Sheinbaum and López Obrador Visit CIIT, Provide Updates

President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum and President Andrés Manuel López Obrador visited the Matias Romero station in Oaxaca, of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT). During the visit, López Obrador highlighted the importance of the projects that will be consolidated by the next federal administration.

"We are going to leave the project very advanced, but it will be necessary to ensure continuity and consolidation," says López Obrador. He also highlights that the Matias Romero municipality will host a unique dispatch center, workshops, a supply center, a corporate building, and a training school.

The CIIT is passenger and cargo mobility project linking the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans that spans over 900km across three different lines in the south-southeast region of the country: Line Z, from Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, to Salina Cruz, Oaxaca; Line FA, from Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, to Palenque, Chiapas; and Line K, connecting Ciudad Ixtepec, Oaxaca, with Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas.

The CIIT aims to enhance international trade by connecting the Asian market and the west coast of the United States with Central and South America, and the east coast of the United States and the European Union. This will be achieved through the rehabilitation of the railways and the ports of Coatzacoalcos and Mexico in Veracruz, Salina Cruz in Oaxaca, Chiapas in Chiapas, and Dos Bocas in Tabasco.

Raymundo Morales, Director General, CIIT, reports that the project will finish construction in 2025. He explains that the rehabilitation of Line Z is complete and the line is capable of moving cargo with trains of 65 cars and up to 260 containers per trip in double stacking. Since December, it has transported about 70,000t of various types of cargo and 41,000 passengers in 146 trips.

Line FA is 70% complete and will be operational in September, as it has rehabilitated 308km of tracks from Coatzacoalcos to Palenque, which interconnects with the Mayan Train for both cargo and passengers. Line K is being modernized, which encompasses 459km of track and the construction of 427 bridges, more than 610 drainage works, a 3km elevated viaduct, and a linear park. This part of the project will connect with Guatemala and will allow for the efficient movement of goods from Central America to Mexico and the United States. The first phase of this line will begin operations in September.

López Obrador also announced the concession of seven development poles to Mexican companies. The Mexican government is implementing social works in all the municipalities encompassed by the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, including improvements in housing, farm roads, ejidal houses, and municipal agencies, benefiting local communities.

Sheinbaum committed to continuing consolidating projects such as the CIIT, executed by the Mexican Navy (SEMAR). "The goal of these strategic projects is not only to transfer goods from one ocean to another but, above all, the well-being of the people of Mexico and the people of Oaxaca," she says.