The federal government announced Thursday that it will invest almost 33 billion pesos (US $1.6 billion) to modernize and expand six ports, four on Mexico’s Pacific coast and two on the Gulf of Mexico.
The ports set to benefit from the investment are:
- Ensenada, Baja California.
- Manzanillo, Colima.
- Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán.
- Acapulco, Guerrero.
- Veracruz, Veracruz.
- Progreso, Yucatán.
At her morning press conference on Thursday, President Claudia Sheinbaum described the investment as “very significant.”
She noted that the outlay is in addition to investment in the ports in Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, and Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz. Those two ports — the former on the Pacific side of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the latter on the Gulf of Mexico side — are being modernized and expanded as part of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT) project.
The Mexican Navy’s general director of port promotion and administration Marco Antonio Martínez Plancarte provided the details about the investment in the six “strategic” ports of Ensenada, Manzanillo, Lázaro Cárdenas and Acapulco on Mexico’s Pacific coast and Veracruz and Progreso on the Gulf coast.
The Pacific ports are Mexico’s gateway to Asia while the Gulf of Mexico ports provide access to Europe and the Gulf and East coasts of the United States.
Ensenada
A total of 5.74 billion pesos (US $283.7 million) is set to be invested in the port in Ensenada, located about 100 kilometers south of Tijuana on the Pacific side of the Baja California peninsula.
Martínez noted that the Ensenada port is made up of two different precincts — one called Ensenada and the other called El Sauzal.
In the Ensenada precinct, the dock area will be expanded, the port will be deepened and a maritime traffic control center will be built. The increased depth will allow the port to accommodate larger ships.
In the El Sauzal precinct, the wharves and breakwater will be expanded and fishing boat docks will be relocated.
Martínez said that the projects will commence in 2025 and conclude in 2028. After their completion, the Ensenada port precinct will only receive cruise ships while the El Sauzal precinct will receive container ships as well as fishing vessels in a separate section, the Navy official said.
Manzanillo
Martínez said that the government will invest 13.59 billion pesos (US $671.2 million) in projects in the Nuevo Manzanillo and Manzanillo San Pedrito precincts of the Manzanillo port.
He noted that the Manzanillo port is Mexico’s largest and the third biggest in Latin America.
Among the proposed projects for the Nuevo Manzanillo port precinct are the construction of two fuel terminals, four container terminals and a “specialized dock” for large fishing vessels. A customs precinct with the capacity to attend to 10 million shipping containers annually will also be established.
The private sector is slated to invest close to 50 billion pesos in the Nuevo Manzanillo project, which will transform Mexico’s largest port into a major international logistics hub.
In the Manzanillo San Pedrito precinct, new docks for container ships and fishing vessels will be built and a new storage area for empty shipping containers will be established.
The projects in Manzanillo are set to begin in 2025 and conclude in 2029.
Lázaro Cárdenas
A total of 6.14 billion pesos (US $303.4 million) has been set aside to modernize the port in Lázaro Cárdenas, on Mexico’s Pacific coast.
A range of infrastructure projects will aim to more than double the number of 20-foot-long shipping containers the port can handle on an annual basis.
The port’s current capacity is 4 million containers annually but projects including the expansion of docks and the construction of new access roads is slated to increase capacity to 8.2 million containers per year.
Acapulco
The port in Acapulco, battered by Hurricane Otis in October 2023, is set to receive a 386-million-peso (US $19 million) makeover.
Martínez said that “major maintenance” work will be carried out on the port’s “multiple purpose dock” as well as in the Jardín del Puerto (Port Garden) and a section of the port where new eateries and an entertainment precinct are slated to be installed.
Veracruz
Martínez said that 1.8 billion pesos (US $88.9 million) will be allocated to the construction of a new breakwater at the port in Veracruz.
The new eastern breakwater will allow the establishment of new terminals in the port and thus attract new investment, the official said.
The Veracruz port provides quick access to the United States’ Gulf coast, a factor that helped attract investment from U.S. brewery Constellation Brands.
Progreso
Martínez said that a total of 7.22 billion pesos (US $356.7 million) will be invested in the port in Progreso, located just north of Mérida and due south of New Orleans, Louisiana.
The federal government will contribute 5.2 billion pesos, the state government will provide 1.5 billion pesos and the private sector will chip in with 525 million pesos.
Martínez said that the money will go to the construction of “an 80-hectare platform” that will be able to accommodate a shipyard as well as a range of terminals including ones for liquefied gas and petroleum.
The Maya Train railroad is expected to be extended to Progreso, which would allow freight trains to take goods to the port for onward shipment by sea.
Port upgrades are part of a broader infrastructure plan
The modernized ports in the six aforesaid locations as well as Salina Cruz and Coatzacoalcos will complement the 10 new industrial corridors the Sheinbaum administration intends to develop.
As it seeks to capitalize on Mexico’s nearshoring opportunity and increase domestic production capacity in order to reduce reliance on imports from China, the federal government is planning to establish specialized industrial corridors, or “well-being hubs,” spanning all 32 federal entities.
Each corridor will focus on attracting investment from companies in specific sectors of the economy.
For example, the priority sectors for the Bajío corridor are automotive, data centers, aeronautical and tourism, while the trans-isthmus corridor — part of the CIIT — will focus on renewable energy, specialized manufacturing, agro-industry and logistics.
The upgraded ports on Mexico’s Pacific and Gulf coasts could facilitate the export of products manufactured in the different industrial corridors.
Sheinbaum — whose administration is investing in a range of other infrastructure projects including rail and water ones — said last week that the government’s Advisory Council for Regional Economic Development and Relocation, which includes private sector representatives, will focus on the development of the government’s “well-being hubs.”
On Thursday, the president met with members of the Mexican Business Council (CMN), which is affiliated with the government’s advisory council.
Sheinbaum told reporters that she spoke to business leaders about Plan México, a government initiative whose aims include increasing investment in Mexico and the development of the industrial corridors.
The president said that she explained to the CMN members, which includes CEOs of large companies, how they could contribute to the realization of the plan.
“There was a commitment to work together, … complement each other and invest,” she said.
Mexico News Daily
Source: Mexico News Daily
