Skip to main content

Mexico has plans for massive infrastructure investment

Mexico’s Government has plans for a massive programme of infrastructure improvements across the country. In all some US$314 billion will be invested in infrastructure, of which $47 billion will be targeted at improving the country’s transportation network. Mexico’s national transport and communications ministry, SCT, will manage the projects which include works for highways and airports. The plans are expected to include a combination of private and public funding sources, although further details have yet
July 19, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Mexico City’s congestion is notorious and the city’s traffic regularly slows to a crawl at peak periods
RSSMexico’s Government has plans for a massive programme of infrastructure improvements across the country. In all some US$314 billion will be invested in infrastructure, of which $47 billion will be targeted at improving the country’s transportation network. Mexico’s national transport and communications ministry, 3067 SCT, will manage the projects which include works for highways and airports. The plans are expected to include a combination of private and public funding sources, although further details have yet to be released. The present Mexican Government looks set to follow on from the earlier infrastructure programme set out by the previous administration. This reveals that a change of political perspective has not changed the understanding by the country’s politicians that infrastructure investment is important for continued economic development. The country’s capital, Mexico City, is widely thought to have become the world’s second largest city in terms of population numbers. Mexico City has expanded enormously in recent years and has suffered from uncontrolled growth, with its existing infrastructure unable to cope with the vast increase in vehicle numbers. Pollution is a major problem, especially as the city is at altitude and heavy smog is a frequent blight. Various measures have been carried out by the city authorities to curb vehicle pollution, with diesel powered vehicles having been required to switch to gas as fuel within the city.

The Mexican Government has stated it will invest $4.8 billion on roads in 2013. This forms part of the plan for investment in roads between 2013 and 2018. The first projects planned include 15 highways, 29 major roads, 665km of rural roads and feeder routes and 16 bypasses, which will cost MXN 18.540bn. Other plans looking further ahead include work on 19 highways, 20 major roads, 17 bypasses, and bridges, feeders and rural routes.

The Brazilian company 1305 Odebrecht has made a bid to build the Tuxpan-Tampico link, which will cost around $560 million. It is expected that Mexico’s National Fund for Infrastructure will cover around 50% with the remainder to come from the private sector. Other companies interested in the project must submit their offers by 15 January 2014.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • India rushing to improve its highway system
    February 9, 2012
    Despite the world economic slowdown, India still seems in a rush to improve its highway system as Patrick Smith reports. Later this year India will be seen by hundreds of millions worldwide when the country's capital New Delhi hosts its biggest event ever.
  • New US$200 million ring road to be built in Belarus capital Minsk
    May 23, 2014
    Minsk is to benefit from a new ring road that will cut city congestion - Eugene Gerden reports The government of Belarus is investing more than US$200 million in the building of a new ring road around the country’s capital Minsk, in accordance with a government decree. Implementation of the project is taking place as part of the existing large-scale state road building programme in the country until 2017, with the total cost estimated at US$5 billion. The new road will measure some 85km long and will feat
  • Russian road-building industry on verge of massive cuts
    June 10, 2015
    Russia’s road building programme looks set to be cut due to economic issues - Eugene Gerden writes The Russian Government is considering a significant cut to the existing road building programme for the current year. This is due to a current economic crisis in the country, caused by Western sanctions as well as a collapse in the price of oil and gas.
  • Brazil launches Projeto Crescer privatisation plan
    September 21, 2016
    Motorways are among the 25 infrastructure projects that Brazil’s new president, Michel Temer, intends to privatise in an attempt to revive the flagging economy. Other projects in the Projeto Crescer - Project Growth – plan include airports, rail lines, sewage systems, energy distributors and gas and oil fields. All the projects should be in majority private hands by 2018, he said during the announcement. “We will increasingly show that the government cannot do everything. We need to have the presen