Istmo de Tehuantepec development poles remain inactive despite 482 million peso investment

Despite an estimated public investment of 482 million pesos, none of the 14 Polos de Desarrollo para el Bienestar (Podebi) in the Istmo de Tehuantepec are currently operational. The project, initiated during the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, aimed to transform the region into an industrial hub and create over 150,000 jobs through incentives in logistics, agroindustry, and clean energy.

Transparency data reveals that at least 34.8 million pesos from the Fondo Nacional de Infraestructura (Fonadin) were allocated to pre-investment studies for 10 of the poles. While infrastructure works have been carried out for the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT), the Corredor Interoceánico del Istmo de Tehuantepec confirmed that none of the four existing concessions have reported companies that have begun operations or contractually committed to doing so.

Currently, only four of the 14 declared poles have concessionaires, and these are limited to preliminary stages such as basic engineering, earthmoving, or project studies.