Mexico seeks PPP for US$500mn fourth Guadalajara light rail line

Mexico's Jalisco state is seeking a private sector partner to design, plan, construct, equip and operate line No. 4 of the light rail system in state capital Guadalajara.

Some 57.8% of the investment in the project will come from the winner of the bidding process, while the state government will provide 21.6% and the federal government 20.6%, according to the Mexico Projects Hub website, launched by development bank Banobras to promote public-private partnerships (PPPs). 

The new line in Mexico's second city has an estimated total price tag of 9.7bn pesos (US$484mn).

The state government launched the tender to build the light rail line on August 16, but more details of the contract have now been provided on the Mexico Projects website. 

The PPP involves a 38-year concession to operate the double-tracked electrified line that will run about 21km from central Guadalajara south west to Tlajomulco de Zúñiga municipality (see map below).

Although the reception of bids has been scheduled for September 21 and the winner will be unveiled on October 5, there is still no set date for the works to begin. 

Construction works, on the other hand, will take 22 months and the line is expected to be opened in 2024, just before President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and state governor Enrique Alfaro Ramírez finish their respective terms. 

The light rail line will have eight stations, creating a link with line No. 1 and the Mi Macro Periférico BRT beltway corridor, which Jalisco’s infrastructure and public works ministry (SIOP) completed earlier this year.