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Cancun Hotel Association says it is ‘irresponsible’ to build more hotels in already over densified zone

Cancun, Q. R. — A new municipal urban development program for Cancun shows the possibility of another 3,000 rooms. Jesús Almaguer Salazar, president of the Cancun, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres Hotel Association referred to the addition of that many rooms as “irresponsible”.

“Everyone should be concerned about the over densification approved for the Pok-Ta-Pok Golf Club because it will exceed the Hotel Zone,” said Almaguer Salazar.

Close to 3,000 additional rooms could be added in the Pok-Ta-Pok area alone, according to the new Benito Juárez Urban Development Program (PDU). According to Almaguer Salazar, several organizations and associations have already filed complaints against the recently approved PDU.

He says the addition of that many more rooms will not only cause traffic problems, but also add to the already overloaded service structure of the Cancun Hotel Zone.

“All of us in Quintana Roo should be concerned about this attempt to over densify Pok-Ta-Pok, which cannot stand, in itself, without the service structure of the hotel zone which is already insufficient. There are hotels that, with a light rain, experience drainage overflows,” said the Hotel Association President.

The same residential development in Pok-Ta-Pok, he said, already suffers from flooding when there are rains, and now, they are saying that there will be the creation of new treatment plants or the updating of the existing ones, but although the papers “hold everything”, it is irresponsible to approve the building of so many rooms.

Almaguer Salazar says the drainage system along nearly all of Kukulcán Boulevard has been completely exhausted and the treatment plants are insufficient.

Now, if 6,000 more rooms are added (combining the Pok-Ta-Pok projects in the north and another in the south in front of the Iberostar hotel), that would imply a greater demand for circulating vehicles, more drainage, drinking water and electricity, also considering that two workers per room are usually hired.

“It is a mistake to allow that. It is something out of the ordinary. They are building a hotel with 3,000 rooms on the south side of the Hotel Zone and now they want to build another 3,000 on the north side,” he said adding that there are currently around 37,000 rooms in the Cancun Hotel Zone.