New highway investment schemes in Mexico are necessary to attract more resources and develop new projects; however, they require thorough preparation and planning to minimize risks during implementation . Furthermore, their implementation represents one of the main challenges, according to industry specialists.
Augusto Suárez Ortega, Deputy Manager of Transportation Projects at the National Infrastructure Fund (Fonadin) , pointed out that the mechanisms contemplated in the new Law for the Promotion of Investment in Infrastructure will allow for “fresh” resources , not only to continue existing works, but also to promote new projects with better execution times.
During his participation in the XXV National Meeting of Land Transportation, organized by the Mexican Association of Land Transportation Engineering (AMIVTAC) , the official acknowledged that it is still necessary to strengthen risk management , both on the part of the concessionaires and the authority.
He explained that proper risk identification and allocation would help increase investor interest and create more favorable conditions for the development of new road infrastructure projects in the country.
“There are things that don’t depend on the secretariat or other agencies; the international and national environment is quite challenging. Some surveys by the Bank of Mexico on investor opinion and the ratings they consider strong indicate insecurity, especially on highways, which impacts traffic volumes. If there’s a strike, these could be potential risks that investors require support for,” he explained.
He asserted that it is an opportunity for infrastructure development and that it will serve as a pilot example for other investment schemes.
Meanwhile, Marco Antonio Frías Galván, general director of the Mexican Association of Road Infrastructure Concessionaires , said that given the uncertainty surrounding the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the government’s need for the Mexico Plan to be successful and to generate more and better infrastructure to boost the country’s development, the new regime is complementary to the road and public-private partnership laws .
“It allows for flexible state participation in projects, establishes contracts of up to 40 years, is a market-friendly law, and seeks significant simplification through a one-stop shop; we’ll see how it works. While it has beneficial aspects, it also presents significant challenges, such as implementation; no projects have been launched under the new law, and time will tell which elements can be improved and which need strengthening, but the instruments we have, including the law itself, can be very useful in triggering this necessary investment,” he stated.
Similarly, he mentioned that problems such as toll evasion , takeover of toll booths or blockades are situations that must be addressed so that they do not discourage private investment.
Oscar de Buen Richkarday, Executive President of AINDA-Energy and Infrastructure , stated that new schemes are needed to invest in highways given the insufficiency of public resources and the needs of the road sector in conservation, modernization and construction of new infrastructure.
“The sum of the requirements we have to meet the needs is enormous and far exceeds the amounts in the public budgets, therefore it is necessary to supplement with other sources of resources, mainly from the private sector,” he stressed.
He specified that before having new schemes, it is necessary to perfect, modify, adopt or update those that already exist , such as those that have been used in the country for 40 years, which combine private and public resources for infrastructure development.
However, he asserted that projects need to have solid planning, the required capacity, and above all, complete and thorough preparation, as well as knowing the main risks in order to have measures in place to mitigate them.
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