Quintana Roo Business Group Seeks Public Dashboard for Sargassum Spending

Cancún, Quintana Roo — The business group Empresarios por Quintana Roo is calling on officials to create a public dashboard showing how the federal government spends the 2.6 billion pesos it has pledged to tackle the state’s sargassum problem.

The organization warned that a lack of clarity over timelines is complicating business decisions and leaving the ongoing crisis unresolved.

Marcos Gutiérrez, president of the group, said the funding has already been announced and the effort was even mentioned during Gov. Mara Lezama’s state address, yet questions remain about when the money will be spent, what it will pay for and when the projects it finances will begin operating.

He pointed to the construction of a sargassum-collecting vessel, which officials recently said takes about four months to build. Gutiérrez asked what the schedule looks like from the moment funds are allocated through payment, delivery and the vessels entering service.

“There must be a dashboard where we can see the progress and the application of these resources,” he said.

Gutiérrez argued that greater transparency would give both authorities and businesses the certainty they need to make decisions on treating, using and industrializing sargassum.

Summit Set for Early October

The request comes ahead of a sargassum summit scheduled for Oct. 2 and 3 in Quintana Roo, organized by the European Union, which will focus in part on efforts to industrialize and make use of the biomass.

Gutiérrez said it is significant that an international body is driving those discussions in Quintana Roo, noting that progress is being made elsewhere while the state still lacks a clear roadmap for turning sargassum into a resource.

Empresarios por Quintana Roo is working on a plan to keep the private sector informed about sargassum monitoring, its behavior, beach impacts, government actions and opportunities for industrial use.

The group also wants details on the planned Sargassum Development Hub in Puerto Morelos. Although a decree is already in place, Gutiérrez said businesses need to know where the land will be, what infrastructure will be built and which procedures remain before the hub can begin operating.

The organization said that timely information on funding, infrastructure and projects would allow the private sector to understand the direction of the strategy and make decisions about investment, manufacturing and participation in a future sargassum industry.