Companies Struggle With Lack of Public-Private Projects

The private sector has been suffering from a lack of infrastructure projects to participate in. The public-private partnerships (PPPs) had previously offered a great opportunity for both the government and the private sector. On the one hand, PPPs were said to deliver quality projects at an affordable price, providing a great source of resources on the other hand. Nonetheless, Mexico’s government has turned its back on these kinds of projects.

Among the PPPs canceled by the government, two stand out because of the income they could have generated for companies: the Otay Mesa II port in Baja California and the Nichupte bridge in Quintana Roo. By the end of 2020, when the federal government announced the first and second infrastructure packages, these projects were planned under the PPP scheme. Nonetheless, the federal government announced it would be now fully developing public projects by itself. The projects are expected to be ready before 2024, when President López Obrador finishes his presidential term. 

Otay Mesa II Port 

The Otay Mesa II port is located across the Mexico-US border, in the cities of Tijuana, Baja California and San Diego, California. The project is expected to be the largest investment in border infrastructure that both nations have ever announced. According to the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), the US is to invest US$1.1 billion, as for Mexico, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) announced that the project would require over US$215 million in February 2022.  

In late September 2022, the California Department of Transport (CALTRANS) told BNAmericas that the Mexican Ministry of Defense (SEDENA) would construct the Mexican section of the project and ruled out the possibility of the ministry subcontracting companies for the project. “SEDENA will take the project, it is now working and relocating electric towers and gas pipelines. Everything is going forward, and we hope to have something open by 2024,” said Mario Orso, Subdirector of District 11, CALTRANS. 

Nichupte Bridge 

The project is part of a road infrastructure program worth US$356 million, of which the Nichupte bridge will require US$273 million. The project consists of two parts, crossing both the land and the Nichupte Lagoon. With an 8.8km total length, the bridge will have three lanes, a bicycle path and two emergency top bays. It will also connect Cancun with a popular hotel district. 

Different from Otay Mesa II port, the Nichupte bridge is being developed by the private construction company ICA. Nonetheless, the original idea was that a private company oversaw the design and construction of the bridge to operate and maintain it, but the government decided to change the approach to limit the company to only constructing it and operating it. President López Obrador stated that at first, the project was meant to be a toll bridge, but changed it to a toll-free bridge as a “reward” for what Cancun has brought the country via the tourism industry, as reported by MBN.