ICA: Company ready, able to post an offer for the new Farac 2 tender - Mexico

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Mexico's biggest construction firm ICA (BMV, NYSE: ICA) is able and willing to bid in the new Farac 2 tender, scheduled to be launched in mid-April by transport and communications ministry SCT, the firm's VP of administration and finance, Alonso Quintana, told BNamericas.

An ICA-led consortium was a leading contender in the tender process, which was scheduled to be awarded this week.

The firm competed with a consortium formed by local firms IDEAL - property of Mexican mogul Carlos Slim - and Imbursa.

However, SCT declared the tender void on March 2, arguing the offers failed to meet the minimum return value stipulated in the bidding rules for awarding the concession.

Former SCT head Luis Téllez said this happened because the reference values were modified in mid-February to reflect market fluctuations, such as the exchange rate and the price of construction materials.

As a result, the reference values increased and exceeded the offers from the two competing bidders

Téllez then announced SCT's decision to divide Farac 2 in smaller packages and re-launch the tender in mid-April.

"We are ready to post an offer, as all the technical studies on the highway sections involved, including investment requirements and traffic estimates, are complete after thorough analysis," Quintana said.

"However, we cannot make any further statements, as there is no information available on exactly how the package will be split up," he added.

Quintana said the concession process was somewhat confusing, as SCT was sending additional information up to a few days before offers were due.

"Actually, we thought the deadline would be postponed and we would have more time. We sped things up to make it," the executive said, adding: "We felt we had an adequate and competitive offer, especially considering the current economic scenario."

"We were a little surprised by how the whole process was handled and the fact that it was declared void," Quitana added.

Farac 2, also known as Paquete del Pacífico, includes the construction and operation of 400km of new roads, as well as the maintenance of 370km of existing highways, under a 30-year concession.