Mexico Denies Limestone Extraction Permits Near Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Mexico’s environment agency has denied permits for limestone extraction on two plots of land in the state’s northern zone, blocking projects that would have resembled the controversial Calica quarry operation.

The decision by the Environment Secretariat (Semarnat) affects environmental impact authorizations requested by private parties for properties in Playa del Carmen and Puerto Morelos. The agency did not disclose the reasons for the rejection, but the resolution was published in Semarnat’s Ecological Gazette.

Chem-Hum property, Playa del Carmen

The first plot covers 20 hectares and was previously used for construction of the Maya Train. Company Tricoblocks del Sureste submitted an environmental impact statement in December 2024 for a project called “Exploitation of limestone below the water table on the ‘Che-hum’ property, municipality of Solidaridad, Quintana Roo.” The company planned to extract limestone up to five meters below the water table over five years, at a site 10 kilometers north of Playa del Carmen across from the Tres Ríos complex.

Parcela 1181-Z2-P1, Puerto Morelos

The second property, also about 20 hectares in a jungle area, was requested in December 2023 by Bezaleel Assis González Vargas for limestone extraction below the water table. According to the project proposal, the site was intended to supply 1.44 million cubic meters of aggregate to the construction industry, including local and residential housing developments, the hotel sector, and regional infrastructure.

The denials effectively put a stop to additional projects similar to Calica, the multinational limestone extraction company that for years used explosives and affected the local aquifer.