Mexico to build port in Baja to serve U.S.

[AlphaCentauri]

President Felipe Calderon opened bidding Thursday for construction of a huge new seaport that could eventually compete with Los Angeles-Long Beach, the largest port complex in the United States.
Mexico's $5 billion Punta Colonet project would transform a wind-swept bay 150 miles south of the U.S. border into a booming port city, creating an estimated 80,000 jobs, drawing freighters from Asia and funneling manufactured goods north.

"We're looking to be sure we don't fall behind in making Mexico a strategic logistics platform for trade and global investment," Calderon said while touring the foggy beach where the port will stand.

A planned railroad would link Punta Colonet to the United States, allowing freight to skip Southern California traffic and head directly to points across the Midwestern United States, including Chicago. Planners have yet to determine where the tracks would cross the border - although El Paso, Texas, and Yuma and Nogales, Ariz., have been mentioned.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/28/BUOP12KF83.DTL