With a perspective that the effect of nearshoring will last around 20 years , specialists indicated the weaknesses and opportunities in the infrastructure that houses investors coming to the country.
During the panel “The future of industrial parks and the economy: perspectives, challenges and opportunities in the face of nearshoring” Jorge Ávalos, president of the Mexican Association of Private Industrial Parks (AMPIP), pointed out that Mexico is facing an unparalleled opportunity that is It can extend for more than two decades , in which, if this opportunity is taken advantage of, its economy could grow.
“If we are able to take advantage of this phenomenon with the benefits that Mexico offers us, not only because of the proximity to the United States, the workforce, infrastructure, etc.; It may be the most important point of growth,” said Ávalos.
He highlighted that industrial parks are the fundamental pillar for attracting this investment. According to data from the AMPIP, prior to the pandemic in 2019, the space demanded was close to two million m2, while last year it was six million m2 , so the growth expectation will be at levels of 15- 20% in a compound manner, assured the leader of the association.
However, Pedro Valdés, general director of ESCALA , said that investors arrive in Mexico with uncertainty as to whether the country will reach the standard to which they are accustomed in other countries, “the way to check it is with certifications, credentials and technological platforms. ”he added.
One of the challenges that Valdés mentioned is that companies come demanding developers with very aggressive time and cost expectations; as well as more efficient engineering and systems; and certified buildings.
“We see these characteristics as very favorable because this is forcing us to increase the level of project management, above all to make it more efficient. What we must do is invest in technology, in training, adhere to international standards and have certifications in both people and projects,” said Valdés.
In this sense, Jorge Ávalos pointed out that Mexico has basic infrastructure challenges, such as energy, water, telecommunications; as well as security and legal stability .
In this panorama, he highlighted that Mexico has not invested in transmission in recent years, so it is important that it be done, since the installed capacity is there, but transmission requires attention.
On the other hand, he assured that there are 80 million m2 of capacity in Mexico in industrial parks, which could be used to generate clean energy.
“Making modifications to the regulatory framework to go from half a mega watt to one mega watt in an initiative where, through solar energy, we can take advantage of 50% of the roofs of industrial parks,” he said.
He assured that this investment would be around six billion dollars, the private sector, that is, the developers could do it to provide clean energy to their clients.
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