Cancún Residents Halt Aguakan Roadworks in Villas Otoch Over Missing Permits

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Residents of the Villas Otoch Primera Etapa subdivision forced the water utility Aguakan to suspend excavation work on one of their main avenues after crews began tearing up the pavement without notifying them, neighbors said.

Roughly 15 residents gathered on Avenida Paseo de los Olivos in Supermanzana 247 after noticing that workers from Desarrollos Hidráulicos de Cancún, the company that operates the Aguakan concession, had started breaking up the asphalt, opening deep trenches and moving heavy machinery into the roadway.

The work cut into vehicle traffic and threatened access to their homes, the residents said.

Neighbors Say No One Warned Them

Residents said neither the company nor municipal authorities gave them any formal notice, circular or advance warning about the water infrastructure project.

“We woke up to the noise of backhoes and men breaking up the street in front of our houses; nobody came to face us or tell us how many days we would be left without access, or whether they were going to break the pipes,” one of the neighborhood leaders said at the scene.

As the protest grew, liaison officials from the Benito Juárez municipal government arrived in a hurry, accompanied by supervising engineers from Aguakan.

Engineers Could Not Produce Permits

Tensions peaked when neighborhood representatives demanded to see the construction licenses, the permits for digging up public roads and the road restoration plan approved by the municipal Public Services and Urban Development Department.

To the surprise of the municipal officials themselves, the project managers did not have the authorization documents on hand and could not give a clear explanation or justify the work in the area.

With the missing permits exposed and the protest threatening to escalate, the engineers ordered the work stopped. The same crews then took up shovels to refill and cover the trenches they had just opened, leaving the road temporarily closed.

Neighbors said they will keep a permanent watch to make sure the company does not resume digging without informing them about the project first.