Navy Minister Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles said Wednesday that the federal government is investing more than 55 billion pesos to modernize six ports, 22 billion pesos more than the figure announced in late 2024.
Speaking at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s morning press conference, Morales said that the government investment in ports in Ensenada, Manzanillo, Lázaro Cárdenas, Acapulco, Veracruz and Progreso “will attract private investment of 241.05 billion pesos” (US $12.95 billion).
The private investment figure he cited includes spending to upgrade the six aforesaid ports as well as the ports in Guaymas, Topolobambo and Altamira.
Combined, the public investment — 55.18 billion pesos (US $2.96 billion) — and private investment in the ports amount to 296.23 billion pesos (US $15.91 billion).
Morales’ declaration that the government is investing just over 55 billion pesos in the six ports comes seven months after federal authorities announced an investment of just under 33 billion pesos in the same six ports.
The breakdown of the public and private investment — as announced by the navy minister on Wednesday — is as follows:
- Ensenada (Pacific coast in Baja California): Public investment of 5.63 billion pesos / private investment of 3.74 billion pesos
- Manzanillo (Pacific coast in Colima): 20.5 billion pesos / 92.18 billion pesos
- Lázaro Cárdenas (Pacific coast in Michoacán): 7.47 billion pesos / 5.75 billion pesos
- Acapulco (Pacific coast in Guerrero): 670 million pesos / 680 million pesos
- Veracruz (Gulf of Mexico coast): 10.2 billion pesos / 10.44 billion pesos
- Progreso (Gulf of Mexico coast in Yucatán): 10.7 billion pesos / 1.89 billion pesos
The 241.05-billion-peso private investment figure Morales referred to includes spending of:
- 40.69 billion pesos in the port in Guaymas on the Gulf of California coast in Sonora.
- 84.86 billion pesos in the port in Topolobampo on the Gulf of California coast in Sinaloa.
- 802 million pesos in the port in Altamira on the Gulf of Mexico coast in Tamaulipas.
Hutchison Ports, APM Terminals and Grupo CICE are among the private companies investing in Mexican ports.
The navy minister noted that projects are also planned for, or already being carried out in, ports in other parts of the country, including those in Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, and Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, located on opposite sides of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
“We believe that at the end of this administration [in 2030] we’ll have a competitive and efficient national port system in line with the needs of the country,” Morales said.
In December, the Mexican Navy’s general director of port promotion and administration Marco Antonio Martínez Plancarte provided details about many of the specific projects that will be carried out at the ports in Ensenada, Manzanillo, Lázaro Cárdenas, Acapulco, Veracruz and Progreso.
They include the construction of new terminals in Manzanillo, which will enable the port to become the No. 1 port in Latin America in terms of “the movement of containers,” according to Morales.
Navy minister: Consultation on port projects to be carried out in Ensenada
Morales said that the “main vocation” of the port in Ensenada is tourism, adding that the government wants to move its cargo and fishing operations to the nearby port in El Sauzal.
He said that “some environmentalists” are opposed to the plan and consequently the government will carry out a “consultation of the population in Ensenada so that we all agree.”
“… The issue is with surfers,” Morales said, noting that El Sauzal is a popular surfing location.
He subsequently asserted that “the waves are moving more toward the north.”
Consequently, the construction of a new 20-million-peso “linear park” is planned in order to provide access to a beach (Playa San Miguel) “with better conditions for surfing,” Morales said.
“… These two projects, both the linear park and the [4.9-billion-peso] development of the El Sauzal port, are subject to three things,” he said.
Morales mentioned two of those things, saying that the local population and “port users” must agree to the projects and that environmental impact studies pertaining to them must be carried out first.
The projects won’t start until “we have all the completed studies,” he said.
The navy minister didn’t say when the proposed public consultation process in Ensenada would commence.
Ensenada looks to attract big tech with US $300M in public works investment
In a statement issued last week, the Committee of the Bahía de Todos Santos World Surfing Reserve said that it was “categorically” opposed to “any attempt to legitimize … [the El Sauzal] project through simulated or manipulated participative processes disguised as dialogue with citizens.”
“… We make a strong and urgent call to the Government of Mexico to refrain from promoting contrived public consultations that [only] simulate openness. Instead, we urge the government to open a real social and environmental dialogue, based on scientific evidence, respect for the environmental legal framework, and the rights of the communities who inhabit and protect this territory,” the committee said.
“The sea is not up for consultation. The territory is not negotiable. The World Surfing Reserve is an international recognition that must be respected,” it added.
An Ensenada-San Diego ferry service is coming, but it’s not clear when
One of the proposed private sector projects in Ensenada is the construction of a ferry terminal, where services from San Diego would arrive.
“We’re going to have private investment of 1.5 billion pesos for a ferry terminal,” Morales said.
“What we’re seeking in Ensenada is to transport passengers from Ensenada to San Diego. We already have the boat,” he said.
According to an image Morales displayed, construction of the terminal is slated to commence in January 2026 and conclude in December 2028.
The navy minister noted that construction of a separate “passenger marine terminal” in the Ensenada port is underway. That project is 75% complete and will be finished next month, according to information presented by Morales.
The director of the Ensenada port, Admiral Luis Javier Robinson Portillo Villanueva, said a few weeks ago that a ferry service between Ensenada and San Diego would commence operations on July 24, but that appears to have been wishful thinking.
The service is to be operated by a company called Azteca Ferries, whose website is not fully operational as of July 23. Tickets are not yet on sale and it appears their prices have not been set.
Robinson said that the journey between Ensenada and San Diego will take just 90 minutes, and that ferries will initially dock at a provisional terminal in Ensenada.
The ferry will be able to accommodate up to 330 passengers, according to the news website San Diego Red.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
