Playa del Carmen, Q.R. — The head of the National Fund for the Promotion of Tourism (Fonatur) has announced the definitive cancellation of the Maya Train project through central Playa del Carmen.
The project, which has become the center of much controversy in recent months, will not be moving ahead for the time being. The newly appointed head of Fonatur, Javier May Rodríguez along with Román Meyer Falcón, the secretary of Urban Development, made the announcement Thursday afternoon.
During the 2:30 p.m. last minute press conference, the pair announced the definitive cancellation of the of the Maya Train project at the entrance road to Playa del Carmen. The federal officials confirmed that section 5 will have route changes, which means the train will no longer pass through the center of the city as an elevated system as planned.
The changes are being made to avoid economic damages to the region, as well as in response to a request from area businesses, they said.
In his first visit to the state since becoming the new head of Fonatur, May Rodríguez did not know how much money has already been spent on this particular section of the project.
While Maya Train work crews were in full force Thursday, Javier May said that the cessation of the works “is immediate”.
During his Thursday morning press conference, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador also made reference to changes in section 5.
“It is a bit difficult for us on the section from Cancun to Tulum. There is a lot of traffic on this road. We are trying not to affect it or affect it as little as possible. We had thought of building up, but the cost was higher. It was decided to look for another line… this led us to agreements with owners,” he briefed.
The project was suspended on Thursday. The amount of investment made so far remains unknown. The central median of the federal highway of Playa del Carmen remains in complete devastation with the upheaval of ground and the loss of more than 32,000 trees, many of which, were planted by civil society and local businessmen in various reforestation crusades.
Javier May Rodríguez said that within the next few days, details of the final project for section 5 from Cancún to Tulum will be announced.
He also said that an expropriation process will not take place without consulting citizens and that the announcement of the expropriation of 198 properties are in notification process, which he said, “does not mean that the properties that are notified in the first instance are going to be expropriated.
“It is an administrative process, it is not a process of final definition that they are going to be affected. In the next few days, topographical surveys will be carried out in the urbanized areas of the line to determine the least possible impact,” explained Román Meyer.
He added that there is a prior agreement with the owners that there will be a second stage of notification.