Tulum Airport Gets Green Light from Semarnat for Environmental Approval

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) has issued the conditional authorization for the construction of the Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport in Tulum, along with the military base that will complement it.

According to the document, the change of land use in forested areas covering 513 hectares is authorized “by exception.”

These permits were granted after an environmental analysis of the project. The authorization is subject to a series of mitigation measures proposed by the project proponent, which is the Ministry of National Defense (Sedena).

It should be noted that the project began construction prior to the issuance of this authorization, as it had a provisional permit.

Among the most significant impacts mentioned is the removal of 5.7 million trees, including 1.3 million timber trees.

There is also a reference to the construction of a wastewater treatment plant that will process the airport’s discharged water and inject it into the underground aquifer.

Furthermore, the project will be located 1.8 kilometers from the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, which means that it will partially encroach on the reserve with obstacle imitation surfaces and flight approach and takeoff paths, as well as the aircraft-generated noise pollution.

The Environmental Impact Statement anticipates 43 environmental impacts (38 adverse and 5 beneficial) from the construction of the airport terminal. It mentions disruptions to fauna due to noise pollution, habitat contamination and destruction, and disturbances to the abiotic environment.

The airport will be complemented by a military base, both covering an area of 12,000 square kilometers (km2), equivalent to 1,200 hectares. It will also have an access road occupying 3.2119 km2 (321.19 hectares) within a medium forested area.

Overall, the project area totals 1,521.19 hectares, located in the Chunyaxché ejido, within the municipality of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, known as the Mayan region, in the central part of the state of Quintana Roo.