Mexico readying 17 roads to connect to new airport

Mexico's communications and transport ministry, SCT, is preparing 17 road projects to connect to the new Mexico City international airport, currently under construction to the east of the capital, according to Óscar Callejo, deputy minister for infrastructure.

The official said that although some of the initiatives would be new ones, others would involve upgrading and rehabilitating existing highways and interchanges, reported local daily El Universal.

Carrying out the 17 projects – which involve a total 141.5km of roads – would require an estimated investment of 40bn pesos (US$2.3bn). Some of the funding for the initiatives would come from the federal and local governments, while some will be provided by private companies via the award of concessions to operate the infrastructure.

The 17 initiatives are expected to be completed by 2020, which is the year when the airport is set to start operations.

The projects were chosen from proposals submitted by the Mexico City and the Mexico state governments, and were analyzed by a group of experts from the SCT who determined which were the most feasible from technical and financial standpoints.

The first two works to be carried include widening the Peñón-Texcoco highway – which runs south of the airport site – to 10 lanes, as well as the construction of an overpass on Avenida 602, located in the Gustavo A. Madero district of the capital.

Other projects that are being contemplated include the construction of an elevated highway over Mexico city's Periférico Oriente beltway, which will be managed by the local government; the concession of the so-called Siervo de la Nación highway – to be divided into two stretches; and the widening of the existing Circuito Exterior Mexiquense highway, a concession operated by OHL México.

The aforementioned list of projects does not include the public transport initiatives currently being prepared for the new airport, such as the construction of an express rail service that the Mexico City government is planning to develop.