Security, public policies, infrastructure, transparency, and the demilitarization of ports and airports are part of the actions that must be implemented in the country in the face of the impact that will be felt due to relocation, explained specialists.
During the panel “Connecting with the World: Airport and Port Infrastructure” of the Nearshoring and Political Transition Forum, challenges and opportunities to boost growth, organized by the Mexican Institute of Finance Executives (IMEF), Juan Carlos Machorro, partner at Santamarina & Steta, commented that nearshoring represents a window of opportunity, although it also poses connectivity challenges.
He mentioned that there are four points that need to be addressed: changing the short-term agenda to a technical and scientific one, demilitarizing ports and the aviation sector which “has been impacted in the last five years, starting with the ‘original sin’ (the cancellation of the Texcoco airport), the pandemic, degradation to Category 2, reduction of operations at the AICM and sending cargo to the AIFA, we don’t get out of one to enter another. A few days ago, ICAO issued an alarm signal for non-compliance with basic air operation safety standards.”
In addition to returning to collaborate with the private sector through public-private partnerships, and transparently bidding for public works.
“There is a very serious opacity issue that has been occurring in infrastructure in recent years. It is not easy, but these four pillars will reverse the policy and will start giving us time to recover what we have not been able to take advantage of under the guise of nearshoring,” he explained.
Yuriria Mascott, legal consultant at Beker & Mckenzie Lawyers, said that for the country to become attractive to investment, it is necessary to have security, appropriate policies, and infrastructure, “with technical rigor above political decisions.”
Furthermore, she emphasized the need for legal certainty to avoid generating mistrust, logistic vision for any work, new technologies, as well as enabling intermodality, multimodality, and synchromodality.
“Today, the issue of rights of way remains a problem, there is a great disparity in the use of airports, while some are very saturated, others are abandoned. In the ports, there is a lack of yards capable of receiving large vessels, equipment is lacking to move the merchandise,” she said.
She explained that until the saturation of the Mexico City International Airport (AICM) is resolved and an airport that solves this situation is built, “it will hardly aspire to be that logistics hub for Latin America.”
Likewise, she highlighted the importance of private investment participation in building the infrastructure, as well as a minimum of 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in resources for infrastructure.
On the other hand, Celso Morales Muñoz, maritime-port consultant, explained that the rule of law must also be applied, maintenance of current infrastructure must be carried out, and facilities capable of receiving vessels of greater depth must be available.
“The reintegration of the General Coordination of Ports and Merchant Marine to the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation is fundamental, that is a fundamental point for the port sector to be able to carry out all the actions to reactivate that sector. In nearshoring, what is necessary must be built to promote cabotage and short-distance transportation and supply chain multimodal and intermodalism to be prepared for the demands that will be recorded,” he said.
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