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.
Road Structures

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Road user charging proposed for Denmark
    February 15, 2013
    The joint proposal by 3F, the Danish trade union for the transport sector, and think-tank Kraka to replace vehicle registration fees with a GPS-based road user charging system is worth noting. According to 3F and Kraka, this would reduce congestion on Danish roads and generate savings worth €536 million (DKK 4 billion) for the nation’s finances. There is nothing new in this concept as such. Road user charging was proposed a few years ago for the UK and also for the Netherlands. But in the UK this proposal p
    Read More
  • China's economic growth fuelling vehicle increase
    February 21, 2012
    China is at a turning point in many ways. The country's continuing economic growth is fuelling a massive increase in vehicle numbers, with no signs of slackening. This is most acute and most visible in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, where traffic jams are now a frequent occurrence
    Read More
  • China's economic growth fuelling vehicle increase
    March 14, 2012
    China is at a turning point in many ways. The country's continuing economic growth is fuelling a massive increase in vehicle numbers, with no signs of slackening. This is most acute and most visible in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, where traffic jams are now a frequent occurrence. One recent Beijing tailback stretched nearly 100km along a major highway and was caused by roadworks at a particularly busy stretch of the road.
    Read More
  • FEHRL Brussels event proves successful
    July 1, 2013
    The recent Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories (FEHRL) Infrastructure Research Meeting 2013 in Brussels (FIRM 2013) attracted a large number of attendees, from Europe as well as further overseas. The event included a number of presentations on key road infrastructure topics, with major input also from other associations such as the European Asphalt Paving Association (EAPA). The plenary session drew high-level speakers from a number of National Road Administrations and European institut
    Read More

Highlighted Content