Merida Yucatan. -In the last PAN administration (August 1, 2001 – July 31, 2007), that of Patricio Patrón Laviada, the name of Antonino Almazán Arteaga was repeated several times and he was a character who played an important role for a government. He was in charge of incorporating ejidal lands into development. At that time, the project was called ” Metropolisur”, which basically consisted of relocating the “Manuel Crescencio Rejón” airport to a new area, that of Hunucmá.
To achieve this objective, the government resorted to the expertise and experience of this person who had previously been an official of the National Agrarian Registry. Based on his experience, he managed to negotiate with the ejido leaders of Hunucmá and obtained the sale of land for the state government.
The Mérida air terminal has about 600 hectares, and the new one would have just over 1,100 hectares. According to Patron Laviada’s plans, the sale of the land would bring more than 1,500 million pesos to develop the urban project, since the new terminal required a figure of 998 million 922 thousand 067 pesos.
That project could not be carried out. A PRI majority in Congress overthrew this project, which also sought to break that geographical division between the airport and the southern area of Mérida, known by many as the “deep south.” It prevented the government from acquiring a debt of 1,048 million pesos. At that time there was talk of building houses of all kinds so that Mérida has an orderly growth and progress to reach the southern area, almost forgotten by the municipal administrations. That argument did not convince the legislators who by joining forces prevented the government from acquiring the millionaire economic loan to finance the project.
Antonino Almazán, however, achieved his purpose. It incorporated more than 1,100 hectares into the development and the state government, when the project fell, looked for a better way to take advantage of the space. In the following electoral process, the PAN lost the elections and the PRI regained the state government. That new airport project was forgotten. However, the lands were part of the government’s land reserve that, by then, in the mandate of Ivonne Ortega, fell into the hands of a new body called the Yucatán State Housing Institute (IVEY), formerly Cousey, whose first general director of the institute was Angélica Araujo Lara, who soon had an upward career in political life.
She, from the IVEY, jumped for a federal deputation (the III district, based in Mérida) which she won and before finishing as a legislator she was nominated as a candidate for mayor of Mérida, which she also won. The lands that were intended to be that of the new airport and Antonino’s tasks were stranded for a time. That portion became a gold vein. Little by little the government began to see in these lands the possibility of developing projects and turned it into a great industrial corridor.
As a result of Antonino’s work, today, the Yucatán Brewery is located in that area, which became a company that generated direct and indirect jobs and was accompanied by the installation of a subsidiary company for the manufacture of aluminum containers.
Yucatecan beer began to shine throughout the region and the world. In that same corridor the National Polytechnic was established, and other companies that produce animal feed. The development came, albeit late. The lands were used for other purposes that are generating economic resources for families in the area of Hunucmá, Umán, Samahil, Kinchil, Ucú, and the metropolitan area of Mérida.
On the same road to Hunucmá, a large middle-class residential area was also built. The government called it Ciudad Caucel, with more than 17 thousand homes and with a capacity of over 22 thousand. At present, there are still areas that have not yet been inhabited, but they are in process. Many developed housing companies acquire spaces in tha t area and thousands of families carry out their family and commercial activities in Ciudad Caucel, lands bought from the ejido.
Most of these lands, generally in common use, were unproductive, practically “mountain”, as they say in Yucatán, but when one travels the Mérida-Hunucmá race the landscape has another tone, one of growth, one of progress, of development, of economic impact for families.
Fast Forward to 2021
The Governor of Yucatán, Mauricio Vila Dosal, announced that the relocation of the Mérida Airport is a fact, Merida will have a new airport.
He indicated that the relocation will contribute to the recovery of 8 thousand jobs in the state as a result of a private investment that is estimated to be 10 billion pesos,
“This project will be added to those that are attracting other investments, in addition to promoting economic reactivation and, with it, soon recover the income that the Yucatecan families have lost,” he said.
Vila Dosal assured that only private capital will be invested in the construction of the new airport, which will bring many benefits, mainly in the area of caring for the environment, the sound levels that the entire population of the south of the city was receiving and achieving the union of the city of Mérida when removing the wall that divides it.
The president announced that in the coming weeks the federal government will announce the project for the relocation of the Mérida Airport and stressed that it is a plan that will eliminate the 6-kilometer barrier from the airport, which has contributed to creating the most marginalized area of the entire Yucatecan capital.
“More than 100,000 people live in poverty in this area, so removing the fence will allow greater services to be brought closer and they can have better-living conditions so that they can get ahead. In other words, the separation created by the current airport will be ended and it will allow better attention to the areas beyond the wall of the air terminal ”, Vila Dosal pointed out.
In addition, 600 hectares will be released within the Peripheral Ring that will allow the growth of the city without leaving its limits, added the Governor.
Likewise, Vila Dosal highlighted that other benefits will also be obtained in the area of caring for the environment, eliminating noise and improving the quality of life of the inhabitants of southern Mérida.
“It is a relocation project for the Mérida airport that will be generating more than 8 thousand jobs during its construction and that will be built solely with private investment and will bring many benefits, mainly in the area of caring for the environment, the sound levels that The entire population of the south of the city was receiving and achieving the union of the city of Mérida by removing the wall, with which the living conditions of these families will automatically improve ”, he assured.
Benefits of relocating airport
In detail, the benefits that the relocation of the Mérida Airport will provide were specified, a federal government project that will contribute to the recovery of jobs in the State, since with a private investment estimated to be 10 billion pesos, they will be generated 8 thousand jobs that, added to those that are being attracted with other investments, promote economic reactivation and, with it, soon recover the income that Yucatecan families have lost.
In terms of caring for the environment, noise and the emission of pollutants generated by aircraft in much of the city will be substantially reduced. Similarly, with the relocation of the airport, it is on a par with large cities in the country, generating greater connections with other states and countries in the world, attracting more tourism and becoming a logistics center of national relevance and for Latin America.
In addition to all this, it would increase the capacity of the airport so that it can serve the future, the new generations and the development of our state, so this federal government project has the backing of the state government, said the Governor.
Source: reporteroshoy.mx, yucatan.com.mx, sipse.com,