100% of the properties in Acapulco have damages of varying severity and magnitude, so the repair and reconstruction of houses, apartments, businesses and hotels will take between 5 and 10 years, considering that the rehabilitation of the tourist center must be done to resist future hurricanes, considered Francisco Solares Alemán, president of the Mexican Chamber of the Construction Industry (CMIC).
Hurricane Otis had sustained winds of almost 300 kilometers per hour, “a hurricane of this category had never entered a city of more than a million inhabitants(…) I have an idea that The reconstruction of Acapulco may take between five and ten years, depending on various factors”, emphasizes the leader of the construction industrialists in our country.
In interview with HIGH LEVEL, Solares Alemán points out that it is still premature to venture to calculate -exactly- the costs of reconstruction in the spa, while the two years that have been mentioned in the media are only a reference, but for economic reactivation, not itself for reconstruction.
“Well, what the president said is that Acapulco is going to have a happy Christmas, and obviously – reconstruction – from here to there is impossible. The two years that were mentioned among the businessmen that have to do with reconstruction, referred to economic reactivation,” details the president of the CMIC.
Reconstruction, with urban reform
In urban terms, Acapulco was growing with earthquake-resistant buildings in the tourist area. Now, considering that environmental conditions have changed, and the planet is suffering from an increase in the temperature of its seas, we must think that the reconstruction – after Hurricane Otis – must include urban, legislative and human settlement reform.
“What we say as the Mexican Chamber of the Construction Industry is that we need to invest in reconstruction, (…) not spend on reconstruction, and this has to do with with building an Acapulco that has greater resilience in its buildings, This means that it can recover faster from events like this,” argues Francisco Solares Alemán.
Therefore, and being aware that global warming is a reality, the regulations need to be reformed so that the materials to be used in reconstruction are different from those used previously.
This implies a review and study in the regulations that was had in Acapulco, which was certainly not made for winds of 300 kilometers per hour,” points out the president of the CMIC. Reforms to the legislation are also required to build homes in suitable locations, where risks can be minimized.
The irregular settlements that were affected by Hurricane Otis must be relocated. “It is an opportunity that we have so that the government can determine areas of land to develop housing and commerce, of course. “Emphasis must be placed on a new development plan,” point.
Tax and labor incentives
The president of the CMIC celebrates that, unlike what happened in 2020 with the Covid-19 pandemic, in Acapulco the federal government is granting tax benefits. “There is already temporary remission of taxes, I applaud that, it is good that here we are proceeding in a different way,” he says.
“Another great opportunity that we have, as a people, and above all as a government in all its aspects, to get something positive out of this great misfortune, would be to order the urban development of Acapulco,” Solares Alemán insisted.
Therefore, in addition to tax incentives, companies also need support to reduce their workload, that is, the consortia that will participate in the reconstruction and economic reactivation of Acapulco, require a decrease in the amount of employer contributions that they must pay. to the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS).
In this sense, Francisco Solares Alemán emphasizes that, between the economic reactivation and the reconstruction in Acapulco, “we cannot wait to have all the regulations updated, nor can we wait to have all the projects that must be changed,” since action must be taken in several scenarios with joint efforts between the private initiative and the government.
“This phenomenon has taught us many things that we did not know, and that will have to be taken into account to improve,” he concluded.
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Surya Palacios Journalist and lawyer, specialist in legal and human rights analysis. She has been a reporter, radio host and editor.