Selvame MX Calls HAZUL Project With Artificial Beach a ‘Fantasy’ in Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — The HAZUL real estate project, which would build an artificial beach, lagoons, commercial space and a hotel north of Playa del Carmen, has drawn criticism from Selvame MX member José Urbina, who called it a fantasy that could harm the natural environment.

Urbina argued that the region’s jungles and cenotes do not need to be replaced by artificial beaches or man-made bodies of water to develop tourism projects. He urged the developer, Arquitectoma Playa, to reconsider a proposal that he said would transform the natural landscape with large structures.

In a message addressed to the developer and to potential buyers, Urbina said the project offers an artificial image of the Mexican Caribbean that does not match the area’s natural features.

The project was submitted in late September to the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat). According to the developer’s filing, it includes a commercial real estate development and a 280-room hotel on the west side of Federal Highway 307.

The proposal features an artificial beach of 11,000 square meters and lakes covering 908,000 square meters. According to project documents, the lakes would be built on land where limestone was previously quarried.

Urbina said the site’s history as a quarry does not justify turning it into a development of this kind. He argued instead that restoring the land should serve as an example of environmental respect, a standard he said the proposal does not yet meet.

The Selvame MX member said his position does not mean rejecting investment or tourism, but rather demanding that projects be designed and carried out with environmental protection criteria.

He said the group will ask Semarnat to open a public consultation so the proposal can be reviewed and observations filed about its potential impacts.

The goal, he explained, is for authorities, developers and society to find alternatives that create jobs and attract visitors without causing environmental damage whose cost ends up exceeding the economic benefits.

Urbina warned that both public and private works have damaged the environment of the Riviera Maya, and said the challenge is to keep real estate and tourism growth from compromising the natural resources that sustain the region’s economy.

The environmental review of the HAZUL project will be decisive in determining its scope, the proposed mitigation measures and the viability of its construction, particularly given the planned size of the artificial lakes and the transformation of a site previously mined for stone material.