INFRASTRUCTURE Driving Mexico’s Development
Infrastructure is at the core of Mexico’s economy—it supports foreign trade, reduces transport costs and timing, and promotes the circulation of goods and services, as well as the dissemination of knowledge and information.1
Infrastructure opens doors to progress and social inclusion wherever new roads, railroads and ports are built or telecommunications towers installed. Countries with high economic and competitive growth are reaping the benefits of having built and investing in modern and efficient infrastructure.
In the twenty-first century, new infrastructure must address the challenges posed, on the one hand, by market trends and businesses for economic expansion beyond borders and, on the other hand, by the dizzying development of information and communication technologies Both factors have created2 the need to attend to the transportation of people, the distribution of goods, as well as the transmission of knowledge and information with a logistical vision: in a faster and more agile way, with better connectivity and at lower cost. Achieving the foregoing contributes to strengthening the productive and commercial sectors’ competitiveness of any country.
This is the focus and relevance of the National Infrastructure Program 2013-2018 (PNI), developed by the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (SCT) under the vision and leadership of President Enrique Peña Nieto.
The program is aimed at transforming Mexico into a global logistics platform with high value added, whose main purpose is to assemble production and commercial chains through logistics corridors connecting the various modalities for the transportation of people and goods.
So far in this administration, we have made significant progress with the guidance of PNI. Eighty-one percent of Mexico’s production uses roads and highways to transport goods.
At the start of this administration it was essential to improve ground transport connectivity. We have developed one of the most ambitious road programs in our country’s history: the extension and construction of 52 new highways with almost 2,000 miles and we have already completed 15 miles. In addition, 80 federal roads are being built and modernized of which 53 have been completed, and almost 16,000 of feeder roads have been built and improved.
Trains and Airports
We have relaunched passenger trains as a modern, safe and environmentally-friendly transportation alternative. In this way, and with the aim of improving the quality of life and productivity of Mexicans, the Interurban Mexico-Toluca Train and the Electric Train of Guadalajara’s Metropolitan Area are being built. Both projects already have significant advances and are scheduled to begin operations during the next administration. One aspect of great significance is the fact that they are high technology trains. One of them, the Mexico-Toluca project, is the first high-speed train in the Americas.
An essential element in increasing logistical competitiveness is port infrastructure as more than two thirds of the world’s commerce moves in sea transport.
At the start of the current administration, Mexico faced the challenge of port saturation. In response to that situation, we set out to double operations envelope and go from 260 million tons a year to more than 500 million. To date, we have reached an annual capacity of 370 million tons and, by the end of 2016, we should reach 400.
The construction of the new airport in Veracruz and Tuxpan stands out, as well as the expansion of the ports of Altamira, Lazaro Cardenas, and Manzanillo, among others.
We have also made timely progress on the construction of the new International Airport of Mexico City, a work announced by President Peña Nieto at the end of 2014, and which will become the most important hub airport in Latin America. Currently, we have met the objectives set in the project’s master plan.
Out of the 21 bid packages announced, six have been bid, outstanding are those related to foundation and construction of the terminal building, the control tower, and runways 2 and 3.
Telecommunications
The constitutional amendment regarding telecommunications has allowed us to lead Mexico toward the digital era. Nowadays, we have more competition, investments, and connectivity, as well as more quality and lower prices in services. Nearly $6.5 billion has been invested in the sector, which will be added to the nearly $15 billion to be invested in the years to come.
This investment has already influenced penetration of the mobile broadband service, going from 22 to 57 subscribers for every 100 inhabitants, and increasing internet connectivity from 7.9 to 11.4 million households—more than one out of three households in our country has the service now.
From June 2013 to December 2015, the rates for various telecommunication services decreased by an average of 23 percent; long distance telephone charges were eliminated which resulted in savings that amount to more than $10 billion annually, as well as reductions in mobile service of 20 percent and international long distance of 41 percent.
The Mexican government, through the SCT, is taking action in the construction and modernization of infrastructure to respond to the fast-paced growth experienced by some sectors of our economy.
As a result of our solid economic stability and the implementation of structural reforms, we have already seen positive changes. Reforms such as the energy reform demands more and better infrastructure in many ways, for example, ports in oil áreas. The telecommunications reform requires more competition, wider coverage, better rates and service qua-lity, aspects in which we have already begun to see changes.
1. World Bank Group, Sustainable Infrastructure Action Plan, 2008.
2. World Bank Group, World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends, 2016.>
