The Secretary of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport (SICT), Jorge Nuño Lara, announced the upcoming start in July of the construction of the Cancun Airport-Maya Train Station Connection. This is one of five projects from the Comprehensive Program for the Development of Strategic Projects in Cancun.
In a press conference held this Monday, led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Nuño Lara detailed that the rolling stock for the project has already been selected, which will allow the connection of the four terminals of Cancun Airport with the Maya Train Station. Thus, the pre-investment phase will conclude in June.
The secretary highlighted that the four-kilometer-long connection project will be built within the airport’s polygon. Regarding the rolling stock, an electric vehicle has been selected with the capacity to transport 47 passengers per unit, including luggage.
Nuño Lara also mentioned the progress in other projects of the program, such as the Nichupté Vehicular Bridge (with a 21% progress), the Luis Donaldo Colosio Boulevard (69%), the new Airport Distributor (64%), and the Chac Mool Avenue (13%).
In the case of the Airport Distributor, the construction of the new bridge has been completed, and it has been opened to traffic from the hotel zone towards the airport. By the end of this month, the other section is expected to be open, and the demolition of the old bridge will begin.
The five works framed in the program will have a total investment of 8.9 billion pesos (~USD 514 million). Four of them will be completed this year, and the remaining one in March 2024. It is expected that these works will benefit more than 1.3 million residents of the municipalities of Benito Juárez, Solidaridad, Puerto Morelos, and Isla Mujeres, as well as more than 20 million tourists who visit Cancun each year.
According to the Secretariat, these routes will allow more comfortable and effective mobility from the Cancun International Airport to the hotel zone and city center, resulting in lower logistical costs that will benefit the local economy and the tourist development of the region.
In addition, they emphasized that the construction of these works has generated more than 10 thousand direct jobs and over 41 thousand indirect ones, providing social value and benefits to the family economy of the inhabitants of the region.
Maya Train, an ambitious symbol of AMLO’s presidency
The Maya Train is a rail transport infrastructure project proposed by the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Its aim is to boost economic development and tourism in the Yucatan Peninsula, a region that includes the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan, and Quintana Roo.
The project involves the construction of a train line of approximately 1,500 kilometers that will connect various tourist destinations and major cities in the region. The trains will operate both for passenger and freight transport, and it is expected that the infrastructure will stimulate regional economic growth, attract more tourism, and generate jobs.
The Maya Train project has also been subject to controversy and criticism. Some groups and local communities have expressed concerns about the environmental impact of the train, as it is expected to cross through jungle areas and significant archaeological sites. There have also been criticisms related to the displacement of indigenous communities and human rights.
The Mexican government has defended the project and has stated that measures are being taken to minimize the environmental and cultural impacts, and to ensure that local communities benefit from the economic development that the project can bring.
