Posted on March 29, 2023
Even though Mexico’s navy ministry (Semar) said it would take over all the country’s dredging works by 2023, port authorities under its control continue to put projects out to tender to the private sector.
The latest was called by Tuxpan port authority Asipona Tuxpan. Semar became the country’s overriding port authority in 2020, and so the port in Veracruz state is under its control.
According to tender call LO-13-J2X-013J2X002-I-4-2023, the Tuxpan authority was due to receive bids on Monday for carrying out maintenance dredging at Tuxpan port. A winner is scheduled to be picked April 3.
In November 2021, the navy minister, admiral José Rafael Ojeda Durán, announced that the federal government rolled out a plan to acquire the necessary equipment to end tenders for dredging works. The goal, he said, was to save up to 1.3bn pesos (US$62mn) annually.
In the early 1990s, what is now the infrastructure, communications and transportation ministry (SICT) donated to Semar four dredging vessels. The navy ministry kept these while the infrastructure ministry tendered all maintenance and construction dredging works to international firms.
But Ojeda said Semar acquired six new dredging vessels to upgrade its fleet.
The government has not updated its plans since.
