A Canadian company appears committed to building a multi-billion-peso medical-residential project in Quintana Roo that would cater to the needs of Canadian retirees.

The head of the state’s Institute for Development and Funding (Idefin), Bernardo Cueto Riestra, said K & A Associates CEO Marc Kealy had expressed the firm’s intention to go ahead with the project in the state capital of Chetumal during a meeting on December 11.

“In the context of this visit . . . Marc Kealy reaffirmed K & A’s projection to develop an investment project worth close to 4.5 billion pesos [US $224.2 million] . . .” he said.

Idefin, K & A and the Quintana Roo Strategic Projects Agency (Agepro) also met in Toronto, Canada, in November to discuss the ways in which the state government can participate in the project, Cueto said.

“A project of this magnitude will mark a before and after for the south of the state, specifically for our capital. In recent weeks, we’ve been working hand in hand with the Strategic Projects Agency . . . and thanks to that cooperation we’ve found a way to provide the conditions that generate the confidence of K & A,” he added.

Agepro director Eduardo Ortiz Jasso said the project would help to close the economic gap between the north and south of Quintana Roo and provide more and better employment opportunities for local families.

Kealy, a former CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists Association, said during his visit to Mexico that “the Canadian community is increasingly aware of the favorable environment that the south of this beautiful Mexican state offers and it’s pleasing to see the willingness of the Quintana Roo government to make this project a reality in the medium term.”

No commencement dates for the project appear to have been set at this stage.

Source: El Economista (sp), La Verdad (sp), La Jornada (sp)