Three road tenders launched in Mexico

The Mexican government has launched three road tenders as it ramps up efforts to upgrade transport infrastructure through greater use of public-private partnership (PPP; P3). 

The first P3 to be launched is the Las Varas-Puerto Vallarta highway concession, which calls for a private partner to design, build, finance, operate and maintain (DBFOM) for 30 years a highway that will connect the states of Jalisco and Nayarit. The deadline to purchase tender documents and submit proposals for the project are respectively set for 9 and 10 March. 

Bids, which must be submitted in Spanish, will be opened on 1 April. The deadline for construction start is 4 August, with commencement of operations set for 10 September 2019r. 

The Viaducto La Raza-Indios Verdes Santa Clara P3 project also involves a 30-year DBFOM structure, with rights granted for exploitation and conservation. It calls for the construction of a 9.5-kilometre elevated highway that will connect northern Mexico City to the Mexico-Pachuca road via four lanes in each direction. 

This is the second attempt by the SCT to tender the viaduct project, after bids in the first round failed to line up with government expectations. As is the case for the Las Varas-Puerto Vallarta highway, it is being tendered on an availabity-payment basis.

The deadline to purchase tender documents for the viaduct project is 16 March, with proposals due the next day. Results of the tender will be announced on 15 April. 

A third concession up for auction is the 30-kilometre Tepic-San Blas highway. The project is being tendered as a DBFOM and calls for the upgrade of 23 kilometres of existing roads. It will involve the construction on a 2.3-kilometre stretch. The winning bidder is expected to start construction no later than 3 October this year, with deadline to commence operations on 23 June 2017. 

SCT last week announced that it expects to launch 20 additional transportation project tenders in the upcoming year.