AICM debt reduction MexCat 3,152 million dollars NAIM cancellation, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico City): In its ninety-eighth anniversary year, Mexico City International Airport (AICM), through the MexCat trust, reduced its debt from $3.718 billion to $3.152 billion by making a full payment of $565.9 million on guaranteed preferred notes bearing 4.250% interest that were due at the close of this year.
According to the column, the payment marks a positive milestone in the troubled history of the cancelled New International Airport of Mexico City (NAIM), which was ordered by former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The author says the payment significantly reduces short-term debt pressure by eliminating this year’s 2026 maturity, and that annual debt service is expected to decline moderately.
The next major maturity is in 2028.
The remaining balance of $3.152 billion stays outstanding across three series of guaranteed preferred notes. These are part of the original 2016-2017 issuances totaling $6 billion that financed the NAIM project.
The notes mature in 2028, 2046 and 2047, with rates of roughly 3.875% to 5.50%. The column states that the primary guarantee remains collection of the Airport Use Fee (TUA) charged at the AICM.
The column describes the cancellation as a costly decision that has imposed extraordinary economic and logistical burdens on Mexican society. It recalls that the Superior Audit Office of the Federation (ASF) initially estimated the cost of cancelling the NAIM at 332 billion pesos, and later revised that figure to 113 billion pesos, covering invested capital, early contract termination and net financing costs through 2019.
The author notes that many unofficial estimates project Mexico will ultimately pay roughly $30 billion in total on the original $6 billion debt, including interest accrued through 2047.
The author argues that the financial burden will be carried by users of the expanded Mexico City airport through TUA revenues, funds that could otherwise support maintenance, expansion or modernization. The column notes that the AICM, now 98 years old, remains the main international air gateway for tourism and the busiest airport in the country by passenger volume.
It cites a recent remodeling carried out by the Secretariat of the Navy through Grupo Aeroportuario Marina, with a total investment of 10 billion pesos across 106 infrastructure, equipment and service projects.
The column also covers a separate development: Pemex, led by Juan Carlos Carpio, and the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), headed by Omar Reyes, have signed a cooperation agreement to exchange information in order to combat financial crimes, theft and illegal fuel trafficking known as huachicol fiscal. The author says the initiative is part of the energy policy and aims to verify companies contracting with Pemex and reduce credibility risks.
