Regional Councils from Central Region briefed about port extension and rehabilitation project |15 July 2019

Members of the council and MNAs are guided on a tour of the port to see the exact location where the extension will be carried out

The Seychelles Ports Authority (SPA) hosted the Regional Council and members of the National Assembly for Central Region 1 and 2 at the Mahé Quay on Saturday to apprise the Council of the Port Victoria Expansion and Rehabilitation project.

The Council’s visit to the port commenced with a meeting in which they were provided with information and details of the project which aims to extend the port by creating an additional 230 metres, to make it 600 metres and to broaden the quayside platform by 40 metres.

Director of project and infrastructure at SPA and principal coordinator for the extension project, Franky Laporte, facilitated a presentation on the progress that has been made on the project thus far and the proposed design for the extension.

The extension project seeks to extend the existing port and to accommodate the increase in traffic in recent years as well as to address some of the shortcomings currently experienced at the port such as the issue about who has priority at the port, cruise ships or cargo ships, the old and outdated infrastructure to serve modern shipping requirements and the multi-purpose use of the port due to lack of space to segregate activities.

Mr Laporte explained the proposed design which makes provision for cruise ships at the North end of the Port with a designated corridor for passengers that leads to the Islands Development Company (IDC) car-park located just outside the port.

He noted that the project is currently still in the first phase and that as from Wednesday July 17, consultants will be arriving in Seychelles to carry out a geo-technical analysis in order for the design to be finalised and also detailed the numerous benefits that the project will present including improving Seychelles’ competitiveness over regional competitors including Mauritius.

Following the presentation, members of the Council and MNAs were invited to voice their concerns on the project, most of which were focused on the benefits that the extension will bring to Seychelles and the local communities.

MNAs expressed that they would like to see Seychellois contractors and consultants working on the project, a request which Mr Laporte noted they have already taken into consideration.

Other points raised centred on cruise ships and not restricting access to Seychellois vendors who currently have access to the port to transact with cruise ship passengers.

The meeting concluded with a boat trip on a catamaran in which officials from SPA showed members of the Councils and MNAs the exact location where the port will be extended from the existing structure to the former Coastguard base on Bois de Rose.

Chief executive of SPA, Ronny Brutus, stated that it was important for SPA to apprise the Councils to engage them and provide them with more information on the potential impacts of the extension project and rehabilitation of the port could have on their regions.

“The consultative process forms part of our activities to ensure that the public are informed so that when the project does eventually kick-off the impacts are mitigated and people are aware of what is happening and the benefits that the project will present in future,” he said.

“The project is in the planning stage and the structural design is being finalised. The contract will then be awarded and the construction is expected to start next year. The recommendations and suggestions will be brought to the attention of consultants who are working on the plan so they can integrate the suggestions in the finalised plan,” Mr Brutus noted.

Beryl Valentin, one of the members of the Regional Council, also affirmed that the meet is important to keep the public abreast of the latest developments with regard to the project.

“Since the port is in town and we in Central Region 1 border with it, we felt it important to attend today. The major concerns is what activities will be affected at the port during the project especially when it is under construction as well as concerns pertaining to cargo ships and cruise ships,” she said.

“SPA has clarified all our queries and we are confident that it will be able to manage the project and the port while the project is ongoing,” Ms Valentin noted.

SPA will continue to keep the public informed as the project progresses.