana-Ensenada bypass has not been well defined either. However, it was included in the state government’s portfolio and there is a short profile on the government’s project tracker website Mexico Projects Hub. 

Last time the Tijuana airport beltway project was updated was in 2019 when it was announced that Cointer Concesiones México would design, construct and operate the project dubbed Periférico-Tijuana.

The project entails the construction of an elevated highway that will connect the neighborhood of Playas de Tijuana with the city's international airport, and was also included in the first stage of the PNI.

Construction was expected to begin in 2019, but it has been postponed to 2021, according to the infrastructure program.

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