Court halts work on Royal Caribbean’s mega-project in Mahahual, QR

A tribunal successful Quintana Roo authorities ordered a provisional suspension of works by Royal Caribbean connected its “Perfect Day” tourism task successful Mahahual connected Monday, portion the imaginable biology implications of the task are being assessed. 

The injunction was requested by the civilian nine enactment Defending the Right to a Healthy Environment (DMAS). The radical argues that determination are irregularities successful the authorization of land-use changes provided to the Royal Caribbean cruise line.

Juez protege manglares de Mahahual: Frena aval a cambios de suelo para desarrollo turísticohttps://t.co/tTWFwVd9xD pic.twitter.com/86XwAQiHKV

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DMAS stressed that it is not against the projected h2o parkland but that “we are successful favour of respecting the law, municipality planning, and the community’s close to a steadfast environment.”

Royal Caribbean archetypal presented “Perfect Day” to a radical of journalists successful October, during which the U.S. firm’s manager of innovation, Jay Schneider, said the task is expected to pull up to 6 cardinal tourists a twelvemonth and alteration the sportfishing colony of Mahahual into a stronghold for the American cruise line.

The projected 80-hectare h2o parkland is acceptable to beryllium developed crossed from the Mahahual cruise vessel pier successful confederate Quintana Roo. The archetypal program outlines an operational capableness of up to 21,000 cruise vessel tourists per day, arsenic good arsenic 2,500 employees for the park’s operation.

Activists person agelong raised concerns astir the project, saying that the parkland volition worsen infrastructure woes successful the 2,600-person town, which is already battling wastewater problems.

On Monday, a national justice called for a halt to operations connected biology grounds, arsenic the task could harm mangroves, enactment unit connected h2o rights and harm existing infrastructure owed to its scale.

Developers volition not beryllium permitted to enactment connected the task portion the injunction is being resolved.

A proceeding to measure the anticipation of a definitive suspension is expected to beryllium held successful the coming days.

When questioned astir the imaginable interaction of the task connected the mangroves, Schneider said, “We are not going to interaction thing successful the mangrove conservation area.” 

He went connected to suggest that the mangroves are already being damaged by contamination associated with the municipal wastewater attraction works and that Royal Caribbean aimed to reconstruct the mangroves, arsenic good arsenic conception a caller wastewater attraction works for the community.

With reports from La Jornada and El Financiero