The launch of MARAEY became a reality this Thursday (28). At the “Fundamental Tree”, event, the executives of the main sustainable tourism-real estate project in the country welcomed the governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro, the mayor of Maricá, Fabiano Horta, and the executive secretary for the Ministry of Tourism, Daniel Nepomuceno, among other authorities. The idea is to celebrate the historical milestone of the authorization for the construction project. With the start of the works scheduled for the end of the year, MARAEY promises to decisively promote sustainable tourism in the state of Rio de Janeiro and the municipality of Maricá.

The meeting, which was held in the branch of entrepreneurship, in Maricá, brought together authorities from the federal, state and municipal levels, in addition to the project leaders. Along with the executives Emilio Izquierdo Merlo (CEO of MARAEY), David Galipienzo (executive director) and Luciana Andrade (sustainability director), the president of the Legislative Assembly of the state of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj), André Ceciliano; the president of the Municipal Chamber of Maricá, Aldair de Linda; the secretary of Environment and Sustainability of the state of Rio, Thiago Pampolha; the state deputy, Zeidan, and the president of the State Institute for the Environment (Inea), Philipe Campello. The mediation of the authorities’ speeches was carried out by the president of the Federal Council of Real Estate Agents (COFECI), João Teodoro da Silva.

The CEO of MARAEY, Emilio Izquierdo Merlo, gave the dimension of this historical milestone. “This is a fundamental day. MARAEY holds the script to truly become the best and most important sustainable tourism-residential destination in Brazil, through respect for the environment and local culture, significant economic investments and the creation of thousands of jobs, especially linked to tourism.”

In addition to MARAEY executives, the project’s creators, Emilio Izquierdo Jiménez and Kiko Senosiáin, and representatives of IDB Brasil’s member companies, Abacus Property Development and Grupo Cetya, also attended the event.

The governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro, highlighted the importance of the alliance between the state and the entrepreneur for sustainable development: “It is an enormous privilage to be here. It is an honour to be able to come to Maricá. We are here to work for our population. Nobody does anything alone. Regardless of the political and partisan flag, we want to work together. MARAEY could have chosen another place in the world, but we chose Maricá”.

The mayor of Maricá, Fabiano Horta highlighted the symbolism of the event: “Today is a day of great satisfaction. Major events require symbolic milestones. Today we are going to plant a tree in honor of the city and I want to reaffirm Maricá’s commitment to the dialogue between the public and the private sectors.”. Horta also highlighted the importance of the Zacarias community in building dialogue between MARAEY and the local population. “This dialogue is imperative, but without imposing itself on a population that is connected to the enterprise. Zacarias is part of Maricá’s history and will be an integral part of the project”.

The Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Daniel Nepomuceno, listed the courage, resilience and entrepreneurial spirit of the MARAEY team: “It is with immense pride, we receive entrepreneurs to invest in this echelon of tourism. We have the duty and obligation to support the entrepreneur. We are proud that MARAEY brings the Zacarias community and entrepreneurship to the world. This is just the beginning of everything. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Rio de Janeiro is a world heritage site. It deserves the effort, attention and entrepreneurship and the whole team to be working on it”.

TThiago Pampolha, State Secretary for the Environment and Sustainability, spoke about the qualities of the project: “Today is a happy day, a day to celebrate work, technique, and union. A government that believes in the workforce and in the development of our state. The undertaking is located in a protected area of sustainable use, but has demonstrated the ability to make the best dialogue, respecting the environment, natural beauty, enhancing this heritage”.

THE FUNDAMENTAL TREE OF MARAEY

To symbolize the ceremony, the executives and some authorities planted a tree of the Clusia fluminensis species on the development’s land. Galipienzo explained the choice: “the “Clusia fluminensis” species on the development’s land. Galipienzo explained the choice: “We mark the beginning of the MARAEY project with the planting of a fundamental tree, which symbolizes our total commitment to the environment. The chosen species is a declared tribute to the natural heritage of the state, in addition to being a very important tree, one of the precursors of the restinga ecosystem. It adapts well to the area. It is a beautiful and significant tree”, explained David Galipienzo.

