New marina for part of Baie Ste Anne jetty |21 September 2022

● Part to be turned into coast guard base

The Minister for Transport, Antony Derjacques, has announced that as part of its plan to improve infrastructure and service in all its ports, the Ministry of Transport has decided to turn the first part of the Baie Ste Anne jetty, which includes the car park, into a new marina.

To support the work of the Seychelles Maritime Safety Authority, the other half will be handed over to the Seychelles Coast Guard which presently does not have a base on Praslin.

He said this will ease its patrol work within the inner islands to ensure maritime security.

Minister Derjacques made the statement in the National Assembly yesterday when answering oral question from the elected member for Baie Ste Anne, Churchill Gill, who wanted to know his ministry’s plans to repair the jetty which was damaged on June 30 this year as a result of bad weather.

The minister informed the National Assembly that port engineers will be conducting an assessment of the Baie Ste Anne jetty once the weather condition improves.

He said the divers were waiting for the sea condition to improve so they could dive to evaluate the damage on the structure.

They are expected to submit their report to the ministry by the end of November this year.

With regard to the marina, Honourable Gill wanted clarification on whether the new marina project would affect an existing tourism business presently operating in that area, and whether it would have to move or be incorporated into the new project.

Minister Derjacques said the marina project was still a concept.

“We are thinking that once we do the tender through an expression of interest, the government and the developer will ensure that the existing operator, Dream Yacht, will not be affected as such but rather incorporated into the plan, and the new marina will complement the existing one,” explained Minister Derjacques.

During yesterday’s session, Minister Derjacques also introduced the new chief executive of the Seychelles Ports Authority, Sonny Payet, who took up his post on July 1, 2022 for a three-year mandate.

Patsy Canaya