계약 취소 멕시코 고속철' 이달 중순 재입찰 Mexico To Reopen Bidding For Multibillion High-speed Train At Center Of Scandal
중국철도건설유한회사 낙찰 일방적 취소
중국 기업측에 손해 배상
37억5천 달러 규모
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중국, 멕시코 고속철도 재입찰 참여한다 Mexico's High Speed Rail Plans Hits $3.75 Billion Contract Snag
케이콘텐츠 kcontents
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멕시코가 업체 선정 과정의 투명성을 확보한다는 목적으로 계약을 취소했던 고속철 공사의 입찰을 재공고한다.
멕시코 정부는 수도 멕시코시티와 산업도시 케레타로를 잇는 210㎞ 구간의 고속철 공사 입찰 예비기간을 14일 발표할 예정이라고 로이터통신이 5일(현지시간) 보도했다.
공사비 37억5천 달러에 달하는 이 프로젝트는 작년 11월 중국철도건설유한회사를 주축으로 멕시코 기업이 참여한 컨소시엄이 사업자로 선정된 직후 멕시코 정부가 일방적으로 계약을 취소했다.
당시 멕시코 정부가 투명성과 공정성을 확보하기 위해 재입찰을 하겠다고 발표하자 중국 기업측이 '법적인 문제 제기'를 거론하면서 반발했고, 멕시코는 손해를 배상한 것으로 알려졌다.
특히 계약이 취소된 뒤 사업체로 선정된 컨소시엄에 참가한 멕시코 기업의 관계사가 엔리케 페냐 니에토 멕시코 대통령의 부인인 앙헬리카 리베라 여사에게 시가 70억 원 상당의 주택을 대출까지 해가며 지어준 사실이 폭로되면서 부정취득 의혹이 일었다.
파문이 확산하자 리베라 여사는 자신이 배우를 하던 시절 벌어들인 수입으로 주택을 샀다고 해명하면서 의혹을 해소하고자 주택을 팔겠다고 선언했다.
이어 루이스 비데가라이 재무장관도 이 관계사로부터 5억6천만 원짜리 주택을 담보 대출을 통해 사들인 사실이 밝혀졌으나 비데가라이 장관은 "법적으로 하자가 없다"며 매각을 거부했다.
이 관계사의 모기업인 멕시코 이가그룹 계열사들은 페냐 니에토 대통령이 멕시코주 주지사를 지내다가 2012년 대통령선거에 출마했을 당시 선거 캠페인을 지원했고, 이후 여러 건의 관급 공사를 수주해 정경유착에 대한 세간의 의혹이 증폭됐다.
이 관계사는 결국 고속철 재입찰에 참여하지 않겠다고 밝혔다. 그러나 중국철도건설유한회사는 재입찰에 참여할 것으로 멕시코 정부는 예상하고 있다.
중남미 최초의 고속철 건설 프로젝트인 이번 사업에는 프랑스의 알스톰과 캐나다 봄바르디어 등도 관심을 나타내고 있다. (멕시코시티=연합뉴스) 이동경 특파원 hopema@yna.co.kr |
President Obama is expected to discuss security and social issues with Peña Nieto (Photo credit: Office
of Mexico’s Presidency)
By DoliaEstevez
The Mexican government announced that it will reopen the bidding process for a $3.75 billion high-speed train contract that was abruptly canceled in November when it became entangled with a possible conflict-of-interest scandal involving Mexico’s First Lady.
Mexico’s Department of Transportation said in a statement on Sunday that it will publish preliminary terms for the project on January 14. The terms of the tender, which will be open for 180 days, will be similar to the original one, the agency said.
The 130-mile line, which will connect Mexico City and the central city of Queretaro, is expected to move 27,000 passengers daily at speeds of up to 186 mph. It represents the first phase of a major infrastructure project that will ultimately link Southern and Northern Mexico. The country has no passenger trains since the railroads were privatized in the 1990s.
Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto abruptly revoked the single-bid deal late last year shortly before disclosures that his wife, former soap opera star Angélica Rivera, acquired a lavish mansion from a Mexican contractor who was awarded part of the rail contract. China Railway Construction Corp (CRCC) was also part of the consortium.
President Obama is expected to discuss security and social issues with Peña Nieto (Photo credit: Office of Mexico’s Presidency)
The government said that the Mexican company, Higa, owned by Juan Armando Hinojosa, a Mexican businessman close to the President, is not expected to participate in the bidding this time around.
The Global Times reported that China will probably tender again to the high-speed rail project and will hold “significant advantages,” officials from CRCC said Monday, after Mexico announced the re-launching of the project.
According to Reuters, French engineering group Alstom SA and Canada’s Bombardier Inc. have said they would also consider taking part in the new tender.
The Mexican government explained that a “social witness” has been named to guarantee that the bidding process will take place with “full transparency and legality.”
The political backlash over revelations of the link between Rivera’s $7 million mansion and the company awarded the train contract deepened last month when it became known that Peña Nieto’s most trusted collaborator also owns a house sold by Higa.
Mexico’s powerful Finance Minister Luis Videgaray, seen as the brains behind Peña Nieto’s bold economic reforms agenda, admitted having bought a weekend house from Higa in the exclusive golf resort of Malinalco outside Mexico City, but denied any wrongdoing. He says he bought the house at the end of 2012 before he became cabinet minister, though he was member of Peña Nieto’s transition team and was universally seen as the next Finance Minister.
Peña Nieto –who will meet with President Obama on Tuesday at the White House to discuss among other things Mexican security and social issues– has come under increasing political pressure to clean house. Since the abduction of 43 students in late September by alleged corrupt police acting under orders of a drug-connected Mayor in the southern state of Guerrero, massive demonstrations throughout Mexico have called on the government to put an end to impunity and injustice.
Twitter: @DoliaEstevez
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