MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s president on Tuesday said he would try to revoke a “100-year” concession from the company running the major port of Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico, apparently referring to a unit of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings Limited .
Speaking at his daily news conference, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador declined to name the operator, but questioned how it was possible that a private company had been able to secure such a long hold on the concession.
“Obviously, we need to see about getting this concession revoked,” said Lopez Obrador, who has repeatedly suggested previous governments he regards as corrupt were too generous in handing out contracts and concessions to private investors.
Hutchison Ports ICAVE, part of CK Hutchison Holdings, on its website notes that it operates in the port of Veracruz, one of Mexico’s most important cargo hubs.
The firm did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Frank Jack Daniel, Writing by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Dave Graham and Chizu Nomiyama)
