President Calderon visits Baja to begin the port at Punta Colonet

Mexico plans huge Baja port for U.S. trade

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Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times
Claudia Bertelli, a visitor from San Diego, enjoys the view from Punto Colonet. Mexico's government hopes to jump-start the construction of a port at the site that can handle millions of shipping containers annually.
President Calderon will open bidding for infrastructure contracts Thursday. The project is likely to transform the village of Punta Colonet.
By Marla Dickerson, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 28, 2008
MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's government is setting sail with the largest infrastructure project in the nation's history, a $4-billion seaport that it hopes will one day rival those of Los Angeles and Long Beach.President Felipe Calderon is scheduled to travel to northern Baja California today to open bidding on a development that his administration hopes will catapult Mexico into a major player in North American logistics.


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Plans call for the construction of a massive port in the tiny coastal village of Punta Colonet, about 150 miles south of Tijuana, along with new rail lines to whisk Asian-made goods north to the United States. Mexico's aim is to snatch some Pacific cargo traffic from Southern California's ports, whose growth is constrained by urban development and environmental concerns.Punta Colonet is expected to have a capacity of 2 million shipping containers annually when it opens in 2014, Mexico's transportation secretariat told The Times But officials envision it ultimately handling five times that amount. Last year, the ports of L.A. and Long Beach handled 15.7 million containers combined.The massive development is to be privately funded, with the first phase estimated to cost $4 billion to $5 billion. The government is expected to award the 45-year concession in 2009.
A number of major players are expected to vie for the project, including Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu, the world's second-richest man. Slim's infrastructure company, known as Ideal, has teamed with Mexican mining and railroad giant Grupo Mexico and New Jersey-based terminal operator Ports America Group to make a run at the deal."We've spent a lot of years working on this," said Miguel Favela, head of Mexican operations for Ports America. "It's going to make Mexico . . . much more competitive."About 30 million shipping containers crossed the Pacific Ocean last year, a flow that increased about 10% annually in the last decade. A weak U.S. economy has slowed the trade, but experts predict it will rebound.With shippers increasingly worried about congestion at L.A.-Long Beach, Punta Colonet has emerged as an attractive alternative. It's close to the United States. It possesses a wide, natural harbor. And it's in a lightly populated area offering room for expansion.When Calderon visits the dusty hamlet of about 2,500 people today, he is expected to talk about the big changes in store. The village will need extensive upgrades to its roads, housing, electrical grid and water supply. State and local officials are planning for a city of about 200,000 to spring up around the port.The changes envisioned are alarming environmentalists, who worry about the potential destruction of the area's plants and wildlife. But the farmers who scratch out a living there are thrilled at the prospect."What we need is employment for our kids," said Jesus Lara, representative of several peasant landowner groups that are eager to sell. "Everyone is excited. Having the president come to your town is like winning the Lotto."But whether Punta Colonet turns out to be lucrative for Mexico won't be known for years. Competitors up and down the Pacific coast are in the midst of major upgrades. Panama has begun a $5.3-billion expansion of its landmark canal. Canada's Prince Rupert port in British Columbia began speeding containers to the American heartland by rail last year and is planning a major expansion.Little of the cargo bound for Punta Colonet will stay in Mexico, making the port vulnerable to the whims of shippers, who can choose other routes to the U.S."Nothing is guaranteed," said Asaf Ashar, research professor with the National Ports and Waterways Institute in Washington. "It's a big risk."Building a seaport from scratch would be difficult enough. But the overland transportation piece is likely to make or break Punta Colonet. The deal is being structured as a joint port-and-rail project, requiring terminal operators, railroads and construction companies to team up in consortia to win the bid. The railroad's ultimate route and U.S. crossing points will depend on which railway operator is chosen and how it manages to link up with existing rail networks on both sides of the border.Union Pacific Corp. of Omaha and Fort Worth-based BNSF Railway Co. control the U.S. side of the tracks at most of the key U.S.-Mexico border crossings. Striking a deal with one of those companies to get the cargo to the American side will be crucial, said Paul Bingham, managing director of the global trade and transportation practice for Global Insight, a Massachusetts-based consulting firm."They have the ability to essentially choke off that port," Bingham said.BNSF spokesman Patrick Hiatte said Wednesday that the company was "very interested" in the Punta Colonet project. He declined to say with whom the firm might collaborate to make a bid.Union Pacific could not be reached for comment. The company earlier had teamed with Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings to make a run at the project, but that alliance dissolved last year.

Thank you to Diane Gibbs for sending us this update. Her site is http://www.dianegibbs.com/ where you may find more information about her company's services.

Baja California Weather

Tropical Depression 10E (red arrow) has formed some 527 miles SE of Cabo San Lucas and is moving WNW. This system is forecast to become Tropical Storm Iselle later today as it moves west into the Pacific. it is too early to tell for certain, but this systems should pass well south of Baja and have little influence on our weather.

