Mexico City — The so-called ‘Interoceanic corridor’ of Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec has provoked the interest of 65 companies that have raised their hands to participate in the bidding for five development hubs in the states of Veracruz and Oaxaca, according to the country’s Economy Minister Raquel Buenrostro.
The ‘corridor’ is a project the government is promoting to develop the region located between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, with the idea of developing five industrial hubs in which companies can set up operations, taking advantage of the logistics of the location for imports and exports.
Buenrostro said contracts will be awarded to the companies that create the largest number of jobs and pledge the biggest investments, and that, of the 100 interested companies, 65 have concluded their bidding process, speaking at a press conference in Boca del Río, Veracruz during an orientation session on the bidding procedures for the establishment of the development hubs of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is being held.
She did not mention the names of the companies, but said they are “big companies”.
Of the five hubs to be tendered, four are in Veracruz: Coatzacoalcos I (257 hectares), Coatzacoalcos II (131 hectares), Texistepec (462 hectares) and San Juan Evangelista (360 hectares), and one is in Oaxaca: Salina Cruz, with a size of 82 hectares.
Winning bids to be announced on November 17
Buenrostro said that, for each hub, there is demand by 30 companies, and said that the tenders will be awarded on November 17.
Although she did not offer exact figures, Buenrostro mentioned that the companies with which they have spoken have offered between $400 and $500 million in investment, while some have offered more than $1 billion. In terms of jobs, some companies have said that they could generate between 400 and 500 jobs.
She specified that at this stage five hubs out of a total 10 are being tendered, and added that, if an investment of $1 billion is made, an economic spillover of $400 million would be expected for the entire supply chain that will be developed across the hubs.
She added that there are 11 industries that the ministry has identified for the hubs: electrical-electronics, semiconductors, automotive (electric vehicles, auto parts and transportation equipment), medical devices, pharmaceuticals, agribusiness, electric power generation and distribution equipment (clean energy), machinery and equipment, Information and communication technologies, metals and petrochemicals.
She also said there will be tax incentives for the winning companies in the bidding process.
