en.Wedoany.com Reported - Mexico has relaunched the tender process for the Playas de Rosarito desalination plant in Baja California, after a previous public tender for the project was declared void. This move aims to advance this major Mexican water infrastructure project according to the established timeline.
The new contract includes the engineering, procurement, construction, testing, commissioning, and pump station construction required to supply drinking water to Tijuana and Playas de Rosarito. The National Water Commission (Conagua) has published procedure number IO-16-B00-016B00985-I-148-2026, which is being managed by the General Coordination Office for Special Water Supply and Sanitation Projects in accordance with the Law on Public Works and Related Services.
This tender uses the method of inviting at least three parties based on Article 42, Section VII of the Public Works Law, and is launched after the public tender was declared void while maintaining the original tender requirements. According to the ComprasMX schedule, the site visit is set for July 10, the clarification meeting for July 13, bid submission and opening for July 21, and the award decision will be announced on July 24. The contract stipulates a start date of July 31, with actual construction beginning on August 1, 2026, an execution period of 1,096 calendar days, and an expected completion in 2029.
The tender adopts an open international public works model, allows electronic participation, uses an evaluation method based on points and percentages, offers a 30% advance payment, and accepts joint bids. The project includes a social witness, spans four fiscal years, and requires a performance bond as well as civil and environmental liability insurance.
According to a February report from the National Water Commission, the desalination plant is a joint investment by the federal and state governments totaling over 14.6 billion pesos ($840 million). Of this, the federal government is contributing 10 billion pesos ($575 million) for plant construction, while the Baja California state government has allocated over 4.6 billion pesos ($265 million) for water transmission and distribution supporting works. The facility is designed with a capacity of 2,200 liters per second, aiming to increase water availability in Tijuana and Playas de Rosarito by up to 45%.
The tender stipulates that the project will use multi-year federal budget resources approved by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit for fiscal years 2026, 2027, and 2028, with the remaining funds coming from the Baja California state government's committed contributions for the water system supporting works. As part of the National Water Plan, the project is described by authorities as the largest and most modern desalination plant in Latin America. In the draft 2026 federal expenditure budget, the project appears under the main strategic investments of the K027 program, with a federal allocation of 7.5 billion pesos ($431 million) for that fiscal year, the highest allocation for a single water project in the program. The new tender process aims to maintain the overall timeline for completion in 2029, as previously announced by the federal government, which was established after the Claudia Sheinbaum administration pushed for the project's relaunch.
