LANDM ARK PL AN
COAS FOR T-TOCOAS T R AiL LiNK IN WHAT MUST BE one of the great construction projects of the 21st century for Mexico’s transport sector, the government is backing plans for a US$ 1.5 billion intermodal corridor across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. As well as upgrading the current rail link across the isthmus, the project calls for the creation of new container terminals at Coatzacoalcos and Salina Cruz on the Pacific coast. This high-profile scheme forms part of a strategic national plan to direct investment towards the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz. However, the entire transport corridor itself – the two terminals and the rail link – will be concessioned to one private investor and this single-operator concept already has government approval.
Proposed The rationale for the planned link is the fact that the Panama Canal is already operating at well nigh full capacity and the proposed expansion of the canal is not due for completion until 2014. At the same time, aspects of the US land-bridge (west coast to east coast) will soon reach saturation point. Even then, growing world trade volumes may mean that the canal’s capacity is still at a premium. This 2014 time-frame offers an attractive window of opportunity for the trans-Mexico scheme, which will be comparatively easy to construct.
The Coatzacoalcos-Salina Cruz corridor project has many advantages that have commended it to the government. In particular, the route crosses Mexico at its narrowest point: it is only 302 km by rail (but 319 km by road) from Coatzacoalcos to Salina Cruz. A singletrack line is already in place for the section beyond the Medias Aguas junction, but this will require significant upgrading – as does the road link between the two ports – to accommodate plans for operations involving double-stack electric trains in both directions. Nominally, the existing Coatzacoalcos-Salina Cruz line will be operated by FerroSur (FSRR) and will use the line managed by Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantepec (FIT). Stateowned FIT manages the railroad, but is not an operator. At the same time, the AcayucanLa Ventosa road will be upgraded, improvements made in terms of access to the Port of Coatzacoalcos and a new by-pass built in Salina Cruz. In the second phase, the entire trans-Isthmus highway will be modernised. Meanwhile, API Coatzacoalcos has already set aside land in the Pajaritos Lagoon – on the opposite side of the river to the existing port facilities and close to the tanker jetties operated by the state oil company Pemex – for construction of a new container terminal as well as handling facilities for dry and liquid bulks.
The port administration has earmarked a 50 hectare (124 acre) site with 1,500 metres (one mile) of waterfront for the new terminals. Dredging and the widening of the entrance to the lagoon will also be required to accommodate the latest generation of containerships.
In Salina Cruz, which currently has limited container handling capability, there are plans to build new container berths in the first phase of the project. Further in the future, a new port is expected to be created. Even so, it is estimated that the corridor will be handling 500,000 teu in its first phase and only then will there be a need to build an entirely new port at Salina Cruz. This new port is earmarked for Salinas del Marques, close to the existing harbour in Salina Cruz. The project’s final operating capacity is likely to be 3 million teu according to latest estimates.