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Private investment in public infrastructure in Mexico: the 2026 Strategic Infrastructure Investment Law and the Public Private Partnerships Law

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Changing

Since 10 April 2026 a new Strategic Infrastructure Investment Law (LFIIEDB) lets the federal government develop infrastructure with private and social partners through special purpose vehicles, long term contracts and mixed investment, with public tender as the rule and contracts of 4 to 40 years. The Public Private Partnerships Law (LAPP) of 2012 remains in force: any Mexican or foreign investor may bid or file an unsolicited proposal, the agency has three months (plus up to three) to evaluate it, and a promoter whose project is tendered gets a bid premium of up to 10 percent. Under both laws, contract performance disputes may go to arbitration under Mexican federal law and in Spanish, while revocations and acts of authority stay with the federal courts; foreign participants are also subject to the Foreign Investment Law.

USD figures use MXN 18.6638 per US dollar, the Federal Reserve H.10 noon buying rate for 23 October 2026 (FRED series DEXMXUS), the latest observation available on 26 October 2026. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Minimum term of a strategic investment contract (LFIIEDB)	4 yearsLFIIEDB art. 120, as of 2026-04-09 · in force
Maximum term of a strategic investment contract including extensions (LFIIEDB)	40 yearsLFIIEDB art. 120, as of 2026-04-09 · in force
Guarantee during construction, share of required investment (LFIIEDB)	5 to 25 %LFIIEDB art. 121, fraction I, as of 2026-04-09 · in force
Guarantee for services and supply, share of annual payment (LFIIEDB)	50 to 100 %LFIIEDB art. 121, fraction II, as of 2026-04-09 · in force
Maximum APP contract term including extensions	40 yearsLAPP art. 98, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Time to evaluate an unsolicited APP proposal (extendable by up to 3 months)	3 monthsLAPP art. 28, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum bid evaluation premium for the promoter of an unsolicited APP proposal	10 %LAPP art. 31, fraction V, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum APP guarantee during construction, share of works value	15 %LAPP art. 99, fraction I, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum APP guarantee during operation, share of annual service payment	10 %LAPP art. 99, fraction II, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Prior federal authorizations for APP projects deemed granted if unanswered (environmental excepted)	60 business daysLAPP art. 22, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. The new strategic infrastructure regime. The LFIIEDB regulates investment mechanisms for strategic public infrastructure projects with participation of the public, private and social sectors. Projects may use Mixed Participation Schemes: long term contracting, mixed investment, the schemes of sector laws (energy projects stay under the Electricity Sector and Hydrocarbons Sector Laws) or others set by regulation. Public participation may be majority, minority or equal, with no mandatory percentages, and the public party must hold a direct or indirect interest in the capital or trust estate of the project vehicle. Approval of a scheme is not by itself a source of budget allocation, borrowing or guarantees. Projects with foreign capital remain subject to the Foreign Investment Law.
Cost to do it: The law sets no participation fee; costs are bid preparation and the guarantees required by the tender rules.
Example: A federal water utility project can be structured as mixed investment in which the public party holds a minority stake in a trust that also receives private capital. / Not applicable.Ley para el Fomento de la Inversión en Infraestructura Estratégica para el Desarrollo con Bienestar (Strategic Infrastructure Investment Law, LFIIEDB), DOF 9 April 2026, Arts. 1, 22, 23, 24 and 25; transitory Único (in force the day after publication), 2026-04-09 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: New law published in the DOF on 9 April 2026 (evening edition), in force the next day; the same decree amended the Federal Budget and Fiscal Responsibility Law to bring strategic investment contracts into multiyear budget commitments.

