The federal government and the private sector is expected to invest a combined 12.36 billion pesos (US $603.6 million) this year to maintain and upgrade airport infrastructure.
Almost 80% of the resources will come from airport operators with the remainder to come from the government.
According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT), public resources totaling 2.53 billion pesos (US $123.7 million) will be spent on airport projects.
Just under 681 million pesos will be allocated to upgrades and maintenance at the Mexico City International Airport (AICM), the country’s busiest airport and one which the Federal Civil Aviation Agency said in March has reached its saturation point.
The airport, operated by a state-owned company, will spend 126 million pesos of its own money on improvements.
Airports and Auxiliary Services (ASA), a federal government corporation, will receive 927.7 million pesos to carry out a range of projects. They include modernization of the airports at Puerto Escondido, Ciudad del Carmen, Puebla, Colima and Tepic and fuel station projects at the Cancún, Guanajuato and Los Cabos airports.
The government agency Seneam (Navigation Services for Mexican Airspace) will get 800 million pesos to work on projects related to restructuring the use of the country’s airspace.
Questions have been raised about the viability of three central Mexico airports – the AICM, the new Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) and the Toluca International Airport – operating in close proximity to each other, especially once flight numbers increase at the AIFA.
The lion’s share of the airport investment in 2022 will be made by the ASUR, GAP and OMA airport groups, according to SICT estimates. They are expected to spend a combined total of almost 9.83 billion pesos (US $479.7 million) on airport projects this year.
Among the most important projects to be carried out by GAP – the Pacific Airport Group – are upgrades to the Guadalajara airport, phase 1 of the construction of a new terminal at the Puerto Vallarta airport and the expansion of taxiways at the Los Cabos and Hermosillo airports.
OMA – the Central North Airport Group – will expand and remodel the terminal at the Ciudad Juárez airport and carry out runway projects and other upgrades at the Monterrey, Torreón and Culiacán airports.
ASUR – the Southeast Airport Group – is set to carry out a 2-billion-peso project to expand Terminal 4 at the Cancún airport, Mexico’s second busiest airport, and will also increase the size of the terminals at the Mérida, Tapachula and Cozumel airports.
In addition to its allocations to the AICM, ASA and Seneam, the federal government will spend over 1.6 billion pesos this year on the rail project to connect the AIFA to central Mexico City. The project, which is months behind schedule, will expand the existing Mexico City suburban train line, which currently runs between Buenavista, a neighborhood near the historic center, and Cuautitlán in Mexico state.
A new section of track will connect the Lechería station to the AIFA, which is located some 50 kilometers north of central Mexico City in the México state municipality of Zumpango. The supplementary section is expected to open in 2023, with trips from Buenavista to take just 45 minutes, according to President López Obrador.
With reports from A21
