Side B of ‘nearshoring’ in Mexico: experts urge water regulation

Environmental experts urged this Thursday to regulate the use of water in the face of the arrival of large companies to Mexico, as teslain the midst of the drought that the country is suffering and the rise of the relocation of value chains or “nearshoring”.

During the ‘Meeting of experts: Challenges and drought scenarios’, members of Agua Capital, the AC Water Advisory Council, and the Tec de Monterrey Water Center warned of water challenges for the country in the face of the arrival of new industrial plants .

“There is a lack of planning, there has to be a clear theme. There has to be a public policy that accompanies all this. Not only give the concession to Tesla or the company you want to extract so many cubic meters per year, but it has to be accompanied by an urban development guide“said Raúl Rodríguez, president of the AC Water Advisory Council.

The expert considered that there has been “exponential demographic growth” in the state of Nuevo León, the metropolitan area of ​​the Valley of Mexico, and the cities of Puebla and Guadalajara, which usually attract foreign investments.

In particular, he warned about the case of Nuevo León, the country’s industrial hub, which last year experienced a drought that cut the regular water supply to the metropolitan area of ​​Monterrey, the second most populated in the country, for several months.

“We have data that in three to four years there will be 1 million more inhabitants, at this moment they are at the estimated 6 million in the metropolitan area,” he abounded.

He commented that, given this scenario, the demand for water is greater and it is a finite resource, so “So there has to be very clear planning in that part to be able to comply with the companies.”

“Sometimes, with all due respect to the decision makers, they commit to things that they cannot fulfill and then comes a growth that is somehow exorbitant, somehow poorly planned,” said the specialist in water issues.

More than half of the Mexican territory, the 55.4%suffers from moderate to exceptional drought, according to the latest report from the Mexican Drought Monitor of the National Water Commission (Conagua).

On the other hand, Mexico registered a record foreign direct investment (FDI) of almost US$33 billion in the first three quarters of the year driven by the “nearshoring”.

For this reason, Rodríguez concluded that it would be very sad if Mexico wasted the great opportunity of relocation, especially Nuevo León, if officials are not clear about what they can offer companies.

“Above all, legal certainty and a commitment to be able to do it with planning. It is not as simple as saying: Nuevo León does not have water and that all the companies go to Chiapas and Tabasco (in the southeast), that is not the solution.”he pointed out.