Billionaire will rebuild collapsed subway overpass in Mexico City
“He will take care of the reconstruction of the entire [subway line] stretch, making sure that it gets done with all the necessary safety [measures] at no cost to the [Mexican] people and without asking [the government] for a budget,” Lopez Obrador said.
Slim “will not wait for the judicial [final investigation findings],” and will begin coordinating with Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum “so that in a year” the line will be open and operational once again, Lopez Obrador added.
The Carlos Slim Foundation declined to comment on Lopez Obrador’s statement when reached by CNN, as did Mexico City authorities.
Dozens of people lost their lives when an elevated portion of Line 12 known as the “Golden Line” collapsed in Mexico City on May 3.
The subway line had been touted as one of the most expensive and ambitious public works projects in Mexican history when it was inaugurated in October 2012.
The highly publicized ribbon-cutting was attended by the who’s-who of Mexican politics and power at the time, including then-president Felipe Calderón and Marcelo Ebrard, who was then in his last days as Mexico City’s mayor and is now foreign minister.
Now, an independent investigation by the Norwegian firm DNV and a separate investigation by the local attorney’s office are looking into the causes of the deadly collapse, as well as those involved in the construction project, including Slim himself.
The report said missing metal studs in some sections of the structure, different kinds of concrete used for the slab and unfinished or badly welded joints were some of the other factors that caused the raised railway to buckle, sending two subway carriages plummeting to the streets below.
Reporting contributed by CNN’s Natalie Gallon and Karol Suarez in Mexico City.
