Holbox, Q. Roo — The previous Holbox administration granted 300 building permits without reviewing development plans, the island current leaders charge.
The tiny island’s infrastructure collapsed last summer, a result of over-building and poor planning.
In two years the number of rooms in Holbox’s population center, Isla Chica, rose from 800 to 1,700. But electrical and septic systems couldn’t keep up.
At various points, travelers were dragging their roller suitcases through street puddles that may or may not have been rainwater.
“What we want is to put order in the growth of Isla Chica which is currently disorganized, because there is no development plan for the area,” said Mayor Emilio Jiménez Ancona.
“Of the projects authorized by the last administration, there are still many to be executed. Currently there are some 70 projects with others are under review … Profepa has closed down 33 of those projects,” said Jiménez Ancona in Riviera Maya News.
The current administration has authorized about 10 construction permits, he said.
Fragile Isla Holbox is a long, skinny nature reserve reached by a two-hour taxi ride from Cancun airport, followed by a half-hour ferry trip. It has been the darling of travel writers looking for the “next Tulum.”
But like Tulum, Holbox struggles with accommodating an influx of tourists.
Its drainage system was installed more than 18 years ago, when the population was only 800 inhabitants. Since then, the population has tripled and tourism has exploded. The outdated drainage system serves more than 6,000 people a week.
Sources: Riviera Maya News, Associated Press
