Portugal's Mota-Engil Wins Contract for Mexico City Metro Line 3 Renovation, Total Project Investment of Approximately 40 Billion Pesos

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Mexico City government has announced the results of the investor selection process for the comprehensive modernization project of Metro Line 3. Mota-Engil México has been selected as the project's co-investor, responsible for advancing the comprehensive renewal of the line's tracks, civil works, and railway systems. The overall planned investment for the project is approximately 40 billion Mexican pesos, with major on-site construction scheduled to begin in 2027. Metro Line 3 connects Indios Verdes and Universidad, with a total length of approximately 23 kilometers, 21 stations, and annual ridership exceeding 175 million passengers, making it one of the busiest lines in the Mexico City Metro system.

A total of 11 companies registered their interest in this process, including Alstom Ferroviaria México, Mota-Engil México, CAF México, CRSC Internacional, ICA Constructora, and COMSA Infraestructuras, among others. Ultimately, two formal proposals were received on September 7, from Mota-Engil México and a consortium led by ICA, respectively. In the evaluation, the technical component accounted for 80% and the economic component for 20%. Mota-Engil received a technical score of 88.05 points and an economic score of 100 points, with a combined score of 90.44 points, becoming the only bidder that met all stipulated requirements.

The cumulative availability and operation payment amount corresponding to Mota-Engil's proposal is 25.1804 billion Mexican pesos, approximately 43% lower than the ICA proposal. This amount does not include VAT, government contributions, or new train procurement costs, and therefore cannot be directly equated to the total renovation investment for Line 3. The Mexico City government previously announced an overall project scale of approximately 40 billion pesos, covering tracks, stations, railway systems, and new train deployment, among other components.

Infrastructure renovation will include comprehensive renewal of existing tracks, treatment of line settlement, repair of tunnels and box structures, renovation of station facilities, upgrading of electrical systems, and modernization of the signaling system. The high-voltage, medium-voltage, and low-voltage power supply networks are all included in the renewal scope. The train control system is planned to adopt Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) to improve train operation control and dispatching capabilities. The project will also renovate station access and accessibility facilities, and reduce the impact on existing operations through phased construction.

The comprehensive modernization plan for Line 3 also includes up to 45 new trains. Information disclosed so far indicates that Mota-Engil's economic proposal of 25.1804 billion pesos does not include vehicle procurement costs. The Mexico City government will subsequently initiate a separate procurement process for train supply, and the vehicle manufacturer, contract amount, technical specifications, and delivery timeline remain pending the official release of tender documents.

The Mexico City government plans to enter the main line construction phase in 2027, organizing the works in segmented and time-differentiated manner. The existing plan includes prioritizing nighttime, weekend, and necessary time periods for construction to reduce the impact of long-term station or segment closures on daily commuting. After the completion of track renewal, power supply renovation, CBTC system, and new train deployment, the line's overall transport capacity and operational organization efficiency will be further improved.