Puerto Morelos Completes $10.4 Million Peso Rebuild of Fishing Pier

Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo — Puerto Morelos has completed the reconstruction of its historic fishing pier, restoring a waterfront landmark damaged by Hurricane Zeta nearly six years ago.

Mayor Blanca Merari Tziu Muñoz inaugurated the second and final phase on Sept. 10. The completed project rebuilt 114.3 meters of the wooden structure at a total cost of 10,468,301 pesos, according to municipal figures.

For Puerto Morelos, the pier is more than a place to look out over the Caribbean. It remains a working base for fishermen and nautical service providers, as well as a familiar gathering place for residents and visitors near the town square and leaning lighthouse.

“This pier is part of the history of Puerto Morelos,” Tziu Muñoz said during the inauguration. “Here are generations of fishermen, families who have lived from the sea, memories of our people and also the dreams of those who found in this corner of the Caribbean a place to live and get ahead.”

Rebuilding a storm-damaged landmark

The pier suffered extensive damage when Hurricane Zeta crossed the northern Quintana Roo coast in October 2020. Years without substantial repairs left sections of the structure unsafe and increasingly difficult to use.

Plans to rebuild it were approved in 2023, but the municipality first had to resolve an important jurisdictional issue. Because the pier occupies federal maritime property, local authorities could not simply begin construction on their own.

In January 2024, the federal government issued Puerto Morelos an “agreement of destination” covering 2,178.6 square meters of federal maritime zone. The document gave the municipality responsibility for the area and cleared the legal path for the project. A permit from Mexico’s Navy Secretariat was also required before work could proceed. Puerto Morelos detailed the authorization process when construction began.

Construction officially started in August 2024.

Work completed in two phases

The first phase rebuilt 81 meters of the pier at a cost of approximately 6.7 million pesos. That portion was opened in March 2025 by Tziu Muñoz and Quintana Roo Gov. Mara Lezama.

A second phase added the remaining 33.3 meters, costing nearly 3.77 million pesos. A citizen oversight committee was formed in April to monitor the timetable, quality of construction and use of public funds.

The finished pier is 4.2 meters wide and covers approximately 480 square meters. Work included removing the deteriorated structure and driving new regional hardwood pilings measuring 40 centimeters in diameter into the seabed.

Crews also installed new beams, supports, cross-bracing and wooden decking. Municipal officials said the materials and construction methods were selected to provide greater stability and resistance in the saltwater environment.

Tourism fees paid for the project

The entire 10.4 million-peso investment came from Puerto Morelos’ Environmental Sanitation Fee fund.

The fee is collected through hotels and other lodging providers and is intended to finance environmental work and public infrastructure affected by tourism. Its use for the pier connects visitor-generated revenue with a project serving fishermen, tourism operators and the wider community.

The funding source is notable because the first phase was described by state officials as the first major public-works project completed with money from Puerto Morelos’ sanitation fund.

A working part of the town’s identity

Puerto Morelos developed around the sea long before it became a modern tourism destination. Fishing, cargo and maritime activity shaped the community, and the waterfront remains central to its identity.

The fishing pier stands beside the town’s best-known landmark, the leaning lighthouse damaged by Hurricane Beulah in 1967. Together, the structures form one of the most recognizable scenes in Puerto Morelos.

But the pier is not merely decorative. Local fishing families and boat operators rely on safe access to the water for their livelihoods. Its deterioration affected daily work as well as the experience of people walking along the waterfront.

Captain Rogelio Santiago Povedano, a longtime member of the community, thanked officials for completing the project and emphasized its importance to families with historic ties to fishing.

The inauguration included a Maya ceremony of gratitude and was attended by fishermen, residents, visitors and government representatives. It took place one day before the mayor presented her second annual government report.

After years of storm damage, administrative delays and construction in two separate phases, all 114.3 meters of the Puerto Morelos fishing pier are once again in service.