President López Obrador has announced that the government will spend 500 million pesos (US $26 million) on urban improvement projects in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo.

López Obrador and Urban Development Secretary Román Meyer Falcón said the objective of the investment – part of the Mi México Late (My Mexico Beats) program – is to improve infrastructure in disadvantaged areas of the resort city.

Among the neighborhoods set to benefit are Ejidal, 28 de Julio and Bellavista.

At an event in the Caribbean coast city, the president said the government decided to allocate the funding because the contrast between luxury hotels and underprivileged neighborhoods, “where people don’t even have the most essential services,” is unacceptable.

Meyer explained that 30 million pesos will go to the Ciudad Juventud youth center project in Ejidal and that an additional 90 million pesos will be allocated to build a children’s development center and a cultural center in the same neighborhood, as well as to rehabilitate a community center and the Playa del Carmen Polyforum center.

More than 80 million pesos has been earmarked for the Bellavista neighborhood, where a medical rehabilitation center and a new park and market will be built, while 11 million pesos will go to improvement projects at sporting facilities and a community center in the 28 de Julio district.

Money has also been set aside for water projects, the paving of roads, sidewalks, street lights and the construction of 500 new homes.

“With a strict sense of justice and social conscience, these resources are returning to the families and neighborhoods of Playa del Carmen that have been left in oblivion. We have the goal of turning Playa del Carmen into a fairer, safer and much more prosperous city,” Meyer said.

“. . . Playa del Carmen isn’t just [the upmarket hotel and residential areas of] Playacar and Mayakoba, neighborhoods such as Ejidal, Bellavista, 28 de Julio and Forjadores are also Playa del Carmen, they’re also the heart of the Riviera Maya.”

The central objective of the 8-billion-peso (US $416.9-million) Mi México Late program is to build much-needed infrastructure in the working-class neighborhoods of Mexico’s leading tourism destinations.

Among the other cities that will benefit are Los Cabos, Cancún, Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta.

Source: Notimex (sp)