From the architectural point of view, designing buildings that are environmentally responsible makes a lot of sense. From the political perspective, it was a priority to have a project that was the most important infrastructure development of the administration, and also addressed the sustainability agenda. For these reasons, we proposed the first LEED Platinum airport, challenging different aspects, including conception, design, development and construction. The pollution issue was a challenge, given that it comes from the airplanes. We did not want the building breathing from the façade, but rather from the roof. We have 21 mega columns through which the building can breathe, by bring it fresh air from the roof and injecting it inside. Also, another challenge was how to divert the sun in order to capture the natural light required for energetic consumption and reflect the heat in order to reduce the usage of cooling systems.

As part of the Project Management Office (PMO), our role, among others, is managing the project’s risk. Our ability to intervene consists of directly communicating with the executives at GACM who are responsible for providing final instructions to contractors. We also support the administration of the project through one of our engineering subsidiaries. It is a way to always have people onsite who can follow up on the details of the project. We represent local talent and help our Prime Contract, Parsons, an international firm, adapt to the context in Mexico. Few countries have the opportunity to build an airport with such large passenger flow, both nationally and internationally. The airport will turn Mexico into an important logistics hub within the Americas.

One of the challenges in infrastructure, like in every industry, is transparency. But I have been working on several projects lately that have worked very hard to avoid potential corruption, the NAICM project being one of them. The whole tendering process and Request for Proposals (RFP) has been completely straightforward. The best proposal is awarded the project. This happened to us because we had no contacts within the project and we competed against companies from the US, Germany and other countries but because we presented the best proposal, we were awarded the contract. This brings hope because it means the only requirement is good work. Mexico is now realizing that a straightforward process is the best way to incentivize the economy and attract the attention of the markets.

Each NAICM deal was complex in its own way. For instance, with renewable-energy deals, the balance in off-taker profiles is important because the full financial risk is based on their strength. With the old self-consumption permits, PPAs were formed with each of the off-takers, meaning that the banks would review the balance sheet of the off-takers and the termination rights outlined in the PPA. Since the revenues from the repayment of the financing come from the PPAs, they require strong termination rights and penalties. With the new system, we have an energy market and guidelines for compensation with a different risk factor. The most complex issue is how the banks will assess that risk. The airport provides great rates for its bonds because all the revenue that comes from TUA goes directly from the airlines into a trust. There is no way for the airport to misappropriate those funds.

We participate in the NAICM green bond with NAFIN. The green bond dynamic is something that will grow over the near future globally because investors are now increasingly conscious of investing in securities and assets that include social and environmental responsibility components. It is complex because the investor is still not reaping the benefits of being green because it does not yet necessarily offer lower prices. But I believe the green component will become more relevant and even if it does not affect price directly, it will be opening a broader scope of alternatives from the investor side.

Educating the sector has always been a challenge for us, especially when approaching public officials. The public sector has a low acceptance of new technology because it is not sure what that technology does or why it is used. For example, in NAICM, the government urgently needed various geological studies. To retrieve that information, we had to integrate new technologies. But because the government did not understand the technology, it automatically discarded it. We had to personally explain to the government entities what the technology did, how it was used and the advantages it had in comparison to traditional methods.

MABASA does not work directly with the public sector, but it creates partnerships with winning bidders in projects such as NAICM. For this project, MABASA created alliances with Kingspan and other companies to supply the winning consortium constructing the terminal building with at least 3,000m2 of the airport’s. Also, since sustainability is an important element in this project, MABASA must ensure all its insulated panel and steel roofing products meet the requirements that help our partners achieve LEED certification. MABASA has experience working on several LEED projects and our partnership with Kingspan helps us offer better products to our clients.