We are sure that you have been avidly following our beach restoration coverage on this website and on www.royalresortsnews.com and as the Cancún project wraps up at the end of this month, we wanted to share some additional photos with you.
The beaches at The Royal Sands, The Royal Mayan, The Royal Caribbean and The Royal Islander have been completely restored and palapas and sun loungers have been reinstalled, ready and waiting for your next trip.
The global interest in this project has been immense and the Mexican Tourist Board has been proudly showing off Cancún’s pearly white beaches at the FITUR Travel Show in Madrid, Spain (January 18 - 22).
Cancún Beach Restoration Fast Facts
* 12 kilometers of beach restored from Punta Cancún to Punta Nizuc
* 4.5 kilometers of beach in Playa del Carmen
* Approximately 6.3 million cubic meters of sand were dredged from two sand banks - La Ollita near Isla Mujeres and Punta Norte off the coast of Cozumel - and pumped on to the Cancún shoreline.
* The Cancún portion of the project cost $650 million Mexican pesos
* Restoration was carried out by Mexicana de Dragados S.A. de C.V., an affiliate of Belgian company Jan de Nul, and coordinated by the Mexican Electricity Board (CFE).
* Two dredgers worked round the clock to restore Cancún’s beaches.
* Work advanced at a pace of 100 meters a day.
* A concrete barrier was erected between Punta Cancún and the Golondrinas Islet. Over 300 meters long and comprised of more than 13,830 concrete blocks weighing approximately 16,245 tons, the sea wall will help to reduce coastal erosion and sand loss.
* A 10-year monitoring and maintenance project is also planned.
* Sand pumping began in Cancún on November 1 and by December 16, beach project engineers had already reached The Royal Sands.
* Work started at The Royal Mayan on January 6 and was completed at The Royal Islander on January 14. Once the 12-meter-long pipes and heavy equipment were moved further south, resort staff reopened all the beach entrances.
* With only 400 meters of shoreline to restore, the Cancún project will be finished by the end of January and work is well underway in Playa del Carmen.
* Mexican President Felipe Calderón is expected to visit the area in February to inspect the beaches.
#1 by Diane Schaefer on March 10th, 2010
The beaches look beautiful. Can’t wait to come see it for myself in May. Thank you for the restoration.
#2 by jgreen on March 10th, 2010
Dear Steve: Thank you for writing to Royal Resorts News. The government-funded beach project in Playa del Carmen was confined to the shoreline in front of town and south in Playacar. It did not extend as far north as The Royal Haciendas. While there are some patches of rocks and corals in the bays at The Royal Haciendas, there are also areas that are perfect for swimming and the beach itself is looking beautiful. I hope that this helps.
#3 by Marilyn Neufeld on March 9th, 2010
Wow! The beaches look beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing the pictures along with the informative Restoration Fast Facts. Our family of four stayed at The Royal Caribbean the first week of June 2009, our third time in Cancun. We look forward to going back to enjoy the new beaches (our reason for purchasing in Cancun). We always return back home to California telling our family and friends of the wonderful stay we have at the Royal Resorts - a great investment when we purchased!
#4 by Steve Gray on March 9th, 2010
Did any sand get pumped-in at the Royal Haciendas to cover up the rocks?
#5 by Bob Bracey on March 9th, 2010
Was any beach restoration done at the Royal Haciendas and if so, how about some pictures from there?
#6 by jgreen on January 29th, 2010
Dear Bill: Thank you for your kind comments. I have sent your post to the Resort Management Committee and will discuss the possibility of a letter with them. I read that President Calderon is expected to visit Cancún in February to see the beach restoration for himself and I am sure that the President of the Cancún Hotel Association will take the opportunity to express his gratitude on behalf of all the resorts and hotels that benefited from the project and the many visitors such as you and your wife who have been coming to Cancún for many years and have an enduring affection for the area and its people.
#7 by Bill Summers on January 27th, 2010
Thanks so much for this summary of the restoration project and the great photographs. It has been inspiring to see the beaches return. The unique, Cancun beaches prompted us to purchase at the Royal Sands in the first place. Now, ‘coming home’ will be that much more special. No doubt the management have already done this already, but it would be a particularly nice gesture to thank the Mexican Government formally, noting also the deep gratitude of individuals like my wife Edith and me. Again, many thanks for all the work that went into keeping us informed as this project progressed.
Ciao,
Bill Summers