Chetumal, Q.R. — Nautical investments will be promoted in the southern region of the state along with progress on the Zaragoza Canal. Alicia Ricalde Magaña, head of the Comprehensive Port Administration of Quintana Roo (Apiqroo), said that once the canal is complete, tours from Isla Mujeres to Chetumal can be made.
The promotion was heard during a meeting with the Nautical Associates of the State in which Administración Portuaria Integral de Quintana Roo (Apiqroo) encouraged members of the state nautical sector to invest in the southern area.
She said that the Zaragoza Canal modification is part of the nautical escalation being promoted. She said once it is complete, tours from Isla Mujeres to Chetumal can be made, which will bring great benefits to the southern region of the state as well as to the nautical sector.
Ricalde Magaña clarified that the government is currently in the dredging phase, deepening the canal which when finished, will not be used for cruise ships, but for luxury yachts, expanding the “nautical ladder”, she added.
She explained that currently, the nautical ladder operates only up to Puerto Aventuras where the last marina is located, acknowledging that the same level of nautical tourism in the north does not reach the southern portion of the state.
“The truth is that we also want the south to have nautical infrastructure where people can arrive in their own boats, gets off at ports, go to restaurants, buy handicrafts, visits archaeological sites.
“In the south, we have a lot of wealth because there are located Bacalar, Mahahual, Banco Chinchorro, Xcalak and more than seven archaeological sites,” she said.
Ricalde Magaña says she believes it to be a very viable and achievable project that it can be completed in the next two years where, with private-public investments, that great development opportunity could be a reality in the south of Quintana Roo.