The Year in Infrastructure: Plan México Drives 2025 Works

Mexico’s infrastructure agenda in 2025 was defined by a pivot toward passenger rail, a renewed push for highway investment and maintenance, and an increasingly urgent focus on housing delivery and water security. All these advances were framed within President Claudia Sheinbaum’s broader Plan México roadmap, which tied public works to industrial policy, regional development, and nearshoring resilience.

At the beginning of the year, President Claudia Sheinbaum outlined Plan México, a government-private sector roadmap to strengthen regional markets, boost industrial capacity, and reduce dependence on imports (including Asian imports valued at over US$210 billion annually, per the plan’s framing). In the infrastructure lane, public works would be treated as an economic policy tool to build “hubs” of growth aligned with the administration’s regional development and well-being objectives.

Passenger Rail

Rail dominated the year’s infrastructure narrative, starting with Plan México’s passenger-train package, which includes 5,647km of rail, a stated MX$1.24 trillion investment, coverage across 24 states, and an estimated 3.6 million jobs. 

Its flagship was the Mexico-Queretaro passenger train. SICT detailed a MX$144 billion (US$7.05 billion) investment, a 225km double-track build, and operating speeds up to 200km/h, with an “end of 2027” completion target in the project outline. Queretaro officials assessed two main station-area options, near Santa Maria Magdalena or near the historic-center/old-station area, while emphasizing the federal government would execute the works. SICT, the state government, and mayors also signed a coordination agreement to speed up land and right-of-way release, underscoring that delivery is as much legal/urban as it is engineering.

The rail projects that started construction in 2025 included:

• Mexico-Pachuca passenger train: construction began in March, with travel-time cuts and a direct link to AIFA as part of the corridor’s value proposition

• Mexico-Queretaro passenger train: construction began in April, with ARTF detailing a 226km double-track route and multiple planned stations

• Mexico City-Nuevo Laredo (Tren del Norte) first section: construction started in September, on a 100km stretch in Salinas Victoria, Nuevo Leon, as the initial buildout for the Saltillo-Monterrey-Nuevo Laredo sector

• Arroyo El Sauz-Nuevo Laredo (Gulf of Mexico passenger train): construction began November, 2025, launching the Arroyo El Sauz–Nuevo Laredo section as a milestone in the northern passenger-rail revival

To anchor the rail push institutionally, the rail reform was passed, creating Agency for Trains and Integrated Public Transport (ATTRAPI) as a decentralized body under SICT, and positioning both passenger and freight rail as strategic for development and safety.

Roads

While rail grabbed headlines, highways remained central to freight competitiveness and territorial connectivity. SICT presented its National Highway Infrastructure Program 2025-2030 with MX$173 billion (US$8.47 billion) to intervene on over 4,000km of roads, including priority corridors and bridge investments.

A key 2025 emphasis was execution capacity, especially maintenance at scale. SICT announced it would deploy 20 paving trains to maintain over 15,000km of toll-free federal highways, with a broader plan to acquire 30 units for a total investment of about MX$1.4 billion (US$73.4 million).

Beyond the headline capex programs, SICT framed 2025 as a maintenance-heavy year for Mexico’s toll-free federal highway network. From January to December 2025, SICT reported routine conservation works on 45,477km, backed by MX$3.94 billion (US$219.76 million), executed through 297 work fronts and generating 8,430 jobs (2,810 direct and 5,620 indirect). The work focused on practical interventions such as clearing vegetation along rights-of-way, cleaning/desilting drainage, removing rockfalls and debris, and filling areas affected by landslides.

SICT added that it also delivered periodic conservation on 2,754km during 2025 with MX$7 billion (US$390.10 million), carried out through 498 work fronts and associated with 14,961 jobs (4,987 direct and 9,974 indirect). Combined, routine, periodic conservation totaled MX$10.9 billion (US$609.86 million) in 2025, which SICT positioned as part of an integrated National Road Maintenance Program prioritizing high-volume, trade, and tourism corridors.

2026 FIFA World Cup

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaching, infrastructure works intensified at the three host cities: Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara.

In Mexico City, World Cup prep went beyond venues and into neighborhood-scale public works around Estadio Azteca. Mayor Clara Brugada’s plan for Santa Ursula Coapa combined water resilience (rehabilitating seven wells and building three stormwater collectors), public lighting (adding 819 LED streetlights and upgrading 11.9km of façades), and “green housing” (a 100 eco-home pilot with solar heaters and rainwater harvesting). On mobility, the package included a new trolleybus linking Ciudad Universitaria and Huipulco, the CETRAM Taxqueña refurbishment, and new bike-parking facilities. 

At the same time, airport capacity and connectivity became a central World Cup constraint. At Mexico City International Airport (AICM), operator Grupo Aeroportuario Marina (GAM) renovated key passenger zones, including the arrivals areas at Terminal 1 and baggage belts at Terminal 2. AICM said that about MX$3 billion had already been invested in refurbishing, with equipment contracts slated for early 2026 delivery. Passenger-impacting construction is expected to be finished by May 15, 2026, while broader works continue into 2026.

Connectivity planning also leaned on rail. President Claudia Sheinbaum said the Mexico City-AIFA rail line is scheduled to be operational before the 2026 World Cup, with test runs starting in December 2025. Sheinbaum framed it as a key link ahead of the tournament, which opens June 11, 2026, at Azteca Stadium.

