TILOS Pipeline Software Presents | Global Infrastructure News | November, 2017

Each month TILOS Americas publishes TILOS Global Linear Infrastructure News, a curated selection of articles about linear infrastructure projects, linear scheduling, and all things TILOS. This month’s headlines were dominated by the politics and policies that directly affect infrastructure project approvals, investment and progress.

Controversial US – Canada Pipeline Expansion Gets The Go Ahead

The fourth phase of the Keystone Pipeline received approval from the state of Nebraska this Monday, just 4 days after leaking.

Image: CNBC

The Keystone Pipeline System, owned solely by TransCanada Corporation, currently runs from Alberta, Canada to refineries in Illinois & Texas US, as well as an oil pipeline distribution center in Oklahoma, US.

The planned fourth phase, Keystone XL, attracted growing environmental protest and became a symbol of the battle over climate change and fossil fuels.

The Nebraska commission’s approval of an alternate route is considered a victory for US President Trump, who overturned the Obama administration’s decision to block the pipeline’s expansion.

The proposed line would run about 1,180 miles (1,899 km) from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Nebraska.

The Keystone XL project is estimated to create 3,500 construction jobs and 35 permanent jobs after construction.

“Nebraska recognizes the Keystone XL pipeline is in the public interest bringing good paying jobs and more affordable energy for U.S. consumers,” Andy Black, president and CEO of the Association of Oil Pipe Lines, said in a statement.

 

Sonoma and Sinaloa, MX get $24.5 million USD Worth of Power Line, Transmission Infrastructure.

Mexico’s Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) has approved two power transmission lines and two substations in the western states of Sinaloa and Sonora.

ACCIONA Industrial has been selected to design and construct the four part linear infrastructure project.

The two power lines will measure 276 kilometres in total and is estimated to be worth $24.5 million USD.

ACCIONA Industrial will work with its Mexican subsidiaries and is scheduled to be completed in March 2019.

Canada to invest $173 million in electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

In a bid to reduce emissions, increase jobs and sales of Electric Vehicles, the Canadian Government will instal 34 new electric vehicle charging stations, spaced about 100 kilometres apart along 3,000 kilometres of the Trans-Canada Highway.

The exact locations are not yet determined, but the EV stations are scheduled to be in operation by 2019.

In a news release, Jim Carr, the Canadian federal government Minister of Natural Resources said “With more electric vehicles becoming available, we want to make them an easy choice for Canadians. The strategic investment brings us closer to having a national coast-to-coast network of electric vehicle charging stations while growing our economy and creating good jobs for Canada’s middle-class.”

Mexico’s Presidential Front-Runner Urges Increased Infrastructure Spending, Delaying NAFTA.

In a third bid for the Presidency, Almo, as he’s popularly known, promises increased infrastructure investment and decreased relations with the US.

Mexico’s presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the Movement for National Renewal (MORENA) party takes part in an event at the Wilson Center in Washington, U.S. September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

The Summer 2018 Presidential election campaign is already in full swing as the current President of Mexico, Peno Nieto is barred by law from serving another term.

Lopez Obrador has mainly avoided picking public fights with Trump, who is widely loathed south of the border for his anti-Mexican rhetoric. On Monday he said he would seek friendly relations with the U.S. government but would demand respect.

Almo’s team repeated that talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) should be scrapped until after Mexico’s election because the government of President Enrique Pena Nieto would not defend Mexico’s interests.

Move over USA; China investing in infrastructure projects and increasing trade with Latin America

In a report released Nov 18, 2017, the US Report on Politics & Policy documents the financial aid and investment in infrastructure Latin America is receiving by switching diplomatic relations from the US to China.

Image courtesy of https://www.diplomaticourier.com/impact-chinese-investments-mean-mexico/

In 2015 the Chinese President Xi Jinping announced China would invest $250 billion in Latin America between 2015-2018, with the goal of $500 billion in trade with Latin American countries.

And China is making good on that promise, filling the void left by shaky US-Mexico relations during dwindling NAFTA talks and wooing Panama and Costa Rica with substantial infrastructure investments.

The US Report on Politics & Policy report states “For example, China offered Costa Rica a $130 million aid package and purchased $300 million in Costa Rican bonds. In Panama, meanwhile, aside from being the second most important user of the Panama Canal, China is also the largest supplier of goods to the free-trade zone of Colón. By providing both of these Central American states with public works and economic incentives, Beijing obtained political recognition from Costa Rica in May 2007 and from Panama in June 2017.”

And in Mexico, Mexico City’s Secretary of Labor Amalia Garcia Medina told told Chinese national news agency Xinhua that Mexico is exploring new deals due to unstable relations with the US.

Mexico is actively soliciting investment for infrastructure via ProMexico, a government agency tasked with promoting Mexican exports and foreign trade, has attracted a staggering number of projects in recent years in an attempt to increase global competitiveness.

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