Panama sees Mexico’s interoceanic corridor as opportunity

Mexico’s Tehuantepec isthmus rail corridor, which comprises three main logistics projects between the coasts of Oaxaca and Veracruz states, could provide opportunities for the Panama Canal, according to Panama’s ambassador to Mexico, Alfredo Oranges Bustos.

The 300km rail line and 10 industrial parks to be built along it, for which tenders are planned this year, will “be complementary” to the Panama Canal, Oranges told a press conference during an event by Mexican business association Corpamex.

“The competition that will exist will be beneficial,” he said. During the event, a visit by 30 Mexican entrepreneurs to Panama was announced.

Mexico’s government plans to build the corridor as a faster alternative. It takes eight hours to cross the Panama Canal from coast to coast, but the Tehuantepec corridor is expected to reduce travel time to three hours. It will have capacity to transport passengers and up to 300,000t/d of cargo.