SCT readies Mexico City-Querétaro train bidding rules

Mexico's transport and communications ministry (SCT) said it would publish draft bidding rules for the Mexico City-Querétaro high-speed train tender on January 14.

The rules will be made available on the government's procurement portal CompraNet, which is due to be brought back into service that day after being taken offline for maintenance in December.

In a release, the SCT said the winner of the turnkey project will be responsible for ensuring that the line is safe and functions properly and will be required to carry out operational tests over a five-year period.

The tender contract will be awarded 180 days after the rules are released, SCT said, adding that measures are being taken – among them the appointment of an official observer – to help boost transparency.

A tender to build the line was awarded, and subsequently cancelled, last year after stories appeared in the Mexican press about alleged links between the head of Grupo Higa, Juan Armando Hinojosa, and President Enrique Peña Nieto. Grupo Higa was part of the consortium that had landed the contract.

BNamericas will host the 4th Mexico Infrastructure Summit on February 18-19 in Mexico City. More information.