$430M intermodal container terminal underway in Cancún

Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources approved the project’s environmental impact permit on Sept. 1.

Additional multimodal cargo hubs are slated for Palenque, Poxilá, and Progreso, with freight including fuel, steel, cement, grains, perishables, and automobiles expected to move through the network.

The long-term goal is to connect the Mayan Train system with the CIIT to streamline cargo flows across Mexico and into the U.S.

The CIIT project is upgrading a 188-mile rail line across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the country’s narrowest point between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Once complete, it could handle up to 1.4 million TEUs annually, offering shippers an alternative to the Panama Canal by linking the ports of Coatzacoalcos and Salina Cruz.

“This is a very important project,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in June. “The southeast was the least connected region of the country. Now, the interoceanic corridor not only links Veracruz and Oaxaca, but also connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans — an alternative to the Panama Canal.”

The CIIT will feature 10 inland ports to attract shippers serving U.S. East and West Coast markets. Several rail sections are already operating, moving more than 514,000 tons of cargo last year. Full completion is expected by 2026.

Still, the Cancún project has drawn backlash from environmentalists, including Greenpeace Mexico, which warns that clearing 645 acres of rainforest threatens 12 native species.