The Government of Mexico will award the fourth section of the Mayan Train project from Izamal to Cancun directly without bidding to the Mexican construction company Ingenieros Civiles Asociados (ICA), as was announced by the director-general of the Tourism Development Fund (Fonatur) earlier this week.

The award will be direct because the company already has the concession of the Kantunil-Cancún highway that connects Yucatan with Quintana Roo - parallel highway to the outline of the railway project - so they are the ones who have the right of way. Fonatur explained that it was "the easiest way" since the construction company has the concession for the equivalent road segment. In the contract for the highway section with ICA, which is still valid for 30 years, there are some locks that prohibit the Mexican Government from generating competition with the company that holds the highway concession.

In the next few days, the technical and legal details of the assignment to ICA to build the section from Izamal (Yucatan) to Cancun (Quintana Roo) will be announced. The manager in charge of the Maya Train reported that the entire agreement will be finalized this week, adding that all that remains is to close legal issues with the company.

The head of the Fonatur specified that the Government has already acquired the rights of way for the Maya Train project and has begun to pay a total of MXN 757 million pesos (USD 33 million) to the owners.

At the moment, three sections of the Maya Train have been awarded by tender to various consortiums to build a total of 635 kilometers with a global investment of MXN 44.26 billion (USD 1.92 billion).

The first section, 228 kilometers from Palenque (Chiapas) to Escárcega (Campeche), was won by the Portuguese-based Mota-Engil Mexico consortium, in agreement with China Communications Construction Company, Grupo Cosh, Eyasa and Gavil Ingenieria, with an investment of MXN 15.54 billion pesos (USD 673 million).

The second section, 235 kilometers from Escárcega to Calkiní, both in Campeche, was for the consortium made up of Operadora Cicsa, linked to the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, in agreement with FCC Construcción, with an investment of MXN 18.55 billion (USD 803 million).

The group made up of the companies Construcciones Urales, Gami Ingeniería e Instalaciones and AZVI won the third 172-kilometer stretch from Calkini (Campeche) to Izamal (Yucatan) and an investment of MXN 10.19 billion (MXN 442 million).