• STRETCH: A consortium of Mexican and Spanish firms controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim has won the bid to build the second phase of Mexico’s Mayan Train, one of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s signature infrastructure projects aiming to bring tourists to southern Mexico.
• CAMPECHE: With a winning bid of US $771 million, Slim will now be in charge, starting on May 12, of building a 146-miles train stretch running between the two small towns of Escárcega and Calkiní in the Yucatán Península. The first stretch connects the Chiapas jungle with Escárcega.
• SUPERVISION: “The UN’s Office for Project Services (UNOPS) carried out an independent analysis parallel to the proposal review process carried out by FONATUR, and stated its agreement according to international standards”, Mexico’s National Fund for Tourism Promotion (FONATUR) said today.
• SIGNATURE: The price tag for the entire 950-miles Mayan Train is approximately US $6.3 billion, according to a Mexican government’s cost-benefit analysis. It will rely on direct public spending. It is intended to connect the tourist resorts in the Caribbean Coast and southeast Mexico.
