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Road projects on Praslin and La Digue:

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Road projects on Praslin and La Digue: Empty Road projects on Praslin and La Digue:

Post  Sirop14 Tue Aug 09, 2016 9:31 am

Road projects on Praslin and La Digue:

09-August-2016
Minister not happy with some contractors



Foreign Affairs and Transport Minister Joel Morgan yesterday visited ongoing road projects on Praslin and La Digue.
Although generally happy with the number of projects accomplished and the quality of work done, Minister Morgan expressed his dissatisfaction towards some contractors who are either way behind schedule or have already left the site without really completing the work.
The minister has consequently requested the SLTA (Seychelles Land Transport Authority) to bring the faulty contractors to task or eventually sanction them according to their contracts and offer new contracts to reliable ones in order to finish the projects before the next rainy season.
SLTA chief executive (CEO) Parinda Herath was accompanying Minister Morgan on the visit, along with its chairman Raymond St Ange, principal secretary for transport Patrick Andre and Road Transport Commissioner Tim Marie.
One of the unfinished projects is the Boule de Neige Road on La Digue where the contracted company was late to start the surfacing and drainage work and only about 25% of it has been completed, when he should have already handed over the development.
Moreover, he has left cleared debris on the road side and completely blocked a marsh on which he is supposed to build a bridge.
Another project where the contractor has left the work uncompleted is the widening and resurfacing of a stretch of road at Baie Ste Anne Praslin.
A new construction company will be assigned the second phase which will cover about a further 50 metres, including the installation of suitable drainage.
Minister Morgan was otherwise satisfied with the other projects he visited. The most remarkable one is a new stretch of road measuring 360 metres at Consolation. The road from the hillside and leading down to the beach has been built on a difficult rocky terrain. Mr Morgan was particularly happy to see a team of Seychellois men at work there, at a time when most construction companies are heavily relying on imported foreign labour.
The district administrator (DA) of Grand Anse Praslin Moses Barbé has described the new secondary road as “one of the most beautiful road construction projects” he has seen on Praslin. He was joined in the satisfaction by one of the beneficiary inhabitants, June Barbé, whose beach side property has surely increased in value as a result of the road access.
One other completed road project on the inner islands is the second phase of the Belle Vue road on La Digue of which the first phase started in 2014. The SLTA has now still to negotiate with some families in the area for compensation payment and permission for the addition of a suitable drainage system. The project will now move in its third phase which is expected to be completed next year. This will include road widening and drainage at Lower Belle Vue. The minister responsible for transport has taken the opportunity to call on land owners to grant permission to build roads on part of their property where necessary.
“One person can stop or slow down a project which could otherwise benefit 50 to 100 households and this should not be the case,” commented Minister Morgan.
Other projects visited by Minister Morgan and his delegation at Inner La Passe on La Digue included a new stretch to connect Morin Road with the playing field next to the current STC (Seychelles Trading Company) super market and the surfacing of the Vanilla road which is expected to start soon. The minister has commented that with those projects, government has tackled the major road problems in the La Passe area.
“This represents a big investment for the La Digue inhabitants. Sometimes people ask where does the money they pay in road taxes go. This is a good example of where money collected in road taxes goes. We have this year alone spent more than R111 million in road projects, while we collect a little than more than R50 million in road taxes. So we spend more than two times what we collect,” Mr Morgan further remarked.
The new road projects visited by Minister Morgan yesterday have cost government around R22 million.
On Praslin, he inspected newly completed resurfacing works at Salazie, PUC Estate and Marie Jeanne Estate.
Other resurfacing projects are ongoing at Anse Kerlan, from where the SLTA will be moving to La Pointe, Baie Ste Anne and finally Consolation. The works will be facilitated by a new asphalt batching plant at Amitié which was commissioned last year and a new paver which the SLTA is moving to Praslin.
As for future projects on Praslin, Minister Morgan discussed with his technicians on the possibility of building a bus shelter at the Baie Ste Anne jetty and repairing the Zimbabwe road.
For La Digue, he has announced that his ministry is discussing with the island’s authorities for the introduction of wooden road signs. This, he says, will not disfigure the island’s environment.
In spite of the expenses mentioned, the minister has insisted that he is not satisfied with the state of roads in Seychelles. He gave the example of the Beau Vallon road where the SLTA has not been able to do resurfacing works as the Public Utilities Corporation (PUC) is still laying electric cables.
During his visit on the two islands, Minister Morgan was briefed on the operations of the Baie Ste Anne and La Passe pier masters, respectively Alex Bibi and Garry Ernesta. For La Passe, the transport minister has promised better facilities and organisation as he witnessed the commotion and chaos upon the arrival of vessels. This may include extending the shelter for passengers up to the Port Authority office and asking representatives of destination management companies (DMCs) to welcome their clients further from the mooring area.
The accompanying photographs show some of the projects Minister Morgan and his team visited yesterday on Praslin and La Digue.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=250552

Sirop14

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Join date : 2008-06-02

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