Mexico City Texcoco Airport Aeropuerto de Texcoco, formerly Nuevo Aeropuerto Internacional de México (NAIM) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Aerial view of the construction site, June 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Serves | Mexico City | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Zona Federal del Lago de Texcoco, municipalities ofEcatepec,Atenco andTexcoco, State of Mexico,Greater Mexico City | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 19°30′00″N98°59′51″W / 19.5°N 98.9975°W /19.5; -98.9975 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
    | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mexico City Texcoco Airport was a planned airport inMexico City that was meant to become Mexico's New International Airport (Spanish:Nuevo Aeropuerto Internacional de México—NAICM orNAIM). The project was announced in September 2014 but was canceled in late 2018 after a referendum was held stating that the new airport should be built at a different location due to how close it was to housing, rising cost and a geographical issue with the site.
Texcoco Airport was first announced byPresidentEnrique Peña Nieto in his State of the Union Address on 2 September 2014. It was billed as Mexico's largest public infrastructure work in a century, and was set to replace Mexico City's currentBenito Juárez International Airport.[1]
In October 2018, while construction was already taking place, a non-binding referendum was organized by then President-electAndrés Manuel López Obrador, in which almost 70 percent of the 1.067 million voters rejected the planned airport, choosing instead to build a new airport on the grounds ofSanta Lucía Air Force Base.[2][3]Felipe Ángeles International Airport opened in March 2022.
Construction continued for several weeks, but was suspended on 27 December 2018 after López Obrador took office.[4][5] In 2020, the government of Mexico announced that they would convert the 12,000-hectare (46 sq mi) space where the airport was being built into theLake Texcoco Ecological Park, which will be a public space and an area ofecological restoration.
Texcoco Airport was to be constructed on a 44-square-kilometre (17 sq mi) site in theZona Federal del Lago de Texcoco, in part of the dry bed ofLake Texcoco.[6] The site was only 5 kilometres (3 mi) away from the existingBenito Juárez Airport, making the simultaneous operation of the airports impossible. It was therefore planned that all operations and traffic from Benito Juárez would be transferred to NAIM upon the airport reaching operational status.
The total cost for construction and initial operation of NAIM was estimated at up to US$13.3 billion, of which approximately 60% was to be contributed by the Mexican government through public funds, and approximately 40% was expected to be funded through a combination of bank loans and the offering of debt securities.[7]
TheGrupo Aeroportuario de la Ciudad de México (GACM), which is fully owned by the MexicanSecretariat of Communications and Transportation (SCT), was to build and operate the new airport. The GACM created a special purpose trust, the Mexico City Airport Trust, in order to execute the airport's private financing. The trust structured the private contributions as securities drawing from passenger charges at the existing AICM and the future passenger charges of the new airport, without recourse to the Mexican government or the airport sponsors. This collateral structure was designed to ensure that even if the project were to be canceled, the issued bonds would still be honored.[7][8]
In September 2017, the Mexico City Airport Trust successfully placed US$4 billion in private debt securities for the financing of NAIM. $2 billion were issued in long-termgreen bonds. This green bond issuance became the largest inLatin America at the time and the first green bond from anemerging market to receive a Green Bond Assessment grade fromMoody's Investors Service.[9][8]
The facilities at NAIM were planned to be completed in several stages. By 20 October 2020, the airport was expected to have one main terminal of 8,000,000 square feet (743,000 m2) and three independent runways, which would yield a capacity for 68 million passengers annually. By 2065, the airport was expected to host six runways, an additional main terminal, and two satellite terminals, giving it a capacity for 125 million passengers. This would have made NAIM the second largest airport in the world.[6]
The construction plan for the airport was developed by the global engineering and consultancy companyArup Group Limited.[10][11] The architectural project was to be designed in collaboration byNorman Foster, who worked onBeijing Capital International Airport andHong Kong International Airport, and Mexican architectFernando Romero, who worked on theSoumaya Museum.
The entrance to the terminal was to feature a garden of cacti and symbols of the eagle and snake, part of the national symbol pictured on the country'sCoat of Arms andflag.[12]
The main terminal was to be constructed in an X shape, which is considered an efficient way to extend the number of gates, and is used in many other airports. The X shape is also thought to be symbolic of the country's name, "México".[13]
According to the architects, the terminal was to be built in the style ofMexican architecture and was to be much larger than typical terminals, with a maximum internal span in excess of 170 metres (560 ft). The roof was to be made of a lightweight membrane-like material. The whole terminal was to be constructed using pre-fabricated segments.[14][15]
The project claimed it was "designed to be the world’s most sustainable airport", and was aiming for aLEED Platinum certification.[16][15]
In 2002, PresidentVicente Fox announced the construction of a new, larger airport on 5,000 ha (12,000 acres) of land in the municipalities ofTexcoco andSan Salvador Atenco in the same area as the new airport is planned today. When protests held by theCommunity Front in Defense of Land - an organization of locals who were to be displaced - were violently repressed,[17] the new airport was cancelled.[18]
Prior to the 2014 announcement of the construction of the new airport, the government had purchasedejido land (agricultural land held in common by local communities), in order to make space for the new airport. Some local groups inAtenco and nearby communities claimed that the federal government had acquired the land through deception and strong-arming, and small-scale protests took place after the announcement.[19][20]The airport plan drew negative reactions across social media with the new movement, #YoPriefieroElLago,[21] in which the distribution of infographics and "fast facts" spread across various platforms. The movement culminated in the creation of a mini-documentary[22] of the same name documenting the airport plan, the land and space it would require, interviews with Atenco community members, and the proliferation of the social media movement.[23]
Post-closure
According to the SCT, cancellation of the project left a debt of US$6 billion in bonds and $30 billion in securities, which will be paid off through thelanding fees atBenito Juárez International Airport over a period of 19 years. This debt is in addition to the $56.8 billion paid to the GACM as compensation for the cessation agreement of the fees. None of the money raised through the landing fees at Benito Juárez can be allocated for the construction of the newMexico City Santa Lucía Airport or for maintenance of the current airport.[24]
In early 2021, theSuperior Auditor of the Federation estimated that cancelling the airport would cost 113 billion pesos.[25]
On 10 July 2020, it was alleged thatGrupo Gilbert had fraudulently won possession of 49,000 tons of steel that had originally been designated for the NAIM.[26]
On 12 August 2020, Hugo Bello, leader of theConfederacón Libertad de Trabajadores de México (Freedom Confederation of Mexican Workers), was arrested for kidnapping and for suspected involvement in embezzlement of money destined for construction of the now-defunct airport.[27]
TheLake Texcoco Ecological Park, officially called Parque Ecológico Lago de Texcoco (PELT),[28] is a national park in theState of Mexico, and a federal government project. It is part of thelarger metropolitan area in the Valley of Mexico, aroundMexico City.[29]
The planned area for the park is 14,000 ha (35,000 acres),[30] of which 4,800 ha (12,000 acres) will be public spaces.[29] The park was inaugurated by the president of MexicoAndrés Manuel López Obrador on 30 August 2024.[31] The park was designated after the cancelling of an airport in the same location.
The park is both a majorecological restoration project, and possesses great potential forclimate adaptation for Mexico City.[32][33]
