Mexico’s Data Center Market Gains Momentum Amid Key Constraints

Q: How has the global integration between Turner & Townsend and CBRE changed your business model and operations in Mexico?

A: We are just over a year into the global integration, and Mexico was one of the early adopters. We now have an operation of 270-280 people here working as one team. Turner & Townsend has gained access to CBRE's impressive scale, investment capacity, client relationships, and geographic reach. From CBRE's perspective, they are now integrated with a project management company that focuses on the most complex projects globally. We have built expertise across all three segments, Energy and Natural Resources, Infrastructure, and Real Estate, bringing that methodology to the most complex real estate projects, such as multi-billion-dollar Data Centers and major developments.

Today, we support clients nationally with programs ranging from small fit-outs and retail renovations to large industrial facilities and data centers. We work on triple-A office buildings, multipurpose developments, Caribbean hotel chains, and major industrial projects. This integration allows us to connect all these capabilities in ways we could not before.

Q: What factors do you consider essential for a successful partnership like this?

A: We are building for the long term, not just one or two years. What makes partnerships work is transparency, collaboration, and aligned strategy. CBRE is the majority shareholder of Turner & Townsend, but we operate as an independent business. The key is to expand project management to its full potential while leveraging all the other services CBRE offers.

Both organizations have a partnership embedded in their culture. Turner & Townsend has included strategic partnerships in every five-year vision since Vision 2025, and we are launching Vision 2030 soon, where partnerships will continue at its core. CBRE has grown its business through acquisitions and integrations, so partnership is something they know well, and through that, they became the trusted partner for most Fortune 500 companies on real estate matters. When you combine two partnership-oriented cultures, success becomes more achievable.

My advice to anyone considering partnerships: partner with someone who can help you grow, add capabilities where you lack them, collaborate genuinely, and ensure it is mutually beneficial, not one party taking advantage of the other.

Q: Mexico's manufacturing sector dominates current economic discussions. What technical specifications do industrial assets need to sustain advanced manufacturing investments?

A: There are more headlines about advanced manufacturing in Mexico than materialized projects, which represents an enormous opportunity. Advanced manufacturing in Mexico remains more specialized than widespread. In automotive, it is still developing rather than fully established. Other industries, like microchip production, have not yet consolidated.

You find advanced manufacturing in pharmaceutical and medical environments, and increasingly in energy equipment production. Manufacturing equipment for the energy sector in Mexico makes logical sense: to mature your industry, you need to electrify everything. When we see Mexican-made components arriving at data center sites, that signals advanced manufacturing maturity.

However, we are using the term advanced manufacturing to describe a different context compared to the United States, China, or Europe. Mexico has a huge opportunity here, and discussions around the USMCA trade agreement will push development in this direction.

Q: How do you balance project timelines and budgets with water and energy requirements for industrial assets?

A: That is challenging because without a budget, you cannot fund your project. Regarding timelines, I will reference a confidential global client who wanted to prove they could implement a data center in 12 months anywhere in the world. In countries like Brazil or Mexico, where you need to acquire land, obtain permits, secure utilities, build foundations, and conduct tilt-up construction, that timeline is unrealistic. In more mature environments, it is more feasible.

Companies need to understand they are investing in Mexico: they must arrive with local context and expectations. However, Mexico has a robust industrial park industry. The build-to-suit sector here is significant compared to other Latin American peers. Industrial parks provide one-stop shops where development happens before companies arrive.

Regarding energy, none of our clients face issues except those investing near the northern borders. We have numerous projects in the Bajio region, and our clients have not encountered problems. When clients purchase and develop raw land independently, expect three-year turnarounds.

The food and beverage sector requires substantial water resources. Leading companies across the sector prioritize water availability when selecting locations. For the general industry, water is critical due to system fragility and limited rainfall. Mexico is predominantly dry outside southern Yucatan.

Water must be central to design. Standard global designs do not work in Mexico. Data centers need efficient closed-loop water systems. Industrial operations require alternative cooling approaches. Companies seeking one-year turnarounds must choose industrial parks with existing infrastructure. Custom builds require accepting local timelines while pushing consultants and permitting forward.

