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building new refineries and processing centers, and improving oil and gas trans- portation and storage.
CFE, the national electricity utility company, will oversee US$46 billion in improvements such as new power plants that utilize a variety of power sources and expanded transmission and distribution lines. Solar energy, for example, is expanding rapidly in Mexico. Becquerel Capital Partner Santiago Mo- rales describes one financial structure for solar projects: a major undertaking could be made up of “many small-scale projects that will allow us to adapt gradually.
Risk mitigation will be inherent in this structure.”
Hydration, health, and homes
The water sector projects will involve not only facilities responsible for Mexi- co’s drinking water, but also hydroelec- tric infrastructure, treatment plants, drainage and sewer tunnels, and flood protection projects. New hospitals and healthcare centers for Mexico’s residents will receive US$5.6 billion, and health- care will also receive a major boost with the completion of projects like the new
Epidemiological Reference Diagnostic Institute in México City, new additions for a hospital and cardiology institute in the México City area, and new hospitals in León and Villa de Alvarez. Finally, the US$143 billion for urban development and housing projects will be completely funded with private monies.
About one-seventh of the NIP’s investment will focus on Mexico’s South-Southeast Region, which includes the states of Yucatán, Veracruz, and Quintana Roo. This region produces more than half of Mexico’s tourism dol- lars, but it also has high poverty and economic marginalization.
RIPE FOR INVESTMENT
A key component of the NIP is its reliance on public–private partnerships (PPPs), which allows outside investors to get involved with the development
in exchange for part ownership. Plus, when the projects are put in the hands of private companies, Torroella says, “The government can replace infrastructure more efficiently, with higher-quality ser- vice and a lower cost.” Almost all sectors targeted by the NIP present prime op- portunities for investors; energy, urban development and housing, tourism, and communications and transport will be open for PPPs.
The most lucrative of these for private investment is expected to be the highway infrastructure subsector of transporta- tion. With US$30.3 billion allocated to- ward the expansion and improvement of roads across the nation, there are more than twice as many road infrastructure projects in the NIP’s communications and transportation sector than for all other purposes combined. This is of utmost importance to Mexicans because, as MAN Truck & Bus Mexico’s Leonardo
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