The President of the Republic, Mr Danny Faure, attended the official hand-over of the newly christened Providence Construction and Marine Industrial Park, the reclaimed land project off Providence Zone 20, at a ceremony held at the site this morning.
During the ceremony, President Faure, in the presence of various stakeholders, partners and other distinguished guests, witnessed the signing of transfer documents for the land between Eden Island Development Company and the Government of Seychelles as well, as the unveiling of the new name of the site. It has been named ‘Providence Construction and Marine Industrial Park’.
Delivering the acceptance speech on behalf of Government, the Minister for Habitat, Land, Infrastructure, and Land Transport (MHILT), Mrs Pamela Charlette, retraced the inception of the project since 2014 as a public private partnership which involved reclamation work, surveying and the subdivision of 27 parcels. She highlighted how the newly reclaimed Industrial Park symbolises the strong partnership between the Government and the private sector to provide infrastructure for business development and investment in the country.
“This is one of the many success stories in which the participation of the private sector has been the driving force. This site on which we stand today has been reclaimed by Vijay Construction. The project will make available plots and facilities to service Class II contractors and marine repair businesses,” said Minister Charlette.
Minister Charlette also stressed that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play a crucial role in the economic development of the country by providing goods and services and the creation of job opportunities. She said that the Government remains committed in pursuing policies to facilitate and encourage such developments.
Among the 27 plots that were handed over, one will be for the PUC sub-station and six plots will be for marine related repairs. The plot sizes vary from 502 square metres to 1200 square metres. The Park will fall under the management of the Industrial Estates Authority (IEA) and will be allocated through the recently approved Industrial Land Allocation Points System which will be administered by IEA. This will ensure fairness and transparency in the allocation of land to applicants.
The Managing Director for Eden Island, Mr Craig Heeger, and Managing Director of Vijay Construction (Pty) Ltd, Mr Vijay Patel, also addressed the guests present and thanked everyone involved with the project for their efforts and cooperation.
Following the ceremony, guests present had the opportunity to view the concept plans and see the demarcated survey plots at the site.
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