Cozumel, Q.R. — After another attempt to gain approval for a fourth pier, government officials have denied the request. The interested company submitted another environmental impact statement earlier this year for construction of a cruise ship dock.
That request was officially denied April 29, 2026. The refusal was based on the presence of reef patches and protected species listed in NOM-059 within the area of direct influence.
It also considered the immediate proximity to the Villa Blanca reef system, which would increase the environmental risk as established in the marine ecological zoning program of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.
For more than three years, company SSA Mexico SA de CV had been applying to have their SSA Mexico Pier project approved. Last month, the General Directorate of Environmental Impact and Risk (Dgira), published the final resolution on their request.
The decision was published in the Ecological Gazette and notificatios sent to state authorities including Governor Mara Lezama, Cozumel Mayor José Luis Chacón Méndez, and Óscar Rebora Aguilera, the State Secretary of Ecology.
Island residents had protested against the construction project, saying it would cause damage to the Villa Blanca coral reef.
In their resolution, Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) concluded that it is not feasible to grant the authorization in matters of environmental impact since the project could generate severe ecological imbalances in the marine ecosystem.
In December of 2021, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) had approved the construction of the fourth cruise ship dock in Cozumel, despite opposition from residents and environmentalists.
The SSA Mexico Pier project was one of 39 that made up the Agreement for Economic Reactivation that former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador signed in October of 2021.
