Playa del Carmen, Q. R. — After a local association stated that the new Maya Train route is being constructed without the pertinent studies, local officials have clarified that the project has been pre-authorized.
Teresita Flota Alcocer, municipal secretary of Territorial Planning said that the project has been pre-authorized, clarifying that “it is exempt from the Environmental Impact Statement for being a project of national priority.”
“Consent for use of the municipal land for the Maya Train was granted during a city council meeting. Since it is a priority project of the federal government, it has been pre-authorized,” she explained.
Being a national priority, the clearing of vegetation along the new Maya Train route does not require permission from Semarnat (the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources).
Two weeks ago, the clearing of vegetation for the new Section 5 South Maya Train route began with a 10-meter wide cutting of jungle. The site where the clearing began is about 12 kilometers west of the center of Playa del Carmen.
The train route was moved from its original centrally located plan after businesses expressed concerns about land use and traffic congestion. Since then, the route was changed, leaving the center median of the city in ruins after months of construction.
Fonatur has since said that they will repair the damage caused by the construction of what was to be the train overpass. Part of those repairs is to include the replanting of some of the more than 20,000 trees removed to make way for the train.
