International conservationists have been protesting over the start of the construction of a new airport in Chinchero that hopes to connect more easily Machu Picchu to the world.
Scientists and archaeologists have also expressed their opinion regarding this airport, discussing the impact of “a massive, state-of-the-art international facility on the ancient site and surrounding rural communities”, wrote Wuft.
Machu Picchu is a World Heritage UNESCO site and it is believed to have been built in the 15th century by the Incas. “On average, about 1 million people a year visit to take in the mountaintop citadel, which remains challenging to reach”, the aforementioned media said.
However, an airport in Chinchero would not only replace the outdated airport the city of Cusco has, which is 75 miles away from the ancient citadel, but it would also probably increase the number of tourists that visit this site annually.
“Construction on the controversial Chinchero International Airport began earlier this year. Bulldozers are clearing the site at the mouth of the Sacred Valley to make way for a gleaming new structure that is expected to become the nation’s second-largest and most modern hub, accommodating more than 7 million passengers per year.”, Wuft explained, adding that Abel Traslaviña, a Peruvian archaeologist and Ph.D. student in Vanderbilt University’s Department of Anthropology has said that the construction will cause an irreversible threat to the area.
To this day nearly 50,000 people have signed a petition to stop the construction of the Chinchero airport, which is believed will affect the integrity of the Inca landscape and cause damage by noise, traffic and uncontrolled urbanization.
(Source)
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