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Punta Colonet project on hold by Mexico
December 15, 2012 4:03 PM

BY CESAR NEYOY - BAJO EL SOL

Mexico has suspended bidding on development of a deep-water shipping port on the Baja California coast that would be linked with by proposed rail line with Yuma.

Mexico's Ministry of Communications and Transportation said in a recently published announcement it was canceling bidding on the Punta Colonet project amid a drop in maritime commerce stemming from the world economic situation.

It previously was seeking bidders to build and operate the port and a rail line that would move cargo shipped in from other nations. Yuma-area officials looked forward to the prospects of the line passing through Yuma, creating economic development opportunities here.

Officials of the area's transportation planning agency, the Yuma Metropolitan Planning Organization, say they don't believe the suspension in bidding means the Punta Colonet project is dead.

“We don't think this is a final cancelation but rather (the project) is on hold,” said Charlene Fitzgerald, executive director of the YMPO. “In fact, we are waiting for the results of a study by the Ministry of Communications and Transportation that has to do with Punta Colonet.”

The results of that study, she said, will be incorporated into the Yuma County Rail Corridor and Logistics Study being prepared by YMPO. That study seeks to identify rail routes that make the best use of Yuma County's proximity to Mexico to create international trade opportunities.

Punta Colonet project on hold by Mexico - yumasun.com