GAP Airport Group expansion into Canada and Guadalajara airport investment, Digi Mart USA News: Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP), led by Raúl Revuelta, wants to bring its operating experience to new international markets, and Canada now appears as one of the most attractive opportunities. The Mexican group, which operates 12 terminals in Mexico, is closely following the Canadian government’s plans to open the operation of the Calgary, Vancouver and Montreal airports to private participation.
GAP intends to take part in opportunities that may eventually arise, drawing on its experience in Mexico and Jamaica as well as its financial capacity to compete with international operators. No definitive decision has yet been made on the conditions of these processes, but the company’s interest confirms its appetite for growth outside Mexico.
GAP is also evaluating tenders in Brazil and earlier analyzed opportunities in the Turks and Caicos Islands, although in that case the government decided to postpone the tender indefinitely. In Jamaica, where it operates the Montego Bay and Kingston terminals, prospects are improving as tourism infrastructure recovers from last year’s hurricane.
Nearly 90% of hotel capacity is expected to be restored this month, a key factor in normalizing air traffic.
While exploring new international opportunities, GAP is developing one of the most ambitious airport projects in its history in Mexico. The project is the comprehensive transformation of the Guadalajara International Airport, which will not only double its operating capacity but could become a national benchmark for collaboration between the private sector and all three levels of government.
Unlike other infrastructure projects that are limited to modernizing facilities, Guadalajara involves simultaneous work on airport expansion, road access, public transportation and land-use planning, with a long-term economic development vision. Between 2020 and 2024, GAP allocated 16 billion pesos to the project, and between 2025 and 2029 it plans additional investments of 22 billion pesos, bringing the total to about 38 billion pesos.
The transformation includes a second runway, a new terminal of 130,000 square meters compared with the current 80,000 square meters, 17 kilometers of internal roadways, and the acquisition of 230 hectares to allow for future expansion. The goal is to reach a capacity of more than 40 million passengers annually, a scale comparable to Mexico City International Airport.
The new terminal, the project’s final major component, is expected to be ready by January 2029.
What distinguishes Guadalajara is institutional coordination. The federal, state and municipal governments are working with GAP on a project that includes connecting Line 4 of the light rail, incorporating Line 5 of the public transport system, and modernizing strategic roadways, particularly the Guadalajara-Chapala corridor.
Planning also covers industrial, logistics and residential zones around the airport, with particular attention to the El Salto industrial corridor and its connection to the port of Manzanillo.
The aim is for the airport to become more than a passenger terminal and act as a catalyst for investment, employment and orderly urban development. Guadalajara already stands out for the economic value of its air cargo, driven by the movement of microprocessors, servers and technology components linked to artificial intelligence, reinforcing Jalisco’s potential as a center of advanced manufacturing and international logistics.
To sustain the largest investment program in its history, which includes 53 billion pesos between 2025 and 2029 across its airports, GAP is preparing a third financing option to complement its share and debt issuances. Fibra GAP, a FIBRA E structure designed to attract mainly Afore pension fund and other institutional investor capital interested in airport infrastructure, is planned.
The initial placement, scheduled for late November, would seek to raise between 6 billion and 7 billion pesos, with possible additional issuances roughly every 15 months depending on market conditions and investor interest. The long-term goal is to reach a size of about 15 billion pesos.
