Mexico Authorizes
Private Plan To Reconstruct Cancun's Hurricane-Ravaged Beaches
November 29, 2005 — By E. Eduardo Castillo, Associated Press
MEXICO CITY — Mexican environmental
officials said Monday they have authorized a private reconstruction
project for Mexico's famous Caribbean beaches after much of the
sugar-white sand was washed away last month by Hurricane Wilma.
The federal government approved a plan by hotel owners to build 2 miles
(3 kilometers) of artificial beach adjacent to 25 hotels in Cancun,
where the storm caused an estimated US$1 billion (euro850 million) in
damage and washed away vast stretches of beach.
Environmental Secretary Jose Luis Luege said in a statement that the new
beach, made from sand dredged from the sea floor off Cancun, will be
bankrolled entirely by private interests. Officials did not say how much
the project will cost or when work is scheduled to begin.
Construction teams will pile sandbags on the beach to create space to
work and protect crews from the waves. The bags will eventually be
covered by sand to create artificial dunes, said Ricardo Juarez, the
Environmental Department's director of impact and risk.
The plastic bags holding the sand are nontoxic and will gradually
decompose and disappear into the newly formed dunes, Juarez said.
Luege said the privately financed efforts will complement a federal plan
to rebuild an additional 18 miles (28 kilometers) of beaches lost to
Wilma.
The government project is expected to begin in a few weeks and will cost
200 million pesos (US$19 million, euro16 million). While officials are
still studying the possibility of bringing in sand from elsewhere in
Mexico, workers may eventually attempt to dredge it from the sea floor
in a process similar to the one private interests hope to employ.
Hurricane Wilma slammed into Cancun at Category 4 strength on Oct. 21,
killing four people and damaging or destroying thousands of homes,
businesses and hotels, as well as forcing the airport to close to all
but emergency flights. Tens of thousands of tourists were left stranded
for several days.
Tourism Secretary Rodolfo Elizondo said last week that officials hope as
much as 75 percent of Cancun and other popular Caribbean destinations
will be rebuilt and ready to accept travelers by Dec. 15, the
traditional beginning of the winter holiday tourist season.
Many stretches of sandy beach were carried off completely by Wilma and
the powerful storm surges it created, leaving behind only jagged rocks
and debris. The hotel zones of Cancun and other world-famous resorts
such as Playa del Carmen and the island of Cozumel were especially
hard-hit.
Source: Associated Press |