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SPECIAL INSIGHT: INFRASTRUCTURE
Construction Ahead: Mexico to Undergo Major Infrastructure Improvements
Mexico’s infrastructure is undergoing a substantial make- over that will reportedly cost more than a half-trillion dol- lars in public and private funds. So what will the people of Mexico be getting for their money?
Anyone who has explored Mexico’s an- cient ruins and archeological sites has seen first-hand the endurance of Mexi- can infrastructure. After all, there are few places in the world where temples, pyramids, and 20-ton heads from thousands of years ago are still standing tall. Against the backdrop of these infrastructural marvels, modern Mexico is embark- ing on perhaps its most ambitious effort in recent memory to repair and expand its infrastructure so that today’s residents and future generations can live, work, and travel more efficiently and produc- tively.
SOLID STANDING
The World Economic Forum’s 2016–2017 Global Competitiveness Report ranked Mexico 57th out
of 138 nations in terms of its infrastructure. The nation’s 27,000 kilometers of railway tracks and more than 370,000 kilometers of highway (as of 2015) facilitate land-based transportation. The country also boasts 117 ports, more than half of which can accommodate Panamax-sized vessels, and its 76 airports processed more than 1.1 million flights in 2015.
Given this infrastructural foundation, Mexican officials knew they did not have to reinvent the wheel; nonetheless, some age was beginning to show. Nicolás Mariscal Torroella, the Chairman of real estate company Marhnos, observed, “When you think about infrastructure, you always think about new projects, but it is also important to con- sider existing infrastructure that has become obso- lete.” After all, Torroella notes, even well-designed projects run their course and must be revamped.
NIP IT IN THE BUD
With this in mind, the Mexican government conducted a comprehensive analysis of its current and future infrastructure needs and formulated
its 2014–2018 National Infrastructure Program (NIP). The initiative comprises almost 750 projects requiring a total investment of almost US$600 billion. The NIP is targeting six specific sectors: communications and transportation, energy, water, tourism, health, and urban development and housing.
A new way of communicating
Arguably, the most ambitious project of the entire program will be the completion of a nationwide 4G-LTE wireless network, known as Red Com- partida. In addition to installing the hardware for the shared mobile services network (which will be rented by telecom providers), the federal govern- ment will extend the fiber optic network, which
is scheduled to be completed in 2024, across the country. The network aims to bring greater pro- ductivity and competitiveness, better education, and easier commerce to all parts of the nation.
In June 2017, Ezequiel Gil Huerta, the Director General of telecommunications, policy, and broad- casting at the Secretariat of Communications and
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