Wider roads to ease traffic congestion in Providence |16 April 2015

Providence industrial zone is noted as a top congested area and drivers who are frequently bottlenecked there will get some relief now that a plan to widen the road is being worked on.

According to Industrial Estates Authority chief executive Vic Tirant, the road will be widened by 1.5 metres on each side.

“Traffic circulation at the Providence industrial zone has become a problem. With big and heavy vehicles around there is bound to have traffic congestion especially when other vehicles are parked along the roads. It becomes a hazard for all road users. We have cut down all the trees which were damaging infrastructure like buildings, walkways and drainage. We will uproot them so that we will be able to widen the roads by 1.5 metres on each side. The SLTA (Seychelles Land Transport Agency) is working on a drawing which they will present to us soon,” said Mr Tirant.

The chief executive noted that the Industrial Estates Authority is a very flexible body which welcomes ideas and works well with all tenants.

“There were a number of issues when I first started. Together with my staff we have put in place a tenants’ association who is giving us (the authority) a lot of advice. But since the appointment of Michael Benstrong as Minister for Investment, Entrepreneurship Development and Business Innovation, we have been receiving strong support from him and together we are relooking at the issues and working on ways to tackle them.

“We are very satisfied with the newly formed tenants’ association. We get a lot of support from the tenants and they know they can count on our office to resolve their issues. Not one issue is left without an answer or stays on our table for more than one week. If we cannot deal with the issue on our own, we forward the complaints to the relevant authorities and make sure there is a follow-up,” explained Mr Tirant, who added that there are 355 businesses altogether at the Providence industrial zone.

Asked if it would have not been better to have the different businesses organised in sections, Mr Tirant replied: “Of course, but unfortunately the industrial zone has grown in such a way and it’s impossible for us to go back and restart things all over again. What we can do now is manage it and make sure it doesn’t get any worse.”

He added that the main reason behind the zone becoming as it is now is because some entrepreneurs have over the years changed their types of business.

Mr Tirant was appointed chief executive of the Industrial Estates Authority in April 2014. The authority was set up following the enactment of the Industrial Estates Authority Bill by the National Assembly. Its role is to develop and manage industrial estates and micro-enterprise premises in collaboration with ministries and government agencies concerned.

It also oversees the performance of contracts relating to infrastructure development of industrial estates and micro enterprise premises.

The members of the board of directors of the Industrial Estates Authority appointed for a three-year period are Marise Berlouis (chairperson), Vic Tirant (CEO/member), Brian Changty-Sen, Nanette Laure, Chantal Renaud, Franky Madeleine, Terry Biscornet and Tim Marie (members).