Mexican Cicsa's Q4 sales see major boost from 3 infrastructure projects

Mexico’s Carso Infraestructura y Construcción (Cicsa), a subsidiary of billionaire Carlos Slim’s Grupo Carso conglomerate, grew Q4 sales close to 60% year-on-year thanks to three infrastructure projects considered a priority for the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

They are the US$922mn stretch two of the Maya train, which will run 235km across Campeche state; the US$524mn Mitla-Tehuantepec toll route, a 169km road linking the Oaxaca valley with the Tehuantepec isthmus; and the Las Varas-Puerto Vallarta highway in Nayarit state, under concession of Slim’s IDEAL, according to Cicsa’s Q4 financial report. 

Construction on the projects has been taking place for some years, and in the fourth quarter they generated 11.9bn pesos (US$634mn) in sales, up 58.8%.

Carso saw its Q4 sales rise 47.5% to 55.3bn pesos. 

Cicsa said its backlog totaled 38.1bn pesos at the end of December, compared to 48.8bn pesos at end-2021. 

At a press conference, López Obrador said last week that he had asked Slim to complete the second stretch of the Maya train by the end of December. Cicsa’s CEO, Antonio Gómez García, then said that works were already underway to comply with the request. 

The contract to build the 235km passenger and freight rail line was awarded in 2020 to a consortium led by Cicsa and Spain’s FCC Construcción, which is also controlled by Slim. 

Regarding the widening of Mitla-Tehuantepec, the infrastructure, communications and transportation ministry (SICT) said in October that it had reached 65% progress and would be concluded by the end of 2023. Meanwhile, Cicsa said in its Q4 report that the Las Varas-Puerto Vallarta highway reached 90% progress at end-2022.