MARAEY, the main sustainable tourism-residential development in Brazil, has just achieved an important boost for clean energy. The CEO of the company responsible for the project, Emilio Izquierdo, and the CEO and president of BMW Group Brazil, Aksel Krieger, signed a contract to promote and prioritize the use of hybrid and electric vehicles in the new neighborhood formed by the development 45 km from the Center of Rio de Janeiro, in the municipality of Maricá. The two companies consider the agreement as an innovative experience of sustainable mobility in the real estate development of an important region of the State.

In an area of 840 hectares, of which more than half will be a Private Reserve of Natural Heritage (RPPN), the inhabitants of MARAEY will have hospital, school, university, shopping centres, proximity stores and offices. In this sense, the forecast of a fleet of 8,000 sustainable cars is in line with the values of the project.

The agreement fulfils MARAEY’s purpose of achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in Brazil. In this case, with objective 11, which provides for Sustainable Cities and Communities, with regard to reducing the negative environmental impact per capita of cities, including paying special attention to air quality.

“The agreement with BMW Group Brazil, a pioneer in the development of cars with sustainable technology in the country, is extremely important for our project. This collaboration makes the possibility of optimizing the circulation of a greater number of vehicles with the minimum environmental impact a reality. Therefore prioritizing innovation in mobility as a crucial point for the quality of life of tourists and residents in MARAEY. We, MARAEY and BMW Group Brazil, share important values, both in the interest of quality and innovation, and in the defence of sustainable values that allow a better world for future generations.”, say the CEO of MARAEY, Emilio Izquierdo.

During the 3-year duration of the agreement, with the consent of the dealers, there is the possibility of acquiring, at a special price, BMW brand cars that offer minimal environmental impact, to customers who buy residential units in MARAEY, a complex that construction will begin in the first half of 2022 and that has sustainable mobility as one of its priorities.

One of the differential points of the agreement with BMW Group Brazil implies that the first 1,200 residents who acquire hybrid or electric vehicles of the brand will have the free installation of the Wallbox – BMW equipment that allows the intelligent charging of an electric car, as simple as charging a smartphone. MARAEY’s objective is that at least 55% of the fleet circulating in the complex be electric or hybrid vehicles; To do this, the project has an infrastructure to charge vehicles powered by electricity throughout its territory. The installation of the Wallbox must be paid for by the purchaser.

To supply the vehicles, MARAEY will set up recharging stations in parking spaces, both in public accesses, at different points, and in all residential areas.

Another MARAEY sustainable resource related to the promotion of “clean” vehicles will be the use of renewable energy sources. With very low levels of dangerous gas emissions, the alternative sources foreseen in the project, such as solar, bio-gas, geothermal and wind power, will also support the charging of electric vehicles in common areas. The estimate, when the complex is fully operational, is more than 8 thousand vehicles between hybrids and electric circulating through it.

Sustainable stamps and international recognition award

MARAEY’s ecological commitment has received international recognition. The undertaking was the first private initiative tourist destination in the world to obtain the BIOSPHERE certification in the category of “Sustainable Tourist Destination”, granted by the Responsible Tourism Institute (RTI), an organization that has a Memorandum of Understanding with UNESCO. With the certification, the project reinforces the commitment to develop in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations and the most recent guidelines of the Paris Climate Conference.

The development has also received the 2021 USGBC Leadership Award for Latin America and is the first mixed-use project in South America to receive the Sustainable SITES Initiative pre-certification in the GOLD category. Administered by Green Business Certification Inc., SITES is the most internationally recognized certification system in the development of sustainable communities and, among the criteria evaluated by the seal, MARAEY received credits for the use of renewable energy sources, water reuse systems, sustainable mobility, preservation of native fauna and flora, waste management plan and creation of a RPPN, which will be the second largest in the state and fifth largest in Brazil, with 440 hectares – more than half the area of the development.

About MARAEY

MARAEY will be developed on the Costa del Sol, in Maricá. In its tourist branch, the undertaking will have four five-star hotels, which will receive an average of 300,000 tourists per year. The project, which will have a Smart City philosophy, will offer new housing of different types with integrated services such as a school, a hospital, an international hotel university, a shopping center and offices, as well as numerous leisure and sports activities.

With a buildable occupation of just 6.6% of the land, within the 840 hectares of the development, the second largest Private Reserve of Natural Heritage (RPPN) of restinga in the state of Rio will be created. And the almost 200 fishing families who live in The community of Zacarias will benefit from cadastral regularization, urbanization, with the same quality standards as the rest of the project, and by promoting local culture and artisanal fishing.

The planned private investment is around 11 billion dollars, with a tax collection of 7.2 billion dollars during the first 14 years (construction and consolidation of sales) and more than 1 billion dollars per year in operation, with the generation of 36 thousand jobs, when MARAEY is fully operational.