Deals

Mexican group wins Honduran government centre P3

The facility, which its proponents expect will become the first ‘100% smart building’ in Honduras, has been on the government's agenda for half a century.

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Mexican construction company GIA + A SA de CV (GIA) has won a public-private partnership (PPP; P3) contract to develop a new government civic centre in Honduras' capital city.

The 30-year contract calls for GIA to demolish existing structures as well as to design, finance, construct, operate and maintain the government center in Tegucigalpa. The Honduran government intends to disburse L$4.5 billion (€176 million; $200 million) through monthly payments over the course of the concession. The developer will provide all upfront capital necessary to complete the project.

The centre will house more than 40 independent government institutions. It will feature two cultural plazas aimed at celebrating Mayan history as well as pedestrian and vehicle access from the north, east and south. It will also comprise bus stops, taxi stands and parking facilities. 

Onsite solar photocells are expected to generate 20 percent of energy consumed at the centre, and up to 80 percent of the water used will be purified onsite and recycled for reuse. A statement from Coalianza affirmed that the centre will be “the first 100 percent smart building in Honduras”. 

Annual cost savings generated by moving government agencies from rented facilities to the new centre add up to roughly L$300 million per year, said Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez.

The procurement for the civic centre was structured by the Commission for the Promotion of Public-Private Partnerships (Coalianza) and Bank Lafise Honduras. The agency anticipates creating 5,000 direct temporary jobs and 20,000 indirect jobs as well as about 750 permanent positions through the scheme.

The project, which has been on the government agenda for half a century, is meant to help bolster the Honduran sense of identity and to signify “that Hondurans, when they intend to do great things, they do them”, Hernandez stated. 

“We keep changing and we continue to build the new Honduras, which we all deserve.”

Construction on the project is set to begin next month, with a completion target of December 2017.