International and Domestic Airports - SCAA invests R125m in major projects |08 June 2015

A sum of R125 million is being invested by the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) in various ongoing projects at the Seychelles International Airport.
 
Foreign Affairs and Transport Minister Joel Morgan has commended the SCAA for investing in facilities to improve and modernise the standard of service that is given to passengers.

Mr Morgan made this declaration last week at the Seychelles International Airport domestic terminal at Pointe Larue, after visiting renovation and extension projects being carried out by the SCAA.
He was accompanied by the chief executive of the SCAA Gilbert Faure and chairman of its board Captain David Savy. Also present were the airport management general manager Patrick Hoareau and the operations general manager Wilfred Fock Tave as well as other members of the authority’s executive team and staff.

Mr Morgan was able to see the works that are being carried out for the extension of the international terminal arrival lounge and the extension of the departure lounge mezzanine floor.
Since international traffic has been continuously growing with increased frequencies there is the need to increase terminal capabilities in order to accommodate the increased number of passengers who use the services.

The international passenger terminal lounges project being undertaken by Hari Builders is expected to cost the SCAA about R25 million and works are to be completed by 2016.

At the domestic terminal Mr Morgan got the chance to see the foundation work that is underway for the new departure lounge, check-in concourse, baggage handling and ground handling offices. This project, which has been contracted out to Allied Builders, is expected to be completed in July 2017 and it will in total cost about R75 million.

The minister’s construction site visit ended at the southern part of the airport where a special accommodation facility is being built for inadmissible persons. The project has been signed by O Nivo Construction and it is expected to end in November 2015.

Apart from construction projects Mr Morgan also went to the Air Navigation Service Division to see a new 3D Aerodrome Simulator which has been purchased by the authority from Airways New Zealand. Seychelles is the only country with such a simulator in the Indian Ocean region.

Technical and operational staff have already been trained on the system and a training of air traffic services examiners has also been completed by making use of the simulator.
The simulator will also allow the division to train aerodrome controllers for years to come.

Mr Morgan said he is very impressed by the work of the SCAA and the investments that are being made to improve facilities at the airports.
He added that Seychelles is a five-star destination and it is vital to ensure that our airport also is modern with high standard facilities and services.

“With this visit I wanted to see the progress made by SCAA and its team. It was high time for us to bring some changes to our airport. We cannot be a five-star destination with a three-star airport. We had to take some measures to bring the international airport of Seychelles to the same norms of the other international airports. With these changes the capacity of having more tourists and local travellers will be greatly increased. There will also be a transit lounge dedicated for the transit passengers. They will be able to relax more and have an enjoyable time. At the end of the day, we want to become the mini-hub for the region,” said Minister Morgan.

SCAA chief executive Faure said all these projects are being fully financed by the SCAA and they will benefit the country as a whole.

“These changes are part of our short and medium-term plan and we do have our master plan for the airport which has been approved by the government.  With 610 staffs, the SCAA is a big organisation and we offer a range of services. Our motto will always be ‘We recruit, we train and we retain’. We will continue to invest in our airport to make Seychelles a top landing area,” said Mr. Faure.

The accompanying photos show Minister Morgan on his airport visit.