Jean-Paul Gauthier and Michael Castle-Miller with members of the advisory team for the Mexican SEZ program

In 2016 Locus advised the Government of Mexico on the development of its new SEZ program in collaboration with Spanish consulting firm IDOM. We provided best practices for SEZs and case studies on the design of the SEZ administrative framework and investment incentives. We also advised on a range of other matters, including developer agreements, land sale and lease transactions, recommendations for SEZ regulations, and one-stop shop organizational structure.

The zones will be located at Puerto Chiapas, Puerto Lazaro Cárdenas (pictured above), Coatzacoalcos, and Puerto Salina Cruz. President Nieto announced the program to combat serious poverty and crime in the southern states of Chiapas, Guerrero, and Oaxaca. The zones are intended to improve conditions in these states by attracting new investment, creating jobs, developing supply chains with the local economy, and improving infrastructure.

Read more about the Mexican SEZ program through these Wall Street Journal, Economist, and Forbes articles, and on the Mexican program's own website.