A consortium made up of one Spanish and two Mexican contractors has won the bid to build the third section – of five in total – of Mexico’s $8bn Mayan railway in the Yucatán peninsula.
Fonatur, Mexico’s tourist development agency, announced on Friday that Seville-based Avzi, its Mexican subsidiary Construcciones Urales and Naucalpan-based infrastructure specialist Gami Ingenieria e Instalaciones had won the work with a bid of $425m.
This was the lowest bid put in by the 16 consortiums bidding for the 172km section between Calkini in Campeche state and Izamal in Yucatán state.
Fonatur added that it was also "the best technical offer in the areas of quality of work, capacity of the bidder, experience and specialty of the bidder, fulfilment of contracts and national content and labour".
Construction on this section is due to begin on 25 May, if Mexico’s health authority gives its approval.
The Mexican government’s map of the Mayan railway
The first section of the line was won by a consortium led by Portuguese contractor Mota-Engil in association with China Communications Construction Company and three Mexican partners, for a price of $630m.
The second was taken by a team of companies owned or controlled by Mexican industrialist Carlos Slim, led by Spain’s FCC.
The 1,470km line is being built in five sections. When complete, it will connect tourist destinations and population centres on the Yucatán peninsula.
It is being billed by Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador as the key to restarting the country’s economy after the coronavirus slump, and is also aimed at attracting investment to Mexico’s poorer southern states.
Top image: Fonatur officials examine Mayan rail bids (Fonatur)
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