The growing need for transportation infrastructure in Mexico is one of the reasons why the French company Egis plans to invest between 10 and 15 million euros to buy a local engineering firm, increase its presence and prepare unsolicited proposals for the highway development, said CEO Laurent Germain.
At a press conference, the manager recalled that currently four highways operate in Mexico, including the maintenance, repair and operation service of the Golfo-Centro concession, as part of consortiums with local firms.
When asked about his interest in expanding his presence in Mexico, despite the federal government’s lack of interest in bidding for new concessions, he said that his commitment is firm and long-term.
“In general, the awarding of concessions has specific moments throughout the world. There are waves with many concessions and for a few years there is nothing, it is what happened in France. It may happen that in the next three years there will be no new ones, but at Egis we think in the long term. I am convinced that there will be new concessions in the Mexican market because it is simply required”, he explained.
During the meeting, the director of the company in Mexico, Jesús Muñoz, who took office in mid-2021, who had just worked at the Thales firm, was also introduced and agreed: The government has not recently put out to tender new opportunities and, therefore, Therefore, it is something that is known in the market. However, the needs are there, the demands are there. We are going to continue preparing unsolicited proposals (especially in the urban and interurban areas with corridors that help improve connectivity), to present them.
Participate in the Mayan Train
Egis is currently part of the consortia that are in charge of supervising the construction of the railway platform and the railway for sections 4 and 5 south of the Mayan Train, in addition to carrying out technical assistance tasks on the Metro lines. Mexico City and Guadalajara.
In its conformation, 75% of the company is dedicated to consultancy and advisory tasks for builders and has a presence in more than 160 countries, the rest of the business is dedicated to the concession, maintenance and operation of highways and airports, among other infrastructures .
Regarding their participation in the Mayan Train, he acknowledged that it is a work that has a high political component and, for their part, they are dedicated to punctually fulfilling the contracts assigned to them.
Laurent Germain assured that the company he directs finds a favorable environment to continue growing in Mexico and therefore they seek to acquire a local company.
“Normally I don’t comment on political issues anywhere, but I can say that in recent years my business here has increased quite a bit. Is my team responsible or the government? I’m not sure, but it’s a fact, there is more activity. I have no reason why with the same government I cannot increase my level of work”.