The Mexican government has started planning for a new road around Tulum that will give access to the new Tulum airport, reported local newspaper, El Quintanarroense, last week.

The Secretariat for Communications and Transport (SCT) has begun topographical work and aerial photographic surveys, said the Mexican daily.

In a separate radio interview on Friday, Juan Molinar Horcaditas, head of the SCT, said, "In a question of weeks we are going to start the tendering process for the Riviera Maya airport, I wouldn't say if it will be in one or in ten [weeks], but we are in the final phases of the imminent bidding release process."

The SCT said previously that consortia interested in the contract for the new Riviera Maya airport must tender proposals combining airport concessions, terminal construction and new access routes.

El Quintanarroense said official figures suggest the new road will start some 8 miles (13km) north of Tulum and finish around 7 miles (11km) south of the town. Its course will take it inland towards the city of Felipe Carrillo Puerto and it is expected to be approximately 16 miles (25km) long overall. The road itself will be about 66 yards (60m) wide.

At the moment the government is working on the planning the new route, but later they will need to acquire the land necessary for its construction, said the paper. This may involve buying Tulum real estate from private owners and paying compensation.

The new Tulum airport will be able to handle 700,000 passengers in its first year, increasing to 3 million passengers within 5 years. The first phase of construction work is expected to cost $300 million.

Last month the Mexican government was promoting the investment opportunity to tender for the airport to businesses in South Korea and this month it was also presented to investors at a conference in New York.

It's hoped by many locally in the Riviera Maya that the new Tulum airport will be a major boost for the economy and lead to a major new phase in the area's development. Heavy public investment in the zone has already had an effect on the price of Tulum property and overseas real estate companies are rushing to develop new projects along the coast nearby.

Visit our destinations pages to find out more about Tulum real estate and the new Tulum airport.