2. Who decides and how projects are awarded under the LFIIEDB. A Strategic Planning Council for Infrastructure Investment, chaired by the President and including the Ministries of Finance, Environment, National Defense, Navy, Energy, Economy, Infrastructure, Anticorruption, the Legal Counsel of the Executive, Agrarian Development and the development bank Banobras, sets criteria and issues recommendations (installed within 120 calendar days of entry into force). Agencies award eligible projects by public tender; national and foreign companies may bid, and consortia must form one or more companies if they win. Invitation to at least three bidders or direct award is allowed only in listed cases, for example when there is a single possible supplier or for exclusively military or naval purposes.
Cost to do it: Tender documents set any bid security; the law sets no fee.
Example: A foreign toll road operator and a Mexican builder bid as a consortium for a strategic investment contract and undertake to form a project company if they win. / Not applicable.Ley para el Fomento de la Inversión en Infraestructura Estratégica para el Desarrollo con Bienestar (Strategic Infrastructure Investment Law, LFIIEDB), DOF 9 April 2026, Arts. 66 and 67; arts. 90, 93 and 113; transitory Cuarto of the decree, 2026-04-09 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. Strategic investment contracts: term and guarantees. Contracts may be signed only with companies or trusts whose purpose includes the activities needed for the project. Terms may not be shorter than four years nor exceed forty years including extensions. Where the tender rules require guarantees, they must cover between 5 and 25 percent of the required investment during construction and between 50 and 100 percent of the annual payment for services and supply of equipment. Public property tied to the contract always stays under the control of the contracting agency, and the contract must set how invested amounts are reimbursed on early termination.
Cost to do it: On MXN 2,000,000,000 of required investment, construction guarantees of MXN 100,000,000 to MXN 500,000,000; on an annual service payment of MXN 400,000,000, service guarantees of MXN 200,000,000 to MXN 400,000,000.
Example: A 30 year hospital contract fits within the 4 to 40 year band; its construction guarantee is at least 5 percent of the investment. / Investment about USD 107,159,314: construction guarantees about USD 5,357,966 to USD 26,789,828; annual payment about USD 21,431,863: service guarantees about USD 10,715,931 to USD 21,431,863.Ley para el Fomento de la Inversión en Infraestructura Estratégica para el Desarrollo con Bienestar (Strategic Infrastructure Investment Law, LFIIEDB), DOF 9 April 2026, Arts. 116, 120, 121, 129 and 130, 2026-04-09 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. APP Law scope and bidders. The LAPP governs long term contractual relationships between public and private sector bodies to provide services to the public sector, wholesalers, intermediaries or end users using infrastructure provided wholly or partly by the private sector; projects must be fully justified, state the social benefit and show a financial advantage over other forms of financing. It applies to federal agencies and entities, federal public trusts and, with federal funds, states and municipalities. Any Mexican or foreign individual or company meeting the tender requirements may bid; winning individuals and consortia must form a company whose sole purpose is the project, with the minimum fixed capital the tender rules set.
Cost to do it: No participation fee in the law; the tender rules set minimum capital for the project company.
Example: A foreign operator wins an APP tender and forms a Mexican sole purpose company with the minimum capital in the tender rules. / Not applicable.Ley de Asociaciones Público Privadas (Public Private Partnerships Law, LAPP), DOF 16 January 2012, last reform DOF 14 November 2025, Arts. 2 (reformed DOF 14 July 2014 and 21 April 2016), 4, 41 and 91, 2012-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. Unsolicited proposals under the APP Law. Any interested party may submit an APP proposal to the competent federal agency, which may publish in the DOF the sectors and types of projects it will receive, in which case only proposals that fit are analyzed. The agency has up to three months to evaluate, extendable by up to three more for complex projects, and then issues a viability opinion published within 5 business days; the opinion is not an act of authority and cannot be challenged. If the project is tendered, the promoter gets a certificate for reimbursement of its study costs (paid by the winner if the promoter loses or does not bid) and a premium in the evaluation of its bid, set in the tender rules, of up to 10 percent of the award criteria.
Cost to do it: The promoter funds its own feasibility studies; reimbursement depends on the tender outcome.
Example: A promoter whose studies cost MXN 18,000,000 loses the tender and is reimbursed by the winning bidder on the terms in the tender rules. / MXN 18,000,000 is about USD 964,434.Ley de Asociaciones Público Privadas (Public Private Partnerships Law, LAPP), DOF 16 January 2012, last reform DOF 14 November 2025, Arts. 26 (reformed DOF 21 April 2016), 28, 30, 31 (fractions I and V) and 36, 2016-04-21 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. APP Law permits, contract terms and guarantees. Federal agencies give priority to APP projects in environmental, urban, construction and land use procedures; a prior federal authorization needed to start an APP project is deemed granted if not answered within 60 business days, except environmental authorizations, which follow the general environmental law, and only if the request states it is for an APP project. APP contracts, with extensions, may not exceed 40 years. Guarantees may not exceed 15 percent of the works value during construction and 10 percent of the annual service payment during operation. Pledging contract rights or the developer's shares, and assigning the contract, need the contracting agency's prior authorization.
Cost to do it: On MXN 2,000,000,000 of works, guarantees of at most MXN 300,000,000 during construction; on annual service payments of MXN 400,000,000, at most MXN 40,000,000 during operation.
Example: A construction related federal authorization requested for an APP hospital and unanswered after 60 business days is deemed granted. / Works about USD 107,159,314, construction guarantee cap about USD 16,073,897; annual payment about USD 21,431,863, operating guarantee cap about USD 2,143,186.Ley de Asociaciones Público Privadas (Public Private Partnerships Law, LAPP), DOF 16 January 2012, last reform DOF 14 November 2025, Arts. 22, 98, 99 (reformed DOF 21 April 2016), 102 and 103, 2016-04-21 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. Budget approval for APP projects. APP projects that use federal budget funds must be authorized by the Inter ministerial Commission on Public Spending, Financing and Divestment within the annual APP spending ceiling approved by the Chamber of Deputies, and are sent to the Chamber's budget committee, which must resolve within 30 calendar days or the projects are deemed approved; the federal budget must show multiyear APP payment commitments by sector.
Cost to do it: No fee.
Example: A new federal road APP needs Commission authorization and the Chamber committee's 30 day review before the agency can commit federal funds. / Not applicable.Ley de Asociaciones Público Privadas (Public Private Partnerships Law, LAPP), DOF 16 January 2012, last reform DOF 14 November 2025, Art. 24, 2016-04-21 official text · verified 2026-10-26

