• Tweeter

  • republish

The Sheraton Hotel in Cuzco, still under construction, must be demolished completely, according to Peruvian justice. HO / ANDINA / AFP

In Cuzco, the former capital of the Inca empire, justice has just ordered the demolition of the Four Points Sheraton hotel, whose construction is already very advanced. The promoters will also have to rebuild on site the five Inca terraces destroyed during the construction.

With our correspondent in Quito, Éric Sanson

For years, the seven floors and three basements of the hotel under construction are mismatched with colonial buildings often built on Inca walls near Place d'Armes. Concrete columns and brick walls must be demolished because they violate the conservation standards of the historic center of Cuzco , World Heritage of Humanity. In this area, it is also prohibited to build buildings of more than two floors.

In his defense, the real estate company R & G building the hotel indicates that all its documents are in order, including the building permit issued by the town hall. This argument, however, has been rejected by the court, which notes that a building permit that violates the building standards it is supposed to defend is not acceptable.

Five Inca terraces to rebuild

The court also condemned the developers to rebuild five Inca terraces destroyed during construction and sometimes mounted on the interior walls of the hotel as a kind of siding.

See also: Peru: Sheraton Hotel Cuzco condemned to be partly demolished

Very advanced in this fight, the Commission of Jurists of Cuzco welcomed this judgment. Ironically, the latter must be executed by the officials of the decentralized management of the Ministry of Culture that the construction of this hotel has never really troubled while their offices are right in front.