tourism

Marina project still not approved

Investors say they´ve sunk nearly $3 million in an unapproved project off the coast of Vera Cruz.

la prensa

Carlos Llamas1003765

"If they don't give us a green light, we can not continue to spend money," said Carlos Llamas, president of the Panamarina Pacific project promoted by Spanish and French investors who want to make an island in the form of the Panamanian flag off the coast of Vera Cruz.

The project would be located on a platform built in the sea, some 3,000 meters off the coast of Veracruz and cost $2.5 billion. According to Llamas, $2,800,000 has already been poured into the project.

The Spanish businessman says he regrets that, as of yesterday, the government still had not given a clear indication as to whether the project was approved. "We are still waiting," he said.

The director of the Autoridad Nacional del Medio Ambiente said that the company has not yet submitted the appropriate environmental impact statement for projects like Panamarina Pacific, which will have a high impact on the environment, and still lacks the approval of other authorities, including the Autoridad Marítima de Panamá(AMP).

Llamas claims that the environmental impact study will cost $300,000 and does not want to spend that kind of money unless he has something in writing ensuring the legal viability of the project.

Llamas added that he already obtained a comprehensive study confirming that environmental impact of his Panamarina Pacific project will be relatively low.