Coatzacoalcos Underwater Tunnel

distressed

In September 2004, the contract to build, operate and maintain a new underwater tunnel was awarded to Concesionaria Tunel de Coatzacoalcos SA de CV (Cotuco) by the state of Veracruz for a period of 30 years. Further bidding information was not available. The Coatzacoalcos Underwater Tunnel or Tunel Sumergido de Coatzacoalcos was to relieve traffic congestion and connect Coatzacoalcos city with its port district on the other side of the Coatzacoalcos River in the state of Veracruz. It was to complement an existing bridge that had been in operation since 1958 that had experienced frequent traffic bottlenecks. The project's total layout was 2,280 meters in length, 1,196 of which run through the tunnel as follows: 828 metres are cut through an underwater tunnel and 368 metres are run using the “cut and cover” system. Of the latter section, 261 metres lie on the Coatzacoalcos side and 107 metres in Allende. Both areas are reached by ramps; the west ramp was 140 metres long and the east ramp was somewhat longer than 113 metres. The tunnel was designed to have five lanes, including one emergency lane, and would carry roughly 18,000 vehicles per day. In November 2007, the contract to construct the bridge was signed with federal authorities, the state of Veracruz and the project company, Cotuco. Cotuco was a subsidiary of GVI which, in turn, was owned by Caja Madrid [Spain] and Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas S.A. (FCC) [Spain]. Tunel Sumergido de Coatzacoalcos agreed to pay for 60% of the project and would recoup costs through tolls, to be set at roughly 14 pesos each way. Veracruz state and the Federal government agreed to pay for the balance of the project cost. Financing for the bridge came from several sources and was committed during the contract signing. GVI was to provide 600mn pesos (US $54.6 million) of its own resources and had a credit line of 700mn pesos (US $63.7 million) from a syndication of Banco Santander and Banobras. Veracruz state was to donate 380mn pesos (US $34.6 million) and the federal government was to grant 370mn pesos (US $33.7 million) from its infrastructure investment fund Finfra. Total project cost was estimated at 2050 mn MXN (US $186.7 million). 36 months were allocated for construction which commenced in March of 2007. The bridge was expected to become operational in 2010. In December 2013, the government openned a court case against the private sponsors, due to delays in the construction works and financial issues associated with the project. In June 2016, the sponsors were granted a US$ 45.2 million in loans to refinance its debts. http://uac.sct.gob.mx/fileadmin/espanol/seminariocct/resultados/sesion_5/S5A_PG.pdf http://www.fcc.es/fcc/corp/ing/adn_it_adntc_om.htm Converted 2050 MXN to USD using the market rate of the period average for 2007 as published by the IMF.