Mexico's transport and communications ministry (SCT) has published revised bidding rules for the Punta Colonet port project in Baja California state. The concession will involve constructing and operating a railway line, providing rail transport facilities and related services, and building a port in Bahía Colonet, SCT said in a release. Join discussion...

After teetering on the edge for four days, the Port of Miami tunnel project appeared to be back on track Monday after the Florida Department of Transportation agreed to extend its deadline by at least eight days for the city of Miami to confirm its financial commitment to the on-again, off-again Join discussion...

Construction work on the 19-km long elevated highway — the longest of its kind in the country — connecting Chennai Port with Maduravoyal via Koyambedu traffic junction will begin in November. According to sources in the government, Hyderabad-based Soma Enterprise Limited, which is implementing the Chennai Metro Rail project, will construct the four-lane elevated highway on a Build-Operate-and-Transfer (BOT) basis. The project is scheduled to be completed in three years Join discussion...

The details of agreements signed by governments with private organisations to execute projects can no longer be kept secret, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has ruled. If a right to information (RTI) application is moved seeking the relevant information, it will have to be provided. The decision is likely to have far-reaching and potentially damaging implications as private companies may well shy away from such close scrutiny of their financial arrangements. So far the text of PPP agreements could be kept confidential, citing business interests. Join discussion...

It’s no secret Virginia has an economic gem on its Eastern Seaboard. Blessed with a naturally deep harbor, the Port of Virginia has emerged as one of the leading ports on the East Coast. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that private businesses took notice of one of Virginia’s most lucrative assets. Privatization of Virginia’s port operations has been brought up before. But this year the issue moved to the forefront after Illinois-based CenterPoint Properties Trust made an unsolicited $3.5 billion offer in March. Since then, two other bidders have come calling: The Carlyle Group and a partnership involving Carrix Inc. and Goldman Sachs. Join discussion...

Peru's private investment promotion agency ProInversión is considering postponing the concession of Ica region's Pisco port until 2010, a ProInversión official told BNamericas. The concessionaire will have to invest an estimated US$162mn to improve the maritime port's infrastructure and more than double its cargo handling capacity. Join discussion...

Ceres Terminals and Ports America have qualified to submit offers for a possible long-term lease to operate Baltimore’s Seagirt Marine Terminal and make improvements that would include a fourth berth with a 50-foot water draft. The Maryland Port Administration said last fall it was seeking bidders for a public-private partnership at Seagirt, the Port of Baltimore’s main container terminal. The terminal now has three berths with 45-foot water depth and the original design provided for the addition of a fourth. Join discussion...

DP World Djen Djen, located 350 kilometres east of the Algerian capital, is fundamental to the country's long-term growth strategy. The port is the main terminus for the eastern part of the country, and will be developed as a transshipment hub for the western Mediterranean. Join discussion...

State officials said today they reached agreement on "commercial issues" with a French-led construction group that will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the $1 billion project. That means the construction group can pursue final financing for the project. A financial agreement is to be finalized by Oct. 1. The Florida Department of Transportation pulled the plug on the project in December because the construction group's initial financial partner couldn't raise enough cash. Join discussion...

The global economic crisis has caused at least four port concession projects in Mexico to fail, according to a maritime report by the UN's Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac) obtained by BNamericas. In addition to the postponement of the 50bn-peso (US$3.82bn) Punta Colonet tender in Baja California state, the report cites three other port tenders that have been negatively affected by the lack of private companies interested in or able to carry out the required investments under the terms stipulated by the federal government. Join discussion...