Spotlight: Mota-Engil's Mexican rail portfolio

Portuguese conglomerate Mota-Engil could end the year with a rail portfolio of three projects in Mexico, positioning it as one of the country’s biggest rail construction players.

The firm has won two major train projects so far and is set to win a third this year in Jalisco state, where it presented the only offer to add a fourth line to capital Guadalajara’s light rail system. 

The winner of the 21km line that will connect central Guadalajara and Tlajomulco de Zúñiga municipality will be announced on October 5. It will serve eight stations and be constructed, equipped and operated under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Mota-Engil Mexico is part of the group of companies that are trying to revive Mexico’s rail sector. 

Metrorrey

The most recent acquisition of the company was confirmed Friday, when Nuevo León state’s mobility and urban planning ministry awarded a consortium comprising Mota-Engil and Chinese state-owned locomotive manufacturer CRRC a 25.8bn-peso (US$1.2bn) contract to build capital Monterrey’s metro lines No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6. 

However, the final investment amount could change as the ministry and the consortium are yet to decide whether the fifth line will use an elevated track or run at ground level, state mobility minister Hernán Villarreal told network Telediario. 

The contract will be signed on Tuesday, and works are set to start on September 30. 

The three new metro lines will total 34km and connect the downtown area and Santa Catarina and Mederos municipalities.  

Maya train

In April 2020, Mota-Engil was awarded a 13bn-peso contract to build the 228km first stretch of the Maya train between Palenque in Chiapas state and Escarcéga in Campeche state. The company leads the project alongside China’s CCCC in consortium with three other companies.  

Project	Estimated Capex	Status
Maya train stretch 1	13bn pesos	Underway
Metrorrey lines No. 4, 5 and 6	25.8bn pesos	Awaiting construction
Guadalajara’s light rail line No. 4	21.5bn pesos	Bidding

Another attempt

Mota-Engil also presented an offer in May to rehabilitate lines FA and K in the southeast, running 328km between Coatzacoalcos (Veracruz state) to Palenque (Chiapas) and 459km between Ixtepec (Oaxaca) to Ciudad Hidalgo (Chiapas).

Yet, the federal government declared the tender void and has not launched a new contest.