The Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (SCT) of Mexico, the national federal entity in Mexico in charge of concession projects, has awarded the Tepic - San Blas highway concession to Red De Carreteras de Occidente (RCO).

This announcement comes after RCO emerged as the only bidder for the road PPP project.

The Tepic - San Blas highway concession involves the design, build, finance, operation and maintenance (DBFOM) of the Tepic - San Blas highway.

The road starts at El Trapichillo interchange, km 6+600 federal road MEX-015D Tepic-Villa Unión, and ends at km 8+060 of the federal road MEX-015 Santa Cruz-San Blas. The stretch has a length of 34.2 km and it is located in the state of Nayarit. It is expected that the road will be used by 250.000 vehicles per day.

The total project investment is estimated at P234.7 million (US$13.4 million)

RCO, based in Guadalajara (Mexico) is the company behind the construction, operation and maintenance of several concessioned highways in Mexico. It is majority owned by funds managed by Goldman Sachs. RCO operates the following road stretches:

• Guadalajara - Zapotlanejo highway, with a length of 26km, that connects the cities of Guadalajara and Zapotlanejo;

• Maravatío - Zapotlanejo highway with a length of 309.7km, which connects the cities of Ciudad De Mexico, Toluca, and Zapotlanejo.

• Zapotlanejo-Lagos de Moreno highway, with a length of 118.50km, that connects the cities of Guadalajara, Zapotlanejo, Tepatitlán junction to Arandas, Jalostotitlán, San Juan de los Lagos, and Lagos de Moreno; and

• Aguascalientes highway, with a length of 248.35km, which connects the cities of Guadalajara, Leon, and Aguascalientes.