Mexico City Airport Threatens to Turn Into Investor Standoff

Mexicans must decide if $13 billion projects goes ahead or not
Incoming president has pledged to respect result of the vote

Workers build the flight control tower of the New International Airport of Mexico City during construction in Texcoco on April 13, 2018.Photographer: Brett Gundlock/Bloomberg

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By Daniela Guzman and Andrea Navarro

October 23, 2018 at 1:01 PM UTC

Updated on

October 23, 2018 at 4:26 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

A referendum on the future of Mexico City’s partially built airport this week is shaping up to be president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s first standoff with investors who have taken a wait-and-see approach to the new government.

The nationwide vote from Oct. 25 to Oct. 28 will ask people whether they want to push ahead with the $13 billion Texcoco project, or go for a cheaper alternative further away from Mexico City. According to a national poll by El Financiero last month, 63 percent of respondents support the continuation of the airport construction.