Alstom not taking part in design of El Salvador’s Pacific railroad

French rail equipment manufacturer Alstom has confirmed that it will not participate in the design of the passenger and freight Pacific railroad project to be built in El Salvador. 

BNamericas contacted Alstom after El Salvador’s public works and transport ministry (MOP) announced that the design of the initiative had been awarded to a French firm, but company officials confirmed that it would not be taking part in this stage of the project.

“We awarded the project to a French company that delivered part of the first stretch’s engineering design in December. [That section] will run from Acajutla to Sonsonate, but [the company] is still working on the rest of the project,” minister Romeo Rodríguez said in December, without specifying the name of the firm. 

“We already have the basic engineering design of the first stage, from the Port of Acajutla to the Sonsonate area. At the moment, we're working on the preparation of the bidding documents to be able to develop the construction process," he was quoted as saying by newspaper El Mundo.

According to the MOP, the contract award process began in July and the ministry reported that three companies from France, South Korea and Spain had shown interest in drafting the design. 

The new railroad would link Cutuco to La Unión port in eastern La Unión department and Ahuachapan in the west of the country. Other links would run to Monseñor Oscar Arnulfo Romero international airport in the center-south and Acajutla, a seaport city in western Sonsonate department.

The railroad is eventually intended to be extended to capital San Salvador and to neighboring Guatemala. 

Capex for the first stage of construction is estimated at over US$300mn. A spokesman for President Nayib Bukele assured in October that construction would begin this year. 

The project was first announced in 2019 but has run into various problems that have led to several delays in the schedule.