The bidding for a concession to construct and operate a new airport to be located near the coastal hamlet of Tulum, Quintana Roo, is expected to open before October 31, 2008, according to a Ministry of Communications and Transportation (Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes) official who was quoted in a report in today’s El Financiero. 

The report said that the airport will be capable of handling 3 million passengers annually and the concession will be awarded to the company that offers lowest construction and operational costs.  The government is expected to announce the winner of the concession in 2009.  Construction should be completed by 2012.

Companies expected to submit bids include Mexico’s three major airport operators (which were created in 2005 upon the privatization of the airport management entity): Aeropuertos del Sureste de Mexico, S.A.B. de C.V. (ASUR), Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V. (PAC), and Grupo Aeroportuario Centro Norte, S.A. de C.V. (OMAB).

Tulum, located in the southern portion of the Mayan Riviera, is home to significant Mayan ruins.