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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | April 2006 
Officials: Cancun Beaches will be Fully Replaced Following Hurricane
 Jorge Dominguez - Associated Press
| | Tourists look on as an excavator works at replacing the sand on Cancun's beach April 10, 2006. Work to repair the beach in Mexico's top tourist spot has almost concluded as tens of millions of dollars have been spent to dredge and pump the sand back onto the beach after it was washed away by hurricane Wilma last year. (Reuters/Victor Ruiz) |
Cancun, Mexico The famous white beaches of Cancun, which were devastated by Hurricane Wilma last year, will be fully restored more than two weeks ahead of schedule, officials said Wednesday.
Belgian maritime engineering company Jan De Nul will lay the last batch of sand along the 12 kilometer (8 mile) stretch of beach on Thursday, said Gabriel Mendicutti, Secretary of Infrastructure for the Caribbean state of Quintana Roo.
It's a great achievement considering that hurricane Wilma practically left Cancun without sand, Mendicutti said.
Wilma walloped the glitzy resort in October, carrying 145 mph (235 kph) winds and 30 hours of relentless rain and destroying homes, businesses and hotels as well as blowing away large swaths of beach.
Jan De Nul began work in February, using a special barge equipped with pipes to pump sand from the ocean floor and up onto the shoreline. The machine put into place more than 9,200 cubic square meters (99,028 sq. feet) of sand a day to rebuild the beach.
The original target date was April 30, but favorable weather conditions allowed the restoration to be completed early, Mendicutti said.
The beaches will be officially reopened at a ceremony on Tuesday, after Easter weekend, said Quintana Roo Tourism Secretary Gabriela Rodriguez.
Officials hope that with the return of the beach, occupancy rates at the hotels will return to normal by the summer.
About 3 million tourists, most from the United States and Europe, visit Cancun annually, according to tourism officials. |
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