Mexico’s Environment Agency Rejects Four Major Tourism Projects in Quintana Roo

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Mexico’s Environment and Natural Resources Department (Semarnat) has rejected four high-impact tourism and real estate projects in Quintana Roo — three in Playa del Carmen and one in Puerto Morelos — whose combined investment would have exceeded 8,118 million pesos. Officials determined the developments would damage mangrove ecosystems and natural habitat for plants and wildlife.

The Rejected Projects

The first of the blocked plans, Desarrollo Turístico Playa del Secreto Hotel & Resort, Hoteles 2 y 3, called for the construction of two hotels with 1,599 rooms at a cost of 4,129.6 million pesos. The federal agency turned the project down.

The second, Hotel Resort 2, dates back to 2021, when a private party began seeking permits to build a hotel with 878 rooms north of Playa del Carmen, on the grounds of the Valentín Imperial hotel complex. The environmental impact statement was filed by the promoting company Operadora de Servicios, which requested a 10-year window to complete the lodging center. The project would have involved an investment of 3,117,953,415 pesos and the hiring of 683 workers for the construction phase alone. Officials announced that the application was marked “not applicable.”

A third project, Operación y Construcción de Obras Complementarias Desarrollo Turístico Playa del Secreto Hotel & Resort, received the same response. Promoted by the company Valentín Playa del Secreto, it envisioned a 433-room hotel on federal highway 307 at kilometer 311+500, on land owned by the developer, with an investment of 66 million pesos.

The fourth project denied an environmental permit was Fraccionamiento GL Dreams, promoted by the firm Proyectos y Construcciones del Puerto. It sought to build 308 high-value homes near the coast, on part of the Manglares de Puerto Morelos Protected Natural Area.

Environmentalists Warn About Hazul

Environmental advocates, meanwhile, raised alarms about a new megaproject known as Hazul, a residential and commercial development submitted to Semarnat in recent weeks. The proposal covers 424.85 hectares in Playa del Carmen and includes housing, commercial spaces, a 280-room hotel, a public artificial beach and a system of induced lakes.

According to information published in Semarnat’s official gazette, the project is planned in nine stages and would require converting roughly 251.11 hectares of medium sub-evergreen jungle vegetation that is currently in the process of recovery. Protected species, including parrots and the black catbird, have been recorded on the site.

“Projects submitted to Semarnat seeking environmental authorization, such as Hazul, aim to urbanize 251 hectares of jungle in Playa del Carmen, with induced lakes,” the advocates said. “They also intend to dynamite the karst soil, just as Calica did. This cannot be allowed.”