After facing legal and financial delays that halted progress on the construction of Mexico’s first cruise ship home port, Rocky Point is now entering the final stages of removing legal barriers and receiving the increased funding needed to complete the port in its entirety.
As of January 24, 2017, Sonora Tourism Promotion Director (COFETUR) Daniel Camacho Saldívar has said that an estimated investment of one billion pesos (or about fifty million U.S. dollars) will be needed in order to complete the Puerto Peñasco Home Port. Four hundred and ninety-one million pesos have been invested so far.
Currently, construction on the port—which includes a breakwater jetty, an unloading dock, and a terminal—stands at about fifty-five percent completion for the jetty and two percent for the dock. The jetty is planned to reach out over 1,531 meters, with 720 meters already finished. If additions are made to the project’s 2017 budget, port operations may even begin as soon as 2018.
What the Finished Port Should Bring to Puerto Peñasco
A home port refers to a port which is used for both the departure and arrival of cruise liners, and Rocky Point’s would be the first of such ports ever built in Mexico. The opportunities for tourism and economic growth would be wonderful for the local and national economy. Beachfront property values are projected to rise, and jobs in both construction and tourism would provide the boost that the city needs in order to make improvements to its infrastructure.
However, there are concerns about the impact that the project will have on the local marine ecosystem and wildlife on which so many of the townspeople in Rocky Point are dependent on. Historically, Puerto Peñasco was built by its fishing industry and continues to be sustained by it. Another concern includes the increased disparity in wealth between locals and tourists.
Proponents of the port say that the project would not only benefit the local economy, but could positively impact other nearby regions outside of Rocky Point, including additional parts of Sonora, Sinaloa, and Baja California, with routes even expanding as far as central Mexico and up to the United States. In the meantime, the Coordinator of the State Office on Tourism Promotion, Antonio Berumen Preciado, has said that trial runs of smaller tourism vessels of one hundred to three hundred passengers could begin departing from Rocky Point and travelling to other ports on the Sea of Cortez.
FMI Rentals – Your Gateway to the Best of Rocky Point
Contact our reservations team to learn more about the city’s cruise ship home port and other exciting attractions and activities that you can expect to encounter all around Rocky Point when you book your trip accommodations in one of the lovely vacation rental properties that are available for your stay through FMI Rentals today!
