MEXICO CITY--Brazilian businessman Marcelo Odebrecht said his companies are planning to invest $8.1 billion in Mexico over the next five years in a wide range of projects from petrochemicals to highway concessions, the Mexican government reported Tuesday.

Mr. Odebrecht, whose conglomerate includes operations in construction, petrochemicals, transportation, infrastructure and biofuels, met in Mexico on Tuesday with President Enrique Pena Nieto. The Brazilian businessman said the Odebrecht Organization has already invested $1.8 billion of the planned amount in studies and projects, the presidential press office said in a statement. Investments will be in areas such as petrochemicals, renewable energy, ethanol, sugar and highway concessions.

Odebrecht controls Braskem, a petrochemicals concern that has teamed up with Mexico's Grupo Idesa in an ethylene and polyethylene joint venture in Mexico's Veracruz state. The project, which is under construction, requires $3.2 billion in fixed investment and is expected to involve total investment of $4.5 billion.

Odebrecht is also a major ethanol producer. Unlike Brazil, which along with the U.S. is a world leader in ethanol production, Mexico has yet to become a user of the fuel, although there are some pilot projects for producing it. Mexico produced a record seven million tons of sugar in the 2012-2013 season from 61.4 million tons of sugar cane.

Despite the downturn in Mexico's economy in the second quarter, foreign direct investment has gathered pace this year after a weak 2012 in which it totaled $15.5 billion. FDI reached $23.9 billion in the first half of 2013, boosted by the buyout of brewer Grupo Modelo by Anheuser-Busch Inbev (BUD).

Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com

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