Well, after almost 4 years (Wilma was in October of 2005!), all of the disparate entities involved (federal, state, local, business, tourists, hotels, marinas, locals, the Light Company et al) have finally decided that it is time to rebuild the 12 kilometers of  beach in Cancun, the 4.2 km. in Playa del Carmen and the 1.5 km. on Cozumel.

Last time–in Spring of 2006–most of the 3 million cubic meters of sand used to rebuild the Cancun beach came from “La Ollita,” a sand bank out in the ocean out by Isla Mujeres. This time, the Federal government through its Environmental Agency SEMARNAT, has approved the whole project using around 7 million cubic meters of sand mostly from a Cozumel sand bank.

Getting any group of people to approve anything is not easy and there have been and are people and groups that are not in favor of the project or not the way it is being done. It is, of course, always easier and less risky to do nothing. The “Mayor” of Cozumel even refused to go to the press conference yesterday where they announced the approval of the project because he and 1,400 other people from Cozumel are against the government using “their” sand to rebuild the beaches in Cancun.

But the program officially starts tomorrow, July 15, 2009 with the company Mexicana de Dragados (the Mexican affiliate of Jan de Nul that rebuilt the beaches back in 2006 and has been involved in the famous Dubai Palm project)starting to hire people and send for their equipment. Around the first part of August they will actually have the dredgers on the way and will start assembling the tubing that will run along the beach to distribute the sand that they bring in. Here are some pictures http://good-times.webshots.com/album/549194379GmTeTS of the process as it was done last time. I don’t expect it to be much different this time.

By the end of August they will actually start dredging and dumping sand onto the beaches–starting with Cancun and then going to Cozumel and Playa later on. The plan (with some extra built in “cushion” days) is to be finished by December 13, 2009. From their lips to God’s ears!