MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced that his government has reached an agreement with local billionaire Carlos Slim to buy the concession to part of a highway still under construction in the southern state of Oaxaca. He sits on the board of directors of Ideal, which is wrapping up construction on the branch of the highway running from the towns of Mitla to Tehuantepec. The highway track, part of a larger stretch running all the way to the city of Oaxaca, will be inaugurated on Aug. 31, Lopez Obrador said. The president, who will leave office later this year, has made infrastructure projects in the historically poorer southern part of Mexico a cornerstone of his administration. (Reporting by Kylie Madry in Mexico City and Laura Gottesdiener in Monterrey; Editing by Paul Simao)

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Persons: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Carlos Slim, Lopez Obrador, Slim, Kylie Madry, Laura Gottesdiener, Paul Simao Organizations: America, Grupo Carso, Ideal Locations: MONTERREY, Mexico, Oaxaca, Mitla, Tehuantepec ., Mexico City, Monterrey