Semarnat Blocks 107-Hectare Mexico Review Rcl Project in Mahahual
Semarnat said the mexico review rcl project in Mahahual is still undergoing environmental assessment and does not have environmental authorization for development, construction or operation. The statement came a few hours after six Greenpeace members unfurled a banner urging the ministry to choose environmental protection.
Royal Caribbean plans to build the Perfect Day water park on Mexico’s Caribbean coast in Quintana Roo. The project would cover just over 107 hectares, carry an investment of $1 billion and open in 2027, with about 20,000 visitors daily.
Mahahual and Costa Maya
Royal Caribbean acquired the Costa Maya port in July 2025 and took administrative control with an investment of more than $221 million. The company says Perfect Day will sit on land in Mahahual, a town with a population of just over 2,600, giving the project a footprint far larger than the local community itself.
The park is planned to include more than 30 water slides, six swimming pools, three beaches, 12 restaurants and 24 bars. Royal Caribbean describes Perfect Day on its website as “the biggest, boldest and most daring destination ever imagined [...] a mind-blowing, record-breaking experience like no other,” while saying the project is intended to replicate the success of CocoCay in the Bahamas.
Greenpeace and Semarnat
Greenpeace says the project will devastate the mangrove ecosystem and harm the 300 species that live there. The group also says construction would unleash a waste crisis involving hundreds of thousands of tons of debris from the moment work begins.
Carlos Samayoa, Greenpeace’s campaign coordinator, said after Semarnat’s statement, “We already know that. The message is that we will be watching them and that we will be calling on people to pay attention to the outcome of the decision.”
Semarnat’s position leaves the project in assessment, not authorization, and that is the key obstacle Royal Caribbean must clear before it can move from plans to development, construction or operation in Mahahual.
