"It is a very important work because it is going to communicate one of the most important cultural regions in the world", Andrés Manuel López Obrador

The Maya Train, the project of the current president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, seeks to achieve the economic growth of Cancún, Tulum, Calakmul, Palenque and Chichen Itzá, some of the main tourist sites of the nation. "It is a very important work because it is going to communicate one of the most culturally important regions in the world.There is not in other parts of the world a region with as much cultural richness as this region of flowering of the great Mayan culture," said Obrador when he announced the project.

Leer en español: Tren Maya: El proyecto de AMLO que busca conectar el sureste mexicano

The financing of the Maya Train

According to Obrador, the work will cost between 6,000 and 8,000 million dollars and an estimated time of 4 years for its completion. The States of Quintana Roo, Chiapas and Tabasco are part of the 900 kilometers that are needed to expand to make the train that reaches a total of 1500 kilometers and covering the States of Campeche and Yucatan.

During the day, tourists attracted by the archaeological riches of the region will be transported on the train, which will also connect all the inhabitants of southeastern Mexico. During the night, the Maya Train will be used to transport goods. The initiative of Obrador has aroused the interest of the tourism sector in the different regions through which the train will cross.

"To finance this program, the funds raised from the tourism tax will be used, as it will not be enough, a call will be made to seek a partnership with the private initiative," Obrador explained in his announcement. According to the BBC, the annual tax collection for tourism "amounts to $ 370 million dollars." According to the president of Mexico, "this income will be available during the 6 years."

You can also read: 5 dreamy places that you should visit at least once in your life 

The challenges that the construction of the train will have

"The construction period is very variable and depends a lot on the orographic complexity of the area, the urban integrations, the stations, all with the approval of the projects and the land to start building", explained Enrique Rico, director of railways of the Spanish company IDOM, to El País of Spain. Rico also stressed that "the construction of a railroad project about 1,500 kilometers long takes, in the best of cases, five to six years."

In an interview with the BBC, Eduardo Ramírez Leal, president of the Mexican Chamber of the Construction Industry, said: "It is a very interesting line, of many challenges, of environmental impact because it crosses some interesting jungle areas, but it is also a challenge of infrastructure: there are a series of rivers, a series of lakes, engineering challenges "

He added that he hopes that "it will be very supportive to Mexican companies, to Mexican engineering for the development of the same project. And in the execution, if it is not the Mexican investor, well that they are companies (Mexican) that participate in this public policy of construction of this project ".

Latin American Post | Edwin Guerrero Nova

Translated from "Tren Maya: El proyecto de AMLO que busca conectar el sureste mexicano"