In his opening speech, Emilio Izquierdo made reference to the partners of the project, such as Rock in Rio – which will have a hotel designed to be the best all-inclusive themed resort in the world on the beachfront – and to the family of tennis player Maria Esther Bueno, which will be honoured with the Maria Esther Bueno Tennis & Sports Club, a sports centre with eight tennis courts that will have part of the income destined for social projects to promote actions in Maricá and surroundings.

Emilio also highlighted the three pillars that support the project. “We are guided by the three authentic and non-negotiable principles that guide our endeavour and are part of the DNA of all those who participate in it: environmental commitment, social responsibility and economic development”.

THE RPPN WILL BE PRESERVED “AS IF IT WERE A NATIONAL PARK”

From an environmental point of view, the development will have only 6.6% building occupancy (half of that allowed by the Management Plan), in addition to preserving and improving the Maricá Environmental Protection Area (APA), through the creation of the second largest Private Reserve of Restinga Natural Heritage in the state of Rio, and fifth in Brazil.

“Our RPPN will establish an area of 440 hectares that will be protected in an integral and perpetual manner, as if it were a national park. In addition, after its implementation, we will begin recovery work, increasing more than 120 hectares of native restinga vegetation, in comparison with the situation prior to the undertaking”, adds Galipienzo.

MARAEY will also create, in the first phase of the project, an environmental research center – with the support of some of the most renowned universities in Brazil, such as UFRJ, UFF, UFRRJ, UFES and FURG – that will implement a monitoring program, as well as various scientific studies. , to better understand the ecology of endemic and threatened species in local ecosystems.

PROPERTY TITLES FOR ZACARÍAS: “WE WILL RESCUE ARTISANAL FISHING”

In its social side, the almost 200 families that live in the community of Zacarías, within the development area, will benefit from the cadastral regularization, with the transfer of the property title and delivery of the definitive deed to the residents. MARAEY will also encourage local culture and fishing with programs for the recovery of the Maricá Lagoon, repopulation of native species, and the rescue and dissemination of the family memory of Zacarías, through the creation of the Casa del Pescador Artesanal.

“We are going to urbanize the community with all the urban infrastructure of the project, such as road paving and sanitation, whose wastewater treatment will be done with tertiary technology, the most modern in the world. The community is an asset and a substantial part of the project. MARAEY can only be understood through the respect and appreciation of Zacarías and it’s fishing culture”, , says Izquierdo.

MARAEY has already signed agreements, of great socioeconomic impact for the municipality, with some renowned institutions such as Senac RJ, in addition to the Maricá City Council itself and Codemar. The protocols of intent provide for professional education and training for the use of local labour for the construction and operation phases of the enterprise, as well as in other businesses.

BOOST THE ECONOMY: “INVESTMENTS, GENERATION OF TAXES AND MORE JOBS DURING CONSTRUCTION”

The project also incorporates four five-star hotels, which will receive an average of 300,000 tourists per year: a luxurious eco-boutique hotel, a luxury themed resort (of the Rock in Rio brand), another designed to be the convention hotel in the most emblematic seafront in the country and the MARAEY Golf Resort, around an 18-hole international-level sustainable golf course.

With a Smart City philosophy, that is, with an extensive implementation of Information and Communication technologies, the project plans new homes of different types -focused on quality, design and energy efficiency- with integrated services such as education, health, commerce, sports , leisure and business. “Between the construction and the consolidation of sales, the project – which will have more than 11 billion dollars of private investment which will boost the economy of the state for the next 14 years and will generate more than 50 thousand jobs” , concludes, Left. When fully operational, MARAEY will generate more than 1 billion dollars in taxes per year and 36 thousand jobs.