Construction on 14-tower tourist project on Yucatán’s coast halted on environmental grounds

A federal judge has granted permission for a lawsuit challenging the construction of a 14-tower tourist complex known as Las Dunas in Yucatán’s coastal dunes, marking yet another environmentally sensitive beach development halted or rejected during the Sheinbaum administration. The Las Dunas project, located in Chuburná Puerto, a fishing village on Yucatán's Gulf coast, aims to preserve surrounding dunes, mangroves and wetlands that help buffer erosion-prone shores.

The community lies approximately 15 kilometers west of Progreso, a nearby port city and beach destination. The temporary suspension of construction activities, announced by Mexico’s Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) on August 2, follows two other high-profile coastal reversals earlier this year. In May, the Environment Ministry (Semarnat) denied Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day Mexico project near Mahahual, Quintana Roo, after Sheinbaum requested a fresh environmental evaluation.

Just last month, Semarnat withdrew the federal coastal permit for the Las Cocinas luxury development in Punta Mita, Nayarit, citing unauthorized construction and environmental transgressions. Salvemos Las Dunas (Save the Dunes) and locals have initiated legal proceedings to compel a court-ordered halt to the Las Dunas project while authorities investigate alleged environmental breaches.

State authorities stipulated that 58,740 square meters of the property, encompassing coastal wetland and federal maritime-terrestrial land, must be preserved and off-limits. They emphasized that a state urban-environmental feasibility assessment does not equate to a construction permit; Semarnat retains federal jurisdiction over environmental-impact authorization.

Profepa’s ruling cited 58,740 square meters of cleared land, or 31% of the authorized land-use-change area, resulting in damage to protected flora and infringing upon environmental and forestry permissions. Protected species were found on roughly half of the cleared area, according to authorities. Local media outlet La Jornada reported that environmental advocates have cautioned that the Las Dunas development could endanger protected species like the Mexican sheartail hummingbird and Yucatán wren.

Chuburná resident Karen Sosa expressed concern to El País, stating that the dunes embody the community's identity, having been handed down from generation to generation as a vital source of sustenance. The Las Dunas project is backed by Auralux Representaciones and is identified by El País as a Designia Desarrollos endeavor. The planned undertaking comprises 138 apartments within 14 towers on approximately 92,000 square meters of land.

Collectively, the recent rulings on Las Dunas and other projects suggest a more conspicuous federal commitment to intervene in contentious coastal tourism ventures. However, these actions do not constitute an officially ratified national policy.