Nationally, Sheinbaum’s administration also allocated MX$121.54 billion (US$7 billion) to expand and modernize 36 airports, including upgrades at AICM, reinforcing World Cup logistics through a broader aviation-capacity program rather than single-site fixes.

Beyond Mexico City, host-state planning accelerated. Nuevo Leon’s government cited 34 projects slated for completion by March 2026, including new metro lines and deployment of 4,000 buses, while Jalisco highlighted airport renovation and expanded flight connectivity for Guadalajara as World Cup travel ramps up. The federal government also provided between MX$1.5 billion and MX$2 billion to upgrade public transport in host cities ahead of the tournament.

Sheinbaum also moved to institutionalize investment coordination through an investment promotion council aligned with Plan México, convening top business leaders for recurring sessions, a governance step meant to keep large event-linked and strategic projects moving in parallel.

Housing

The year’s biggest signal in housing policy came from governance reform and accelerated starts. The Senate approved an INFONAVIT reform aimed at stronger oversight and transparency, including a clearer role for SHCP/CNBV on prudential rules and expanded audit capacity for the federal auditor (ASF), alongside disclosure requirements for investments and contracts.

On delivery, the federal government outlined near-term starts under the National Housing for Well-Being Program, stating that 52,345 homes would begin construction across 25 states between February and April, with associated job creation estimates and a land-reserve pipeline.

At the city level, Mexico City presented a housing policy centered on densification and sustainability, committing not to expand into conservation zones and raising the housing budget to MX$9 billion (US$444.2 million) while targeting large-scale housing actions and rental units.

Alongside INFONAVIT’s governance reform and the federal push to accelerate social housing starts, Mexico City’s “Bando 1” became one of 2025’s most debated housing signals because it introduced rent-stabilization measures into the affordability agenda. Under Bando 1 (presented July 16, 2025), Mexico City proposed capping rent increases to inflation, strengthening tenant protections against eviction, and creating a Tenant’s Ombudsman Office, positioning the policy as a response to gentrification pressures and rent increases that the city notes have run at about 10% annually since 2020.

Across 2025, Housing for Wellbeing changed its targets, the delivery mix, and even who could access the program expanded as the year progressed:

• April 2025: SEDATU announced the six-year goal was raised to 1.1 million homes, up 100,000 from the original 1 million target. In the same update, Edna Vega said home-improvement supports would rise to 1.55 million, while the goal of 1 million property titles stayed unchanged

• July 2025: the government expanded the goal again to 1.2 million new homes, and clarified the institutional split: 500,000 (CONAVI), 600,000 (INFONAVIT), 100,000 (FOVISSSTE), with SHF financing support plus 1.55 million improvements and 1 million titles. Authorities also reported early execution momentum (projects in 30 states and 138,473 homes already in construction or early stages)

• September–October 2025: the program’s “execution narrative” shifted from targets to progress, reporting a total of 300,000 homes under construction and a signed inter-institution agreement (Sept. 3) to speed up processes

• December 2025: SEDATU reported the program beat its 2025 start goal, 390,983 starts versus a target of 386,000 (about 101%), and it also showed a major access change: CONAVI ran 154 lotteries (Dec. 16–17) to assign homes to 31,934 families who are not beneficiaries of INFONAVIT/FOVISSSTE

Water

Water infrastructure and governance rose sharply in priority in 2025, both domestically and in the bilateral relationship with the United States. On the Mexico-US front, 2025 saw a “high-stakes” moment around the 1944 water treaty, with Mexico and the US reaching a water-deliveries agreement under that framework amid growing political pressure tied to shortfalls and drought conditions.

In April, both sides agreed on immediate operational steps to reduce Mexico’s shortfall before the cycle ended on Oct. 24, 2025, including releases from international reservoirs and adjusting the US share of flows from six Mexican tributaries that feed the Rio Grande. In Dec. 15, they announced a “joint understanding” that Mexico would release 249.2 million m³ (202,000 acre-feet) starting that week, and that both governments would finalize a broader plan by Jan. 31, 2026 to address ongoing deliveries and the deficit after the cycle closed.

Mexico also framed its internal pipeline through a portfolio approach: the government announced 37 water projects backed by a headline investment figure, reflecting the scale of the challenge and the shift toward multi-project execution.

Construction Advances

2025 was defined by stop-and-go monthly performance and a widening gap between private building and public/civil works. Early in the year, Mexico’s construction cycle opened in contraction: in January, production value fell 6.4% year-on-year, and by February the downturn hardened as gross fixed investment dropped 7.8% year-on-year (with construction investment down 5.2%) while construction production value fell 16.8%.

A brief improvement showed up in March, when construction was the only industrial component to grow (0.8%). By June, construction production value returned to modest growth (1.7% year-on-year), but the recovery did not hold: July saw a 17.7% year-on-year drop, August remained in contraction across production and activity indicators, and by September construction was down 7.2% year-on-year, led by a steep fall in civil engineering works tied to weaker public projects.

Late in the year the data turned mixed rather than strong: October construction activity rose 3.8% month-on-month, but production value was still down 14% year-on-year. November then delivered a clearer “bounce” in activity, INEGI’s industrial indicator rose 0.6% month-on-month, driven mainly by construction.