Real Estate Leaders Warn Unchecked Growth in Bacalar Threatens Investment

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — Real estate developers in Bacalar are warning that the town’s unregulated growth, caused by the absence of an urban development plan, is creating legal uncertainty that could drive away investment.

Marco Antonio del Valle Meneses, president of the Bacalar chapter of the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI), said political disinterest has led to chaotic development in the southern Quintana Roo municipality. He warned that without a Programa de Desarrollo Urbano (PDU), or Urban Development Program, investors are encountering obstacles from authorities and lack the legal certainty needed to commit funds.

“Many people come to the southern zone wanting to invest but run into barriers put up by the authorities themselves, along with the lack of legal certainty due to the absence of a PDU in Chetumal, Bacalar, and Mahahual,” Del Valle Meneses said. “That’s where AMPI intervenes to be the voice of investors so government authorities will listen to us.”

He noted that currently there’s little land available for sale, and the lack of a PDU presents a serious problem in Bacalar where federal, state, and municipal authorities need to address the issue.

Del Valle Meneses emphasized that the absence of a PDU restricts investments through limitations on how many hotel rooms can be built per hectare. “If you buy land, there’s a certain number of hectares, but the PDU only allows you to have five or six rooms per hectare, so the return on investment isn’t profitable,” he explained.

Through AMPI, developers are pushing the Bacalar municipal government to present a PDU that meets current needs while being fully accessible and protecting the lagoon environment. “We’re not going to promote a PDU that will eventually create conflict in the long or short term, damaging the lagoon,” he clarified.

The real estate leader acknowledged that Bacalar’s unregulated growth isn’t new, noting that municipal governments have allowed hotel construction along the Bacalar lagoon and other areas for many years. “Maybe what I’m saying is a vicious cycle. This is an issue that wasn’t handled properly when it should have been, but as they say, we’re going to regularize and improve what wasn’t started correctly at the time.”

He considered the current moment opportune for addressing this problem to ensure respect and maintenance of the lagoon ecosystem.