With the support of the upcoming and outgoing governors in Southeast Mexico , President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador has announced that the Chiapas and Tabasco governments will start the Mayan Train Project , which will represent a 16,000 million pesos investment in 2019 alone , to be concluded in four years time.
In a private meeting at a hotel in the archaeological zone of Palenque , in company of Manuel Velasco and Rutilio Escandón , incoming and outgoing governors of Chiapas , the politician from Tabasco presented the project draft to government officials from Tabasco, Chiapas, Yucatán, Campeche, and Quintana Roo for the construction of the 1,500 km long train , which will be made for passengers and cargo, connecting Palenque and Cancún.
The overall investment, considering both the private and public sectors, will be of 150,000 million pesos . The project will also seek to create 20,000 permanent jobs , which will hopefully reduce the flow of migrants who seek to cross the border into the United States .
“We have already considered using tourist taxes , which are destined to tourist promotion programs, for the Mayan Train project. The money from these taxes will render an 8,000 million pesos investment . The government will pay for another part. Next year, 16,000 million pesos will be used for the project,” he stated.
Starting December 1 , project construction tenders will be launched to begin works immediately.
According to the draft presented by President-elect López Obrador, progress is being made in Chiapas and Tabasco, since their current governors, Manuel Velasco and Arturo Núñez, have begun working on the train, particularly regarding the legal framework for the construction tenders.
The president elect still hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a connection between the Mayan Train and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec railway .
The draft proposes to build 17 stations in a tourist trail that includes Palenque, Tenosique, Escárcega, Calakmul, Xpujil, Bacalar, Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Tulúm, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Morelos, Cancún, Valladolid, Chichén Itzá, Izamal, Mérida, Maxcanú, and Campeche .
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