MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – Mexico’s government, tarnished by a conflict-of-interest row over its links to public contractors, said on Wednesday it would follow new global transparency standards in awarding bids for a $13 billion airport.
President Enrique Pena Nieto told government officials and transparency advocates from around the world that he would increase efforts to shed light on public procurement practices.
The new Mexico City airport will follow the “open contracting data standard” designed by World Bank officials and transparency experts and is the first project of its size to apply the measure, he told a conference in the capital.
As a global standard, it would enable independent auditors to scrutinize better how the project is executed.
Pena Nieto’s popularity suffered last year when it emerged that he, his wife and his finance minister had all bought or had use of homes that belonged to a major government contractor.
That sparked calls for an inquiry, and the ensuing probe was led by a former classmate of the finance minister who exonerated all three. Critics derided the findings as a whitewash.
