Puerto Interior Shoots for Smart City Status

Q: What are Puerto Interior's operational targets and what growth has it achieved?

A: Puerto Interior’s logistics platform is supported by an airport, an expanding container platform, one of the state’s civil protection centers, a multimodal railway terminal and enviable highway interconnectivity. We also have an interior customs office and one of Mexico’s most sound industrial parks. As a result, close to 96 percent of Puerto Interior’s industrial area is occupied. On average, 50 percent of a land parcel can be built on with the remaining 40 percent and 10 percent allocated to parking space and green areas respectively.

If land allocation regulations had not been put in place, Puerto Interior’s daily influx of 8,000 vehicles could not be sustained, nor could its 15,000 day workers and 2,000 IPN students. Having a Polytechnic campus is yet another differentiator for Puerto Interior, teamed with its own hospital, hotels and daycare services. Puerto Interior is also supported by Guanajuato’s Coordination, Command, Control, Communications, and Computing Center (C5), managingall46controlcenterswithover3,000security cameras and access arches. This allows us to reach the army, federal and state law enforcement, firefighters and the Red Cross from a single point of contact. We are targeting the Smart City status so we must secure appropriate technological installations. Puerto Interior has an 11-story, high-tech building and an in-bond facility is scheduled for construction next to our airport, supporting shipping routing for all container sizes. Furthermore, while companies establish their operations we offer a soft-landing building to ease their process.

Q: How has Puerto Interior contributed to Guanajuato’s development?

A: In 2015, 26,000 containers were shipped and we foresee that by 2017 that number will reach 45,000. Guanajuato’s exports rose by 23 percent between 2013 and 2014. This increase generated a total of US$20 billion with the city of Silao contributing 62 percent of this amount. We have secured business from 100 premium companies, 74 of which have consolidated their operations. Among them are enterprises such as Vesta, Vynmsa and Prudential. Pirelli’s plant is one of the largest in Puerto Interior at 160,000m2, followed by DENSO and Volkswagen. The automotive industry has seen the largest participation in our facilities.

Q: What expansion plans does the company have as more OEMs and suppliers enter the region?

A: The fact that regional demand is rising does not mean we will tamper with our internal processes to cover it. First and foremost is Puerto Interior’s responsibility to provide the best service for decades to come. Therefore, 200,000m2 will be added to the existing 1.2 million m2 by the end of 2016. We are an organized community with well- traced norms, which we intend to uphold. As a municipally authorized facility with self-management practices, the government secures property taxes while Puerto Interior manages the land, including its maintenance quota.

Q: What are the specifications of Puerto Interior’s project developments?

A: Puerto Interior is an unprecedented logistics infrastructure project in Mexico and Latin America. The airport’s goal of reaching 1.5 million passengers by 2020 was reached in 2015, making it the fastest growing airport in Mexico. We also have the largest customs platform in the country fitted with the latest designs and processes. IPN covers five engineering specializations, and a sixth is due to follow. Out of the five inner industrial parks, almost 100 percent have been pegged for their great quality service and operations.

Besides becoming a Latin American operational reference, our community tops our agenda. An average of 4,000 housing developments, home to approximately 20,000 people, lack paved roads or water availability and may suffer from high illiteracy rates. Linking up students from local low- income families with IPN is one of our most significant goals. Puerto Interior’s social development center’s academic approach is the first of its kind and has proudly seen 1,500 students graduate so far. This has improved quality of life and contributes to the state's development.