Business leaders worried about Mexico's new airport

Mexico

’s incoming government opened polls on Thursday for a public consultation to decide whether to ditch a multi-billion-dollar new airport , a possibility that worries markets and business leaders.

The poll ends today, and it will determine if the President-elect, Andrés Manuel López Obrador 's administration should finish the ambitious but costly new Mexico City airport or scrap it and upgrade a military air base to complement the current airport.

The results of the poll, which will guide the new government's decision, are one of the first big tests of López Obrador ’s economic policy and his relations with the country’s business elite he criticized during the campaign.

Moises Kalach

, a senior member of CCE , a business lobby, told media he was worried any contract cancellations could violate international treaties, adding that markets needed certainty.

Some business leaders have warned that project cancellation could scare investors away and hit the Mexican currency and government bonds.

The new airport , under construction on a drained lakebed on Mexico City ’s eastern flank since 2015, is about 20% to 30% complete.

The Texcoco airport is projected to cost MXN $285 billion, up from an original estimate of MXN $195 billion, says incoming transport minister Jimenez Espriu.

Mexicans will decide the future of Mexico's New International Airport

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