Mexico: OHL to bid for La Raza-Indios Verdes-Santa Clara contract

OHL Mexico, a subsidiary of Spanish construction firm OHL, has confirmed it will bid for the construction and operation contract for Mexico’s La Raza-Indios Verdes-Santa Clara motorway. The 9.5km road worth around US$364 million will be let as a public-private partnership under the federal government’s National Infrastructure Programme, Mexico’s El Economista newspaper reported. A total of 14 companies are interested in the project, including Pinfra, Ideal, Prodemex, China Harbour Engineering Mexico
June 22, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
5494 OHL Mexico, a subsidiary of Spanish construction firm 980 OHL, has confirmed it will bid for the construction and operation contract for Mexico’s La Raza-Indios Verdes-Santa Clara motorway.

The 9.5km road worth around US$364 million will be let as a public-private partnership under the federal government’s National Infrastructure Programme, Mexico’s El Economista newspaper reported.

A total of 14 companies are interested in the project, including Pinfra, Ideal, Prodemex, China Harbour Engineering Mexico and GIA+A. All interested firms must present their economic and technical proposals by September 25.

According to the tender conditions, the winning company will be authorised to charge a maximum toll of fare of nearly 17 cents US per kilometre, although this could change if the country's financial situation affects substantially the economics of the contract.

OHL’s announcement comes after disagreements over progress on another project, Mexico’s Atizapan-Atlacomulco highway. Almost one year after work started, little progress appears to have been made. OHL said that the apparent lack of progress is due to the government not having arranged access to the road.

Sergio Hidalgo, director general for OHL Mexico, told investors in June that the land for the first of three stages of the project, covering 25km between Atlacomulco and Ixtlahuaca was released only in the first part of this year. Because of this late release, construction work can begin earliest this summer.

But the secretary of communications and transport has argued that OHL could have started work months ago. The government indicated that 53% of the land for the project has been released so far, providing sufficient area for work to start. The highway will cover 74km, with OHL's contract valid for 30 years, expiring in 2044.

OHL Mexico won the contract to build and operate the 74km road in central in March last year. The road will link Mexico's capital Mexico City and the western city of Guadalajara. The deadline for the highway to begin operating was originally May 15, 2016.
Finance & Funding

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Strasbourg bypass surveys halted over environmental concerns
    September 27, 2017
    Further delays are looming for construction of the western Strasbourg bypass, a controversial toll motorway project in north eastern France. The government is concerned about environmental issues after Arcos, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Vinci responsible for building the bypass, said it was going to carry out field surveys in 1.5 hectares of what many consider environmentally sensitive areas.
    Read More
  • Machine control for Mexican graders
    November 29, 2012
    A major Mexican highway project has benefited from the use of the latest machine control technology from Trimble Contractor Construcarr estimates that its work on the Guadalajara – Colima highway project was finished 23% faster due to the use of machine control systems than it would have been using conventional technology. The company used a Trimble GCS900 grade control package instead of staking and grading methods. The company is a leader in road construction techniques in Mexico and has invested heavi
    Read More
  • India pushing ahead with infrastructure projects
    July 4, 2012
    Despite the economic downturn, India looks to be pressing ahead with its major infrastructure projects to further boost its incredible growth. Patrick Smith reports India, which like most countries has been affected by the current economic climate, although not to the same extent, is pressing ahead with its ambitious highway construction plans. Each week new projects are completed, started or awarded as the nation seeks to improve its transportation requirements. These are needed to meet the aspirations of
    Read More
  • Bolivia dual carriageway project stalled
    September 12, 2016
    Work remains at a halt on the 70km dual carriageway upgrade connecting Yapacani with Montero in Bolivia’s Santa Cruz department. A disagreement between the Mexican construction company that was building the link, Tradeco, and Bolivia’s road administration department, ABC, resulted in the contract being cancelled. The route, Highway 4, runs from Yapacani through Santa Fe, San Carlo and Portachuelo to Montero and the project was intended to improve the road and boost its capacity by increasing the number of l
    Read More

Highlighted Content