By Michael O'Boyle
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico has revoked a $3.75 billion high-speed rail contract from a Chinese-led consortium after its uncontested bid prompted an outcry from lawmakers, souring a state visit to China next week by President Enrique Pena Nieto.
After the contract to build the link was awarded on Monday, opposition politicians accused the government of favouring the group led by China Railway Construction Corp Ltd, the sole bidder. Mexico's communications and transport ministry said late on Thursday it would now hold a fresh tender.
"The president is sensitive to the fact that there should be no doubts about a project this important and of such benefit for society," the ministry said in its statement.
Since Pena Nieto took office in late 2012, he has tried to forge closer ties with China after years of manufacturing rivalry between two nations seeking to supply the U.S. market.
Announcing the contract on Monday, Mexico's government said the 210-km (130-mile) line to connect Mexico City and the central city of Queretaro would cost 50.82 billion pesos ($3.74 billion) (2.36 billion pound), including the build cost and five years of operation.
The proposal came with a 20-year, Chinese government-backed credit to cover most of the project's value, at interest rates below those available even to Mexico's government.
News of the cancellation helped to drag down Chinese stocks on Friday and is an embarrassment for Pena Nieto ahead of his Chinese trip. He is due to unveil a joint investment fund with China, which has so far invested a tiny fraction in Mexico of the billions of dollars it has spent in Latin America.
The fund could be worth up to $5 billion, officials say.
China's CSR Corp Limited and China Railway Construction, both involved in the bid, could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters. Chinese financial news magazine Caixin, however, reported that both companies said they were unaware and surprised when contacted for confirmation.
Shares in China Railway Construction shed nearly 5 percent in their biggest drop since June 2013 after the news.
Mexico's transport ministry, which has defended the bid process, said it was offering a new auction so more companies could make offers, to "strengthen the absolute clarity, legitimacy and transparency" of the auction.
It did not give a new deadline.
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Opposition lawmakers on Thursday questioned Communications and Transport Minister Gerardo Ruiz Esparza over the deal, accusing the government of providing information to help the Chinese-led consortium and its Mexican allies.
Senators asked how 16 companies had pulled out of the bidding on such a prestigious project. Javier Corral of the center-right National Action Party accused the government of sharing information with the winning team ahead of time.
Ruiz Esparza denied the accusations.
Germany's Siemens and Canada's Bombardier were among the companies to express an interest in the project, which is meant to move 27,000 passengers daily from Queretaro at speeds of up to 300 km/h (186 mph).
Siemens' Mexico rail chief told Reuters last month that the company, along with Bombardier and France's Alstom PA, had asked for more time to prepare a bid, a request he said was denied by the transport ministry.
Ruiz Esparza told lawmakers on Thursday the companies had had ample time, but that the Chinese-led group would likely have pulled out of the bidding if the auction had been postponed.
An Alstom spokeswoman said on Friday the group would consider the tender if it is re-launched, but would need six to eight months to draw up an offer.
"If the conditions set give us enough time to prepare and hand in a competitive offer, then we're ready to, but we have no idea of where things stand," the spokeswoman said.
Pena Nieto's Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) was frequently accused of fostering crony capitalism when it ruled Mexico for most of the 20th century. Much economic power is still concentrated in the hands of a few families in Mexico.
The government earlier said Pena Nieto would cut short his trip to Asia amid rising protests over the disappearance of 43 students in southwestern Mexico who are feared to have been massacred by a drug cartel working with corrupt police.
(Additional reporting by Dave Graham in MEXICO CITY, Samuel Shen in SHANGHAI and Natalie Huet in PARIS; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Clara Ferreira Marques)