Spotlight: Guatemala's most important PPP projects, according to EY

After the first public-private partnership (PPP) project was approved by Guatemala's congress in 2021 to upgrade the Escuintla-Quetzal port highway, feasibility studies have been completed for various new PPPs and they are now ready to move on to the tender stage. 

PPP management agency Anadie has faced multiple challenges since the implementation of this model in the country. 

“Throughout the whole process [of the first PPP], Guatemalans realized that the scheme needs improvement,” Astrid Zosel, a PPP-specialized lawyer at consulting firm EY, told BNamericas. “There's a lack of long-term planning [and] the PPP scheme is still unknown in many sectors because it gets mistaken for ‘privatization’ and the model isn't yet mature, of course.”

Some of the other problems that need to be tackled involve sourcing of funds for feasibility studies, and the politicization of contract debates in congress prior to their approval, “which is what held up the Escuintla-Quetzal port highway contract for years,” Zosel added.

According to data from EY, at least two other PPP projects are ready to be tendered out: the US$148mn upgrade of Guatemala City's La Aurora international airport (AILA) and the construction of a US$240mn government administrative center in the capital to house up to 10,000 state employees. 

The full list of the most important PPP infrastructure projects in Guatemala, according to EY, is the following: 

Project	Estimated capex	Stage of development
Guatemala City urban train (MetroRiel)	US$770mn	Pre-feasibility studies completed
Government administrative center	US$240mn	Pre-qualification process completed
Guatemala cable car (Aerometro)	US$156mn	Pending Congressional approval
La Aurora International Airport (AILA) upgrade	US$158mn	Feasibility studies completed. Pre-qualification stage begun
Escuintla-Puerto Quetzal highway upgrade	US$125mn	Pending execution.
Tecun Uman II logistics port	US$40mn	Developing state 2 strategy
Development of mass transportation system Eje Oriente-Occidente in Guatemala City	Still being calculated	Pre-feasibility studies completed
Guatemala freight train project	Still being calculated	Pre-feasibility studies completed
Guatemala high-speed rail	Still being calculated	Pending pre-feasibility studies
Quetzal Port modernization and expansion	US$177mn	Tender pending congressional approval
Construction of Express Nororiente highway	US$310mn	Pre-feasibility studies completed
Transversal del Sur highway project	US$77mn	Pre-feasibility studies pending
C-50 highway project	US$210mn	Pre-feasibility studies pending
New pier at El Arenal port	US$51mn	Pre-feasibility studies pending
Construction of Belize II bridge	US$240mn	In execution
Health infrastructure upgrades	US$193mn	Financing scheme approved