"Puerto Rico authorizes $2 billion coastal luxury development that activists oppose", 31 July 2026

...Puerto Rico’s government has authorized construction of a $2 billion luxury development in the island’s southwest region that environmentalists have decried, warning it would strain the U.S. territory’s resources and threaten wildlife...

Global investment firm Reuben Brothers and real estate development company Three Rules Capital said in a statement Friday that more than 75% of the project would be dedicated to conservation and green space, including restoring roughly 33 acres of wetlands and rehabilitating coastal dunes and mangrove ecosystems.

They also said the development would be entirely powered by renewable energy and would have its own water and energy infrastructure.

Hotel brands joining the project so far are Mandarin Oriental and Rosewood Hotels & Resorts.

Environmentalists decried the approval, which Puerto Rico’s Adjunct Board of the Permit Management Office issued late Thursday. The approval was shared with The Associated Press on Friday.

The Defend Cabo Rojo Coalition, which opposes the project, said the people of Cabo Rojo and experts should have had the opportunity to be heard...

The developers have stressed that they will protect the environment and uphold public access to the beach. They noted that the project is expected to generate more than 17,000 jobs and asserted it would set a benchmark for “environmentally conscious luxury development”...