Cozumel, Q.R. — A private beach club being promoted for construction near a natural protected area of Cozumel is being met with resistance. Company promoters are requesting permission to build Cabo Mantarraya at kilometer 2.9 of the southern seawall of the island.
The private beach area, if approved, would be constructed next to an area where manta rays are kept in captivity for tourist enjoyment. The project is being promoted by the company Total Gusto del Caribe who want to build a 1,362 square meter platform in the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone.
The company promoting the new beach area are the same owners of the Stingray Beach Club in Cozumel. According to the Manifestación de Impacto Ambiental (MIA), the private club would be “for tourist-recreational activities, including rest and contemplation of the sea, both for the local population and for tourists from the Riviera Maya, as well as for those arriving on tourist cruises.”
In their Environmental Impact Statement (MIA), they say “in the central part a walkway leads to a set of twelve floating cabins that serve as a viewing point and rest areas. A second walkway at the northern end leads to twelve more cabins, an open structure toward a pool or the beach and not to a type of housing.”
The project would also include “commercial premises, a restaurant, an administrative area and service areas,” in addition to “four sea water pools that occupy a total area of 1,100 square meters” and “at the southern end of the facilities, a slide and other attractions typical of a water park.”
The project is currently open for public consultation with the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (Semarnat). Locals can also learn more and share their concerns on Change.org.
