MEXICO CITY, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Mexican president-elect, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, announced Friday that he will submit two proposals for a "binding" consultation on the future of the New International Airport for Mexico City (NAIM).
Lopez Obrador, who will assume the presidency on Dec. 1, told a press conference that his decision was taken on experts' advice over the pros and cons of each plan.
The first proposal is to continue the construction of the airport in Texcoco, State of Mexico, which surrounds Mexico City; however, this option would be costly for the public.
The second is to stop the current project and instead build two extra runways at the Santa Lucia military airport in Zumpango, also in the State of Mexico.
The president-elect added that even if the Texcoco construction continues, he would not rule out the possibility of granting a concession for part or all of the construction, so that no public funds would be used.
Lopez Obrador also stressed "contracts will be respected."
Javier Jimenez Espriu, incoming minister of Communications and Transport, explained that cancelling the Texcoco project could cost 100 billion pesos (around 5.23 billion U.S. dollars).
The construction of the new airport was one of the polemic issues of the presidential race, with the president-elect at one point threatening to cancel the NAIM completely.
The airport's total cost is estimated to be 13.3 billion dollars. It is the principal infrastructure project of President Enrique Pena Nieto's government.
According to the plan, the airport project is expected to be completed in 2020.
