Investment Program in Transport and Communications Infrastructure 2013-2018

4 billion pesos will be invested in infrastructure projects during this six-year term: Enrique Peña Nieto

Source: www.presidencia.gob (press releases)

The President of the Republic, Enrique Peña Nieto, announced that 4 billion pesos will be invested during this six-year term in infrastructure projects, destined for essential works for national transformation.

The figure of 4 billion pesos includes the 2013-2018 Transportation and Communications Infrastructure Investment Program and various investments made in other agencies and entities such as Pemex, the Federal Electricity Commission and the National Water Commission. It is a program with a multimodal approach, and he pointed out that it seeks to improve highways, railways, ports, airports and telecommunications.

He specified that the Program is designed to turn Mexico into a large global logistics center with high added value. He announced that this program, of great magnitude and scope, will trigger both public and private investment in this sector, of practically 1.3 billion dollars. pesos, of which 582 billion will correspond to infrastructure and transportation, while another 700 billion will go to telecommunications.

For example, they will allow us to have a more efficient highway network so that Mexican farmers can transport their products to more markets and at a lower cost; they will translate into rural roads that bring schools and hospitals closer to families living in remote communities; These resources will also be reflected in better railways and more efficient ports so that Mexican products have a presence and are acquired in international markets.

Also, this program will be projected in more dynamic airports, that give better service to national and foreign tourists, airports that are worthy, safe and comfortable spaces, that are a welcome door to our country; It will also serve so that more and more students and young people have access to the Internet and join the era of knowledge, where the generation of wealth depends fundamentally on the talent, creativity and ideas of Mexicans.

3 FUNDAMENTAL OBJECTIVES AND 5 LINES OF ACTION

The 2013-2018 Transportation and Communications Infrastructure Investment Program has three fundamental objectives:

First: Develop logistics connectivity, which reduces transportation costs, improves road safety and triggers activities that give greater value to products made in our country.

Second: Promote a balanced regional development that opens growth opportunities for Mexicans throughout the national territory.

Third: Improve the population's quality of life, with rapid, safe and, above all, cheaper and more economical transport, logistics and communications infrastructure.

The Program contemplates five lines of action, focused on modernizing, expanding and conserving the communications infrastructure, as well as the different modes of transport:

1. In terms of road infrastructure, it is proposed to have a trunk network, safe, complete and in good condition, which better connects all regions and brings the most remote and remote communities closer together.

2. Regarding the railways, the aim is to resume passenger rail transport and encourage greater use of freight trains. It is necessary, for this purpose, to lower the costs and travel times, through the construction of bypasses and urban infrastructure that allow increasing the speed of this means of transport.

3. In terms of ports, the goal is to have four international-class ports, strengthen the capacity of the port system to support the different economic sectors of the country, as well as promote the development of the merchant marine and cabotage.

4. Regarding the airports, we want to achieve a better service, cost and frequency of air transport, resolving the saturation of the Mexico City International Airport and promoting regional interconnections.

5. Finally, in the telecommunications sector, universal access is expected to be achieved, expanding network coverage, promoting competition and contributing to the timely and effective implementation of the constitutional reform on the matter.

The Secretary of Communications and Transportation (SCT), Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, stressed that the participation of the private sector and construction companies will be crucial to achieve the objectives proposed in the 2013-2018 Transportation and Communications Infrastructure Investment Program. , also pointed out that Mexico has unbeatable conditions that it must turn into advantages, such as its productive capacity, its geographical location, its production costs, the talent of its people, so that Mexico can be the great logistics platform in Latin America.

The Secretary of Communications and Transportation highlighted that the Program contemplates important public investments that will encourage the participation of private capital.