Four Firms Seek to Bid for Additional Riviera Maya Airport

October 8, 2007
Riviera Maya, Mexico

Mexico's much-ballyhooed Riviera Maya airport project continues to have problems getting off the ground, so to speak.

Four major construction firms are now vying for the privilege of constructing the new airport-an alternative to Cancún, farther north along the coast in Quintana Roo-which has been discussed for several years. But the date for submitting bids keeps being pushed farther and farther out-and with it the chance of moving this project from talk to action.

According to rumor, the bidding process will now take place in the first quarter of 2008, if the Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transporte (the Transport and Communications Ministry) decides to open the project to bids….

The latest company to throw its hat in the ring is Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (Pacific Airport Group, also known as GAP). GAP, formed in 1998, operates 12 airports in Mexico's central and Pacific regions, including the airports of Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, and Aguascalientes.

The other contenders are Grupo ICA, the largest construction firm in the country, which has an affiliate that operates 13 airports in Mexico; the Spanish firm Grupo OHL; and Grupo Aeropuertos del Sureste (Asur), which already operates the Yucatán Peninsula's major airports in Mérida and Cancún.
According to news sources, the SCT may decide to grant the project to Asur instead of opening it to bids. However, analysts contend that another government agency, the Comisión Federal de Competencia (Federal Competition Commission, a watchdog agency that protects against monopolistic practices) may toss Asur from the lists-one of Asur's major stockholders also owns substantial airlines stock, which is not allowed.

The proposed new airport is viewed as the biggest infrastructure project for the state of Quintana Roo in President Felipe Calderón's national infrastructure plan, unveiled in July.

Best regards,

Suzan Haskins
Latin America Editorial Director
International Living