The mayor of General Pueyrredón has opened the bidding for three cement-free beaches in the south of Mar del Plata. Additionally, he has allowed construction works in a beach resort managed by a company that, according to a study from the University of Mar del Plata and Conicet, has contaminated the water of a stream for public use.
To the south of the city of Mar del Plata, far from the hustle and bustle and free from cement, lie the Chapadmalal beaches. This area has gained popularity in recent years thanks to the preservation of its natural physiognomy.
Forbes magazine has highlighted a “real estate boom” in Chapadmalal, where the square meter value ranges between 70 and 100 dollars. However, this investment and development for some seem to bring significant disadvantages for others.
Residents grouped in the Red Moon Assembly warn that the Municipality of General Pueyrredón, under the management of Mayor Guillermo Montenegro (Together for Change), has authorized the advancement of private works on the beaches of Chapadmalal without following due legal process, violating environmental laws and altering the appearance of the coastal landscape.
Controversies and Resolutions
Furthermore, the approval of new ordinances with open-ended terms, known as “undefined,” which allow for the planning of the exploitation of public spaces in favor of private companies, who propose the conditions for their own commercial exploitation, is being questioned. These bids include the beaches “Paradise,” “Redonda,” and “Santa Isabel.”
What concerns the complainants the most is a joint resolution between the Secretary of Works and Urban Planning and the municipal Tourism Board, which approved the start of new works by the company Rivan SA. This company manages the “Lobería Stream,” commercially known as the “Manantiales Club de Mar” resort, without having complied with the Environmental Management review or having the corresponding Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), according to the complainants.
An aggravating factor is that the course of the Lobería Stream, where the new works are projected, is contaminated and harmful to human health, as revealed by a study from the Aguas Group of the National University of Mar del Plata (UNMDP) together with the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (Conicet).
In February 2021, a federal raid confirmed the existence of six illegal wells in said stream. Since then, the Municipality is responsible for reversing these “clandestine works”, despite Montenegro’s attempt to prevent it with a precautionary measure that was dismissed at the end of last year.
The Last Cement-Free Beaches
Since the beginning of 2025, the Deliberative Council of the General Pueyrredón district has approved at least three ordinances that allow progress in the bidding of three beaches in the Chapadmalal area.
At the end of January, the mayor announced the bidding for the concession for the next 20 years of the state tourist unit Playa Dorada, named “Paradise.” Weeks later, he did the same with the bidding of the beaches “Santa Isabel” and “Redonda”, all of them without a defined specification.
According to the South Coastal Promenade Citizen Observatory, these beaches are “the last ones in the southern Mar del Plata area that remain free from buildings and private exploitation” and are part of the South Coastal Promenade Forest Reserve, so they “should be specially preserved for their great environmental and archaeological value.”
The Issue of Coastal Erosion in the South of Mar del Plata
Coastal erosion has caused serious damage in the southern area of Mar del Plata for over 30 years. This problem not only persists but has accelerated in the last two decades.
The lack of intervention by municipal and provincial authorities in the face of this situation is concerning, as the deterioration continues unabated.
According to various local media reports, the situation began to worsen 20 years ago, especially with the expansion of the Quequén breakwater and the constant sand extraction from the port.
Although erosion in the cliff area was halted by the construction of breakwaters, the situation in the south of Mar del Plata was never addressed. The original project envisioned the construction of seven breakwaters, but only three were completed, leaving the rest of the area exposed.
*With information from elDiarioAR
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