ASA calls for construction of inter-terminal light rail at AICM

Mexico's federal government airport operator ASA has called for international bids to build an inter-terminal (light rail) shuttle to connect the first and second terminals at Mexico City's international airport (AICM), ASA announced. The deadline for the purchase of bidding rules is June 16, with the project award scheduled for July. Construction of the shuttle will be carried out simultaneously with road and building construction at terminal two. The light rail will cover in about six minutes a distance of approximately 3km between terminals, transporting up to 6,000 people a day in its first phase. The rules call for building and providing needed infrastructure, stations, cars, an operations center and a maintenance base. German company Siemens, Canada's Bombardier and Dutch company Frog have expressed interest in building the shuttle, BNamericas previously reported. The shuttle project is part of AICM's estimated 3bn-peso (US$274mn) expansion project, which in addition to the light rail and terminal includes adding a 350-room hotel, two parking lots and a hangar for the presidential plane. Terminal construction is part of a multi-part project designed to expand annual capacity to 30 million passengers by 2006 and extend the AICM's life by another 30 years.