Urban Transportation Projects kick off in Chihuahua

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on March 15th to kick off this construction project that will house the transit corridor’s Northern Terminal in Chihuahua City.

In addition to the Governor of Chihuahua, Cesar Duarte Jaquez, the ceremony was attended by the Director of Investment Banking and Infrastructure Fund Trustee Federico Patiño; Chihuahua Mayor Marco Adan Quesada; the Chairman of the State Congress, Rene Franco; the Deputy General Manager of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission, Jose Mario Sanchez Soledad, and Andres Rangel on behalf of the North American Development Bank, among other personalities.

Mr. Patiño said that this transit corridor, which will serve about 380,000 users, has received $2.3 Million in grant support from the Fund, as well as assistance from Banobras. The project is part of Chihuahua’s Municipal Urban Mobility Plan. Additionally, he announced that a similar urban transportation project for Ciudad Juarez is also underway.

In his remarks, Chihuahua Mayor Marco Adan Quesada said “this project is a long-held dream (by the community)… a flagship project that will change the face of Chihuahua”. It is a project that will help improve the environment and promote respectful treatment of public transportation users, he said.

For the Governor, this is “a fundamental project that will provide a new face to the Capital of the state.” He recognized that the project has become a reality thanks to the efforts of many stakeholders, including transportation concessionaires and funding agencies that are lending their assistance. The project will be operational in the summer of 2012, the Governor stated.

This first North-South transit corridor will be 24.4 kilometers long and will have 34 stations on a dedicated lane for special Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicles. Towards the end of his comments, Governor Duarte announced similar upcoming transportation projects in other municipalities, including Juarez, Delicias, and Parral. These projects will help “upgrade transportation to an acceptable level throughout the entire state,” he said.