Sheinbaum’s Plan to Cut Gas Prices in Quintana Roo

Mexico City, December 1. President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo announced during her Monday morning conference the construction of a fuel storage station in Quintana Roo, a long-awaited project that would reduce transportation costs and consequently lower gasoline prices in the state, where the liter currently sells well above 24 pesos.

During her visit to the state last weekend, the president explained in her Monday morning conference that currently the Yucatán Peninsula practically depends on a single storage terminal, located in Puerto Progreso, Yucatán, from where tanker trucks depart to all of Quintana Roo.

This scheme significantly increases the cost of transporting fuel to Cancún, the Riviera Maya, and the southern part of the state.

“It caught my attention that in Quintana Roo gasoline is above 24 pesos. I spoke with Profeco and Pemex, and part of the problem is that there are no storage terminals in the region. Everything comes from Progreso,” she stated during her morning conference.

The President reported that, taking advantage of the Maya Train for cargo, the federal government will build a fuel storage and exchange center, a project that will be developed with support from the Felipe Ángeles military engineering group. Although she did not specify the location, she affirmed that the project is advancing “very, very quickly.”

“With this terminal, the cost of transporting fuels will be reduced and prices will drop in the peninsula,” she assured.

Three Decades of Failed Attempts

The construction of a storage terminal in Quintana Roo has been a pending issue for at least 30 years, with three frustrated attempts under different governments and operators:

1. Leona Vicario: Pemex sought to install a terminal there, but the project was canceled after the 1995 economic crisis.
2. Puerto Morelos Industrial Park (2000s): The initiative faced strong opposition from environmentalists, who warned about the risk that tanker ships posed to the reef in front of the fiscal dock. The project did not proceed.
3. Punta Venado, in Calica (a decade ago): The Yucatecan gasoline group Lodemo attempted to build a storage plant on lands of the Calica company. Again, pressure from environmental organizations halted the construction.

Despite the logistical relevance of the project, none of these attempts managed to materialize.

The storage terminal will be part of the logistical system of the Maya Train for cargo, which will use the same tracks as the passenger train but will have its own spaces for handling merchandise and fuels.

The federal government maintains that the project will allow:

• Reducing logistical costs.
• Ensuring greater availability of fuels.
• Encouraging competition among gas stations.
• Stabilizing prices in the local market.

Details about its location or construction timelines have not yet been announced.