Q: What are the main bottlenecks Turner & Townsend encounters in Mexico, and do these create business opportunities?

A: The main challenge is ensuring project viability amid delays and industrial park maturity issues. Mexico's energy market is immature. Other markets in the region operate under different grids and market structures, which change how energy is sourced and managed. In Mexico, you can self-produce up to approximately 12MW or connect to the grid, but this is a business requirement, not an opportunity.

Energy and water are clear bottlenecks. Opportunities concentrate in consulting and engineering, air conditioning systems that reduce demand, new products, and specialized consultancy. We have not seen public-private partnership opportunities yet, though these exist in transport infrastructure like airports.

Q: What real advantages does Mexico offer for data center development compared to Latin American peers?

A: Mexico's advantage is proximity to the United States. Data Centers in Mexico are being built for AI nearshoring. AI has been a prominent topic for several years. More recently, concerns related to sovereign control and data governance temporarily slowed some AI-related investment decisions. However, AI development and associated data center investment are now gaining momentum again in Mexico, supported by nearshoring dynamics and the country’s proximity to the United States. Clients and public-sector initiatives are increasingly confirming this renewed activity.

Q: What changes would benefit Mexico's data center environment regarding water efficiency and environmental impact?

A: Mexico is already implementing these technologies. Data centers currently being built in Mexico are very water-efficient. Older centers present revamping or replacement opportunities.

Without water, data centers do not operate. In water-scarce environments, excessive extraction means failure. Technology has adapted through closed-loop cooling systems and modular, air-based solutions designed to significantly reduce or eliminate freshwater consumption. This is operational readiness, not just ESG.

Two environments exist: co-location markets renting space, and end-user environments where brands build and operate centers. End users implement more social projects due to brand image concerns. In Mexico, only Microsoft has implemented water capture, purification, storage, and community sharing, a brand approach more than a technological necessity.

Q: How can the data center industry improve community relations in Mexico?

A: Placing data centers in remote Bajio regions near local communities requires supporting those communities. Clear benefits and clear communication are essential. Complete transparency is not possible due to confidential strategy, site selection, and technology information. But you must find moments during development to be open and connect with communities.

Data center ecological impact is smaller than mining, for instance, but there are a lot of rumors. Positive community impact must go beyond jobs and taxes; it must address how technology benefits locals.

Q: How is Turner & Townsend preparing for USMCA review opportunities and challenges?

A: Initial drafts seem positive. This would push Mexico toward less assembly and more vertical, more integrated manufacturing. Mexico is ahead of expectations on industrial capacity, but can go further. Advanced manufacturing is what Mexico needs to pursue.

Transition years, elections, and new trade agreements bring huge uncertainty. The 2026 concern is delayed projects and postponed decision-making. We have grown, with our Industrial & Logistics clients,  45% annually, because our clients are investing. What we are seeing is that this investment is not uniform across Mexico. 

Following Trump's announcements last year, taxation on Mexican products arriving in the US hit 50%. Mexico has responded by internalizing and producing locally. Mexico stopped importing cheap parts for assembly; now, it must build complex technological parts here.

Trade agreement discussions will continue. This uncertainty will postpone some investment decisions but creates opportunities to acquire land and position for market stabilization. Trade discussions will focus heavily on industrial sectors. Automotive is Mexico's industrial chain core, suffering significant uncertainty last year. EV is the topic, but plant expansion has not exploded yet.

Q: What are Turner & Townsend's main goals and priorities for 2026?

A:  Our goal is 100% growth. At current rates, we will close the year with about 400 employees in Mexico. The industrial sector presents the biggest opportunity.

We have entered urban development and hospitality, where the sector is extraordinary. Americans can finance hotel-serviced residences with US mortgages, driving heavy developer focus across Mexico and the Caribbean. The return to offices is creating demand for new workspace. Though I originally moved here for industrial manufacturing, Data centers continue to outperform expectations. 2026 is a growth year while maintaining readiness for market changes. 

Turner & Townsend is a multinational professional services company headquartered in the United Kingdom. It specializes in program, project, and cost management and consulting across the property, infrastructure, and natural resources sectors.