Skip to main content

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.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Contracts are about to be signed for the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link
    March 13, 2015
    Nearly eight years after Denmark and Germany agreed to construct a major undersea road and rail tunnel, the first contracts are about to be signed. David Arminas reports. Construction is due to start later this year on one of Europe’s most ambitious, as well as the world’s longest, road and rail tunnels, the 17.6km Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link between Germany and Denmark. Fehmarnbelt is expected to cost around US$7.5 billion and be five times the length of the Øresund tunnel between the Danish capital Copenhagen
  • Colombia: Cesar-Guajira road project awarded to El Condor
    May 15, 2015
    The Colombian government has awarded the contract for construction of the Cesar-Guajira road to Construcciones El Condor, sole bidder for the work. The deal is a US$165 million public-private partnership (PPP) aiming to improve connectivity with the country’s Caribbean coastal departments. The 350km road will connect San Roque with Cuestecita, take four years to build and employ around 1,400 workers. Colombian Vice President, German Vargas Lleras, said five projects have been approved under the PPP sc
  • S&P Global Rating: credit stability for toll road operators
    August 14, 2017
    The outlook is generally stable for business conditions and credit quality for toll roads worldwide, according to the latest survey from ratings agency S&P Global.The exception is the US where the overall outlook is “positive”, noted the report S&P Global Ratings' 2017. The 21-page report considers broad economic and industry-specific trends. It looks at economic conditions, demographic trends and geopolitical risks that affect the movement of people and goods. “We expect stable or improving, but still frag
  • World growth in geosynthtics set to rise
    February 17, 2012
    With geosynthetics sales set to grow rapidly in the next three years, manufacturers are preparing for the demand. Patrick Smith reports. Global demand for geosynthetics is projected to increase 5.3% annually to 4.7 billion m² in 2013 with countries such as China, India and Russia expected to post the strongest gains through the forecast period. All are building large-scale infrastructure developments and face evolving environmental protection regulations and strict building construction codes.