Narayan AmmachchiThe Mexican government is reportedly planning to build a new airport in Mexico City to help the city handle ever-increasing levels of air traffic. According to Bloomberg, President Enrique Pena Nieto is likely to unveil the plan next week.
A larger international airport has long been overdue in Mexico City as the existing airport has been stretched to the limit due to a surge in passenger numbers in recent years. The existing hub handled a record 31.5 million passengers in 2013, according to Airports Council International.
If everything goes as planned, the new airport will be up and running by the end of 2018. The new airport will have four runways, but a Reuters report says this could be expanded to six runways in the years to come.
Previous plans to build a new airport were dropped by the Vicente Fox administration, which governed Mexico from 2000 to 2006, following protests from villagers and farmers who live in the proposed site.
But the current government recently stated that it now owns a large tract of land in the proposed site and the construction would begin sometime this year. The government reportedly plans to ally with private investors to raise money to fund the project.
The new airport, to be built at the cost of US$9.2 billion, will lead to the closure of the existing Benito Juarez International airport.
Business activity is expected to rise in Mexico in the years ahead, with the Pena Nieto administration opening up the country’s oil and gas industry in addition to boosting competition among telecom firms and overhauling the nation’s education system.
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