A project for the expansion and modernization of the Janos-Agua Prieta road, managed by the company Construcción Instrumentación y Servicios, has been a source of controversy due to its abandonment and lack of progress. This project aimed to improve a stretch of road that connects the border municipalities of Janos, Chihuahua, and Agua Prieta, Sonora, and was affected by various irregularities.
According to the contract, the company was supposed to carry out the majority of the project, covering embankments, bases, pavement, and signage, while another company, Vicer, would handle drainage and sewerage. However, the work, which was supposed to begin in May 2019, was postponed due to the lack of an initial payment and the absence of an Environmental Impact Statement.
Despite having received multimillion-dollar contracts and showing progress during the first year of contracting, the company abandoned the project, leaving behind an investment of millions of pesos and an incomplete project. The Superior Audit Office of the Federation detected that no work corresponding to 2019 had been performed, worth 6.7 million pesos.
After the suspension of the contract and termination due to default, it was noted that the work was in total abandonment, with no presence of personnel, machinery, or construction equipment. The company, classified as a company that bills for simulated operations (EFOS) definitively, has not returned the money received in advance and has not fulfilled the corresponding penalties.
Despite the attempts by the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport to reactivate the work, there is no prospect of a new contracting procedure to complete the project. Current images show a section of the road in poor condition and without significant progress, thus evidencing the failure of this modernization initiative.
In summary, the expansion and modernization work of the Janos-Agua Prieta road has resulted in a fiasco due to the abandonment by the responsible company, leaving behind million-dollar losses, unfulfilled contracts, and a stretch of road in precarious conditions and without significant improvements.