Grupo Carso, ICA lead race for Mexico City airport terminal building

This week a consortium led by local companies Carso Infraestructura y Construcción and ICA Constructora de Infraestructura submitted the lowest bid of 84.8bn pesos (US$4.15bn) in the tender to build the terminal building for Mexico City's new airport, according to information on federal procurement website Compranet.

The companies Promotora y Desarrolladora Mexicana, Promotora y Desarrolladora Mexicana de Infraestructura, La Peninsular Compañía Constructora, Operadora y Administración Técnica, Acciona Infraestructura and its Mexican subsidiary Acciona Infraestructura México, FCC Construcción, and FCC Industrial e Infraestructuras Energéticas are also part of the consortium.

In total, GACM, the concessionaire of the new airport, has received three offers for the contract. A consortium led by Portuguese company Mota-Engil and its Mexican subsidiary posted the highest bid, at 90bn pesos, while another consortium formed by Spanish company Construcciones Industriales, Construcciones Rubau, Rubau México, and Desarrollo y Construcciones Urbanas submitted an 87.5bn-peso offer.

The proposals will now be evaluated based on a points and percentage scale by project manager Parsons, as well as the project's master architect Foster + FR-EE. The winning bid will be announced on January 6, GACM said in a statement.

The terminal building will be constructed in an X shape, covering 743,000m2 on four levels, with an interior hall, and will be able to handle some 70mn passengers a year. The project was designed by architect Fernando Romero, Carlos Slim's son-in-law.

As part of its plans to make the airport 100% environmentally sustainable and attaining Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, GACM said that 'green' technology must be employed in the construction of the terminal.

The passenger terminal contract is the single largest contract for the airport project. Other major contracts, such as those for the construction of runways No. 2 and 3 have already been awarded. The winner of the contract to build the airport's control tower is scheduled to be announced on December 12.

Carlos Slim's Grupo Carso presented a successful bid for the contract to build the airport's runway No. 3, and ICA was awarded the airport's foundation contract in October.

The airport is the second largest in the world currently under construction and requires total estimated investments of US$12.5bn.