8. Disputes under both laws. Parties may agree strict law arbitration under the Commercial Code for disputes on contract performance, in the contract or separately, with Mexican federal law, Spanish language and a binding award (under the LAPP, only amparo is available against it). Revocation of concessions and authorizations and acts of authority cannot be arbitrated, and the legal validity of administrative acts is for the federal courts. The LFIIEDB adds that technical or economic disputes should first go to alternative dispute resolution and, for mixed investment contracts, to good faith negotiation. Under the LAPP, authorities hearing disputes must keep the project or service running.
Cost to do it: Arbitration costs depend on the institution and the case.
Example: A dispute over deductions from availability payments can go to arbitration in Spanish under Mexican federal law; an administrative rescission or revocation goes to the federal courts. / Not applicable.Ley de Asociaciones Público Privadas (Public Private Partnerships Law, LAPP), DOF 16 January 2012, last reform DOF 14 November 2025; Ley para el Fomento de la Inversión en Infraestructura Estratégica para el Desarrollo con Bienestar (Strategic Infrastructure Investment Law, LFIIEDB), DOF 9 April 2026, LAPP arts. 139 and 141; LFIIEDB arts. 131 and 132, 2026-04-09 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Item	Strategic Infrastructure Investment Law (2026)	APP Law (2012)
Structure	Special purpose vehicles, long term contracts, mixed investment, sector schemes (arts. 23, 25)	Long term service contract with a sole purpose company (arts. 2, 91)
Public stake	Required in the project vehicle; majority, minority or equal (arts. 22, 25)	Not required
Award	Public tender as the rule; listed exceptions (arts. 90, 113)	Tender; unsolicited proposals with promoter premium up to 10 percent (arts. 26 to 31)
Term	4 to 40 years (art. 120)	Up to 40 years (art. 98)
Guarantees	5 to 25 percent of investment; 50 to 100 percent of annual payment (art. 121)	Up to 15 percent of works; up to 10 percent of annual payment (art. 99)
Arbitration	Mexican federal law, Spanish (art. 131)	Mexican federal law, Spanish, amparo only against award (art. 139)

The two federal routes for private capital in public infrastructure

Worked example

A foreign infrastructure fund and a Mexican builder look at a MXN 2,000,000,000 (about USD 107,159,314) hospital with annual service payments of MXN 400,000,000 (about USD 21,431,863).
If the agency tenders it under the APP Law, the consortium's guarantees are capped at MXN 300,000,000 (about USD 16,073,897) during construction and MXN 40,000,000 (about USD 2,143,186) in operation (LAPP art. 99).
If the agency instead uses a strategic investment contract under the 2026 law, guarantees must be at least MXN 100,000,000 (about USD 5,357,966) during construction and at least MXN 200,000,000 (about USD 10,715,931) for services (LFIIEDB art. 121), and the public party takes an interest in the project vehicle (art. 25).
Either way, the consortium forms a Mexican project company, registers the foreign investment in the RNIE and negotiates arbitration in Spanish under Mexican federal law for performance disputes.

Step by step

1. Identify which law the agency is using: the 2026 strategic infrastructure law, the APP Law or a sector law (energy projects stay under the electricity and hydrocarbons laws).
2. For an unsolicited APP proposal, check whether the agency has published a DOF notice of the projects it will receive and prepare a complete preliminary feasibility study (LAPP arts. 26 and 27).
3. Price the guarantee regime early; the 2026 law requires far larger guarantees than the APP Law caps.
4. On award, form the project company or trust with the purpose and capital the tender rules require and register any foreign investment in the RNIE.
5. Negotiate the dispute clause: arbitration only covers contract performance; revocations and acts of authority stay with the federal courts.

Common traps

Guarantee shock. Under the 2026 law, service phase guarantees are 50 to 100 percent of the annual payment, against a 10 percent cap under the APP Law.
The state stays inside. Under the 2026 law's mixed schemes the public party must hold an interest in the project vehicle, and public property tied to the contract always stays under agency control.
No appeal against an APP viability opinion (LAPP art. 36), and a promoter that withholds information, shops the project elsewhere or assigns its proposal loses its rights to the studies (art. 37).
Changes of control need consent. Pledging contract rights or transferring the APP developer's shares requires the agency's prior authorization (LAPP art. 102).
Arbitration limits. Revocations and acts of authority cannot be arbitrated under either law.

Sources

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