Muratori set to win US$220mn Guatemalan bridge contract

Local firm Grupo Muratori is close to being awarded the contract to design and build the Belize II vehicle bridge in Guatemala, according to a report in newspaper El Periódico. 

The tender committee has voted in favor of the proposal submitted by the company, which was the only one received for this bidding process, the daily reported. 

The proposal will now be sent to the ministry of communications, infrastructure and housing (CIV) to receive confirmation from minister Javier Maldonado. 

Muratori filed a 1.7bn-quetzal bid (US$222mn) for the project on September 8, which was awarded the maximum score of 100 points by the jury. 

The Belize II bridge will be located in the area known as Las Vacas in the north of Guatemala City and will connect to the CA-09 North highway. The bridge will have five lanes for vehicle traffic on an upper level and two on a lower one. The support structures for the bridge will be approximately 90m high and it will be 269m long. 

It was initially conceived to improve traffic headed to the north of Guatemala City, connecting zones 1, 2, 6, 18 and 17 of the capital.

Information on public procurement platform Guatecompras shows that Muratori has already been awarded two other contracts in Guatemala this year worth a total of 271mn quetzales. 

Both contracts were awarded in July and involve road infrastructure projects. 

Since 2005 the company has won 36 tenders in the country, excluding the Belize II bridge. If the contract is approved, this would be its most valuable contract obtained to date.