It will be partly to mostly cloudy today, across much of the peninsula as two separate streams of moisture cover the sun. in Baja Sur, moisture drifting west from the mainland (yellow arrow) will bring mostly cloudy skies to the southern most portions of Baja Sur and the increased chance of afternoon thunderstorms. In Baja California, moisture working its way NW (green arrow) is currently bringing thunderstorms to the region just south of Ensenada. These will work their way north as the day progresses. Winds in the Sea are forecast to be light (under 5kts) through the forecast period. Winds could be strong and gusty in the vicinity of thunderstorms.

We have two tropical waves on our map (orange arrows) and we are also watching a Low (white arrow) that has some possibilities of development, but it is already too far west to affect Baja weather.

Click for Baja Weather – Click for Hurricane Watch Weather – Click for TS Iselle

Happy Birthday to the Baja Insider

The most widely read regular publication in Baja turns 5 years old today. Read by more than 150,000 people per month with a direct interest in living and traveling in Baja, the online magazine started from humble beginnings and has grown to more than 2000 pages of information about the Baja California Lifestyle. Again, Happy Birthday to the BajaInsider.com...

Happy Birthday to the www.BajaInsider.com

About Feliz Cumpleanos

Happy Birthday is actually said in Spanish as Feliz Cumpleanos which means literally “Happy Completed Years”! Which if you think of it is a much more positive way of looking at getting older. In fact Mexicans do look at how many years you have completed and not how old you are! That shows much greater respect for the elderly people as they realize they have more experience with having completed more years. In the case of our online magazine the BajaInsider we have just completed 5 years!
In celebration of a birthday in Mexico come a few great traditions such as the Piñata. Piñatas are generally papier-mâché forms such as globes, stars or even people like cartoon characters. These Piñatas come in all sizes and colors and are empty with a hole in the top somewhere. They then fill the Piñata with lots of candies and small gifts and hang it high up on a line that can be moved up and down and side to side.
Once the Piñata is ready then the participants circle around and someone is blindfolded and given a large stick like a broomstick or bat. They are then spun around a bit and let loose to try and hit the moving Piñata with the hopes of breaking it open for all the goodies to fall. It generally takes several attempts by several people taking turns allowing all a chance to break the Piñata. Once it breaks open and all falls to the ground everyone scurries to collect up the prizes and candies. It is great fun and many variations of what can be put into a piñata (adults only can be very interesting) and how the piñata is moved around can be made more or less challenging depending on who the participants are.
When it is time to cut the cake you will hear the song “Las Mañanitas” which literally translates to the little mornings.
The Lyrics are as follows:
Estas son las mañanitas, que cantaba el Rey David,Hoy por ser día de tu santo, te las cantamos a ti,Despierta, mi bien, despierta, mira que ya amaneció,Ya los pajarillos cantan, la luna ya se metió.
Que linda está la mañana en que vengo a saludarte,Venimos todos con gusto y placer a felicitarte,Ya viene amaneciendo, ya la luz del día nos dio,Levántate de mañana, mira que ya amaneció.
Translation is as follows:
This is the little morning song that King David sangbecause today is your saint's day and we are singing it for youWake up, my dear, wake up, look it is already dawnthe birds are already singing and the moon has set
How beautiful is the morning in which I come to greet youWe all came with joy and pleasure to congratulate youThe morning is coming now, the sun is giving us its lightGet up, it is morning, look it is already dawn.
Another great Mexican Birthday tradition is not just the eating of a birthday cake but the tradition of the first bite. As everyone stands around the one to have just completed another year of life, they all chant Mordida, Mordida, Mordida! Yes, Mordida is the same word used for a bribe but that is because it means to take a bite. The birthday person is expected to take their first bite of the cake without any utensils with their hands at their back. Then of course customarily one of their best friends or family is sure to push their face into the cake or lift it up into their face for the same affect. With this all being done in great fun; I have seen people with many completed years that just love getting their face in the cake.
While we can’t virtually have a Piñata party and cake with you we at www.BajaInsider.com would like to thank you for being our loyal readers and supporters helping us grow through these last 5 years! Have a wonderful year of living and traveling here in Baja and please help us pass the word as we proceed on to complete yet another year…and many more after that!
Felicidades a todos! From the team at BajaInsider.com .

Baja California Weather

Wednesday, 08/06/2008 9:53 AM MDT A warm summer day throughout Baja today, as some scattered clouds will drift along the coastal areas of the Sea of Cortez (yellow arrow) Winds in the Sea are forecast to be light and variable under 10kts through the forecast period.
Down south, the system (magenta arrow) we have been watching for days has finally broken free from the ITCZ and the forecasters say has a strong chance for cyclonic development over the next 48hrs. This system is already too far west to be of concern to Baja. There are two tropical waves on our map (orange arrows) the westerrn most exciting the system we are currently watching, the eastern most has yet to develop activity. Be sure to check both our Baja Weather page and our Hurricane Watch Weather page for all your Baja weather data.