Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
In an attempt to create a competitive alternative to the Panama Canal while encouraging regional economic development in Southern Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT) will be fully completed in mid-2026. The CIIT is one of Mexico’s most ambitious infrastructure projects to transform the country’s narrowest stretch of land into a modernized corridor between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. First announced in 2019 as part of the National Development Plan, the CIIT project aims to modernize the 189-mile Isthmus railway capacity for increased cargo demand, and the upgrade of key ports on both sides of the isthmus to handle large container ships.
While interest in connecting the Pacific and the Atlantic by rail began in the early 19th century, it took over a century for the project to be completed. In 1908, President Porfirio Díaz inaugurated a railway connecting the ports of Coatzacoalcos on the Gulf of Mexico and Salina Cruz on the Pacific Ocean. Despite the new intra-oceanic connection, the completion of the Panama Canal in 1914 caused a sharp decline in traffic and economic activity on this route. Recently, growing demand, increased wait times, and climate-induced droughts have hindered the ability to cross the Panama Canal efficiently, and this has increased interest in alternatives to the Canal.
The 7.5 billion dollar project aims to rehabilitate over 75o miles of railway lines to increase freight speeds from 12 to 44 mph. Additionally, four key ports at Coatzacoalcos and Salina Cruz are being expanded and modernized to handle increased cargo volumes. The government is also developing 12 industrial parks along the corridor to capitalize on the increased investment in the region. Road capacity is also being expanded, with highways upgraded to support efficient overland transport.
The CIIT is unlikely to replace the Panama Canal, but it could provide a viable alternative during periods of limited canal capacity. As it currently stands, once a boat enters the Panama Canal, crossing the 50-mile stretch takes around 8-10 hours. Alternatively, crossing the 189 Isthmus by train takes around 15 hours after considering offloading and reloading the shipping containers onto boats. Nevertheless, droughts that continue to plague Panama and drop Lake Gatún’s water levels, which feed the locks that power the canal, force restrictions on the number of ships that pass through the canal. These increasingly common droughts force ships to endure prolonged wait times or force them to circumnavigate South America. The newly developed corridor provides a third option.
The CIIT has the potential to play a meaningful role in strengthening global supply chain resilience. Although it will not replace the Panama Canal, the modernized infrastructure provides a practical alternative during periods of increasingly limited capacity. Moreover, the plans to connect the railway to other infrastructure projects across the Mayan peninsula and Guatemala will allow the project to continue to spur greater economic development in the region.
Source: https://lnkd.in/emc-5mQF
