Mexico’s Great Infrastructure Projects Will Continue

On April 5, in the middle of Phase 2 of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador gave a quarterly report in which he indicated that investment and development in infrastructure would continue, which will generate jobs for the benefit of the country.

In his speech, the president mentioned that the construction of the Toluca-Mexico City Interurban Passenger Train will continue, of which an investment of around MX$30 billion (US$1.27 billion) is expected. The Ministry of Communications and Transportation (SCT) had previously informed tests with passengers will be scheduled in certain sections throughout 2020 once the contingency is over.

Regarding this government’s emblematic projects, the president mentioned that the construction of the Santa Lucia Felipe Ángeles airport continues with the support of military engineers. The airport is expected to be inaugurated on March 21, 2022. He also mentioned that the construction of the refinery Dos Bocas in Paraiso, Tabasco, and the rehabilitation of six more refineries will continue. It was reported that on April 30, the contract for the construction of the first section of the Mayan Train will be signed and in May of this year, the construction of four more sections will be agreed to reach a total of 43,000km built, which will lead to an economic spill of MX$35 billion (US$1.49 billion) in the southeastern states of the country.

Likewise, thermoelectric plants will be built in the Yucatan peninsula, Baja California and other regions of the country, in addition to starting the modernization and expansion of the Isthmus railway, which will connect the ports of Salina Cruz, Oaxaca and Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz. Regarding roads, the president indicated that roads have been modernized in the 32 states with a global investment of MX$28 billion (US$1.19 billion). On the topic of works that will provide care for people with COVID-19, the president mentioned that since last year, 72 unfinished health centers and hospitals have been built in 19 states of the country.

Finally, the president assured that the country’s economic recovery will begin "soon" through, among other measures, increasing public investment for job creation in public works.

Construction Companies Resume Activities

On March 31, the “Official Agreement establishing extraordinary actions to deal with the health emergency caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus” was published in the Federal Official Gazette. The Agreement lists the essential activities that will continue unimpeded during the health contingency, among which are financial activities, tax collection, energy distribution, food and non-alcoholic beverages industries, markets and food stores, transportation services and agricultural and fisheries production.

On April 6, a new agreement added steel, glass and cement industries, which "will maintain a minimum activity that avoids irreversible effects on their operation." Companies that maintain current contracts with the federal government will continue activities that allow them to fulfill their commitments in the short term. The president expects that these measures keep Mexico’s economy afloat while protecting citizens from the dangers of COVID-19.