Chetumal, Q.R. — The Navy says federal authorities are continuing to analyze the continuation of the Zaragoza canal dredging project. The continuation of the project is being analyzed after it was canceled two years ago due to environmental impact.
Marco Antonio Muñoz Hernández, Commander of the Eleventh Naval Zone, says the continuation of the project depends on budget management issued by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit.
It is also dependent on the decisions made by the Deputy General Directorate of Dredging and the Deputy General Directorate of Oceanography and Meteorology of Semar.
“It’s an issue that will have to be decided at the central level. They’re analyzing it. It’s a technical and budgetary decision. The truth is, I don’t know what the technique or mechanics will be that will be used for dredging if the decision is to continue dredging,” he explained.
“It’s a technical decision and most likely a budgetary decision because the technical aspects must be aligned with the budget,” he added.
The project, which was announced in 2020, has been halted several times the last of which was in 2023 after being considered unfeasible due to environmental impact.
The Zaragoza Canal is an artificial 1.2 kilometer long waterway between the Caribbean Sea and Chetumal Bay. The dredging project was intended to increase the canal depth to three meters and extend its length by 4.8 kilometers to enable the canal to be used by larger-draft vessels.
The intention was to also boost nautical tourism in the south of the state by providing a docking point. The dredging is both a state and federal project.
