The company that built the fateful section of line 12 is now building the Mayan Train, AMLO’s flagship structure

Almost a month and a half after the tragedy collapse of an elevated section of metro line 12 which left 26 dead and more than 70 wounded, this Wednesday, June 16, preliminary report on the causes of the accident, manufactured by the Norwegian company DNV. The report states that the poor construction of the elevated viaduct, caused the tragedy.

For its part, the College of Civil Engineers of Mexico carried out a physical inspection of the elevated section of line 12, which -determined- It has several shortcomings, including a “questionable construction practice” in the welds in the center of the clearing.

During a press conference held on Thursday, June 17, the College indicated that At least 32% of the elevated section of Line 12 has type B damage, which requires analysis and rehabilitation before the road is reopened.

The consortium composed of ICA, Alstom and Carso Infraestructura y Construcción (CICSA), They were in charge of the construction of the so-called Golden Line. But CICSA, owned by tycoon Carlos Slim Helú, built the elevated section stretching for 11.8 kilometers.

After announcing the preliminary results of the expertise, Grupo Carso lost 3,141 million pesos in market value, as reported by the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV). The value of the company’s shares also fell 1.90 percent.

Before nine o’clock in the morning on Wednesday, the figure remained at values ​​close to the close of the day before (65.92); however, over the hours he exhibited constant losses, reaching 64.67.

Following the publication of the report on the accident on line 12, Carso Infraestructura y Construcción informed the newspaper The day that it would not take a position on the question, since it is a preliminary ruling.

“The CICSA will not publish comments until the final expertise is known, as what was presented today was preliminary.”, he said.

But now the eyes are on the Mayan trend, one of the emblematic works of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, every time CICSA builds Section 2 of the railway project.

The construction of the Mayan train

Since López Obrador announced the construction of the Mayan train, the work was seriously questioned, especially because of the enormous damage to the environment, since it will pass through the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo, with 1,500 kilometers of railways.

The president’s plan is to achieve equity in the southeast of the country by connecting the poor and isolated south to the wealthy east, with its archaeological sites, Aztec monuments and white sand beaches.

Many groups, including populations from the states crossed by the Train, have been protected or have been granted temporary suspensions to avoid damaging their property and the environment..

And it is that in addition to the fact that hundreds of kilometers of forest and jungle will be pruned, it is also feared that the availability of water will decrease, since it conditions the cycle of crops, the land, the type of crops and plants.

Despite the fact that there are several protections that prevent the construction of certain sections, the project continues to advance.

According to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the Mayan train should be ready by the end of 2023Therefore, construction companies work tirelessly to deliver the work on time.

On May 17, López Obrador allegedly had breakfast with businessman Carlos Slim, in its Quinta located in Palenque, Chiapas, assess the progress of the construction of the Mayan train.

Via your account Twitter, López Obrador posted a photo with the mogul, along with the following message: “I had lunch in Palenque with Carlos Slim because we are evaluating the progress of the construction of the Mayan train and his company has a section in charge. We also talked about other topics and I showed him the biggest ceiba tree I have in the fifth “, followed by the black and white snapshot.

Two days later, the president gave details of the meeting he held over the weekend with the mogul, whom he called an entrepreneur with a social dimension.

“We spoke with Carlos Slim. He is an entrepreneur with a social dimension. Carlos Slim is very institutional, respectful, believes in the country and invests in Mexico “, assured López Obrador.

The CEO presumed to have “a good relationship” with the businessman (the richest in Mexico) and assured that there is “the commitment that he will continue to invest” in the country.

“There will be no obstacle because what we need is for there to be investments in the country. If there are investments there are jobs, if there are jobs there is well-being, peace and tranquility in Mexico “, said López Obrador.

Since June 2020, CICSA builds section 2, considered one of the most complex in the section and it goes from Escárcega to Calkiní (Campeche).

It measures approximately 172 kilometers and It is estimated that it will have a total cost of around 18,600 million pesos. fair andThis section is one of those that resulted in a judicial resolution prevent the progress of work because there are people installed around the railroad tracks that already exist and operate in the area.

Although the National Tourism Promotion Fund (Fonatur), the agency in charge of the plan, offered the affected families the delivery of dozens of houses, no agreement was reached with the residents.

Another factor that has represented delays in the construction of the Mayan train is the COVID-19 pandemicTherefore, the president himself asked construction companies, including CICSA, to speed up the work.

Until before the election close for the June 6 elections, CICSA and FCC Construcción, which is also involved in the construction of Section 2, clarified that they continued to advance the stripping, excavation and transportation of materials, as well as the formation of the embankment, pedraplén and dismantling of the tracks.

Carlos Slim’s other investments in infrastructure

The Mexican magnate also participates with several of his companies in the National Infrastructure Program, where he renovates or builds roads.

One of them is the Mitla-Tehuantepec highway, in Oaxaca, which measures 169.23 kilometers and requires an investment estimated at 13,000 million pesos.

Slim participates in this project with IDEAL (Impulsora de Desarrollo y el Empleo en América Latina) in collaboration with ICA (Ingenieros Civiles Asociados) to build, extend, modernize, conserve, operate, maintain and operate the highway for a period of 40 years.

Also with IDEAL, he collaborates in the construction and operation of the surponiente bypass of Guadalajara, the Tepic bypass and the Guadalajara-Tepic highway., with an investment of 8,200 million pesos. Likewise, IDEAL collaborates in the Federal highway Tepic-Villa Unión, which crosses Nayarit and Sinaloa.

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