Mexico Infrastructure Improvements

Mexico infrastructure improvements have been ramping up in recent years, and an infrastructure plan introduced in 2014 will bring the Latin American country’s growth through a time of global economic uncertainty, solidifying their status as a manufacturing powerhouse. Foreign investment is already responding to improvements made, and further infrastructure upgrades will only accelerate this growth.

Nieto and Mexico Infrastructure Improvements

Reform was the word of the day when President Enrique Peña Nieto took office several years ago. The incoming administration prioritized modernizing the country and reforming systems, policies, legal regimes, and infrastructure from the very beginning. Mexico has long depended on manufacturing for much of their economy, and world demand was beginning to outpace capacity. Sweeping reforms in virtually every public sector brought Mexico into the 22st century and prepared the country for sustained growth in the new millennium. Reforms came in the form of:

• Overhauled labor laws
• Tightened intellectual property (IP) laws
• A partially privatized energy sector
• Improved security in the border region
• An ambitious plan for overhauling infrastructure, particularly in energy, telecommunications, and transportation

Commissioned in 2014, the National Infrastructure Program 2014-2018, prescribed approximately $600 billion USD for the modernizing of important infrastructure. The funds are to come from both public and private sources. The strategic initiative targets approximately 750 projects in the areas of energy, transportation, communication, water, health, urban development, and tourism.

The Investment

The investment being made in Mexican infrastructure improvements is sizable. In the first year, the investment was estimated at approximately $300 billion USD. The total value of the infrastructure construction market reached approximately $50 billion USD in 2015. Experts predict it will reach approximately $60 billion USD by 2020. The total cost for the project will eventually reach $600 billion USD and will ensure a stable Mexican economy and greatly expanded capacity. Mexicao infrastructure improvements on this scale are hoped to cement the country’s position as North America’s manufacturing hub in years to come.

Specific Mexican Infrastructure Improvements

Some of the specific Mexico infrastructure improvements the National Infrastructure Program calls for across several areas include:

• New ports
• Expanding existing ports
• Paving more roads
• Extending railways
• Expanding electricity generation capacity

In the Energy sector:

• Extend and develop infrastructure for exploring and extracting hydrocarbons.
• Encourage the development of fuel transportation and storage projects.
• Promote the development of domestic petrochemicals.
• Expand quality electricity distribution, reducing supply losses and increasing service coverage.

In the Water sector:

• Increase supply of drinking water and drainage capacity.
• Build flood-protection infrastructure.

In the Communications and Transportation sector:

• Develop multimodal transport infrastructure to generate competitive costs, value, improved security, and economic and social development.
• Modernize passenger mobility in comprehensive, safe, agile, and sustainable ways.
• Provide better communications access and service coverage to the public.

In the Health sector:

• Establish inter-institutional health resource planning and management.
• Consolidate health infrastructure, prioritizing vulnerable-population areas.