Port Launay hotel project gets green light |05 May 2005

Representatives of the Ministry of Land Use and Habitat, the Attorney General's office, the Seychelles Investment Bureau (SIB) and the main company behind the venture, Corvina Investment, put pen to paper last Friday, opening the way for work to begin on the 184-suite resort.

Stretching from the beach at Port Launay, south to the northern beach of Port Glaud, the hotel is expected, by the developers, to have around 600 staff members and welcome 14,000 clients per year.

Contained on the site will be seven main swimming pools, a "wellness sanctuary", four restaurants, four bars, tennis courts, squash courts, mini golf, a conference centre, cinema and dive centre.

"It is a project that Seychelles needs," said Captain Guy Adam, chairman of the Corvina board, who was keen to point to the knock on benefits to the economy of opening the hotel.

Capt. Adam said that he expects the hotel turnover to be roughly $45 million per year, in addition to money spent throughout the rest of the economy in providing services for the hotel and tourists.

The resort will be owned by Le Refuge Du Pecheur, the holding company of Lemuria Resort on Praslin.

With a stake of slightly over 50 percent, Le Refuge Du Pecheur is controlled by Corvina, with the Mauritian company Constance and Le Gaiete holding a 24 percent stake. The remaining shares are held by foreign small investors.

However, a clause worked out with the government means that, of the $100 million cost, 50 percent will come from commercial bank loans and 50 percent from capital investment, of which 20 percent will be made available for Seychellois investors.

Capt. Adam said that priority in the share sale will be given to individuals, ahead of organisations.

A fact sheet compiled by the developers says that the resort will start out with a Seychellois workforce of at least 50 percent of the 600 employees, rising to 60 percent by the hotel's fourth year of operation.

"Government wants us to employ as many local people as possible and we want to employ as many local people as possible," said Capt. Adam.

The resort is expected to take 30 months to complete, from the signing of the lease agreement, giving a provisional soft opening date of October 2007.

The agreement was worked out alongside the SIB. SIB chief executive officer Joseph Nourrice said that the project had been selected out of two put forward to the SIB.

"There were two submissions, we chose what was best for the country," said Mr Nourrice.

"When you look at the sort of investment that this project wants to bring, in terms of size of investment, employment opportunities, also in terms of product that the tourism industry requires, it was on this criteria that the project was chosen."

On the issue of access to the Port Launay beach, a popular Sunday picnic spot, Land Use principal secretary Patrick Lablache said that the lease agreement does make provision for public access to the beach.

However, he also said that the arrival of the resort will bring about some changes.

"There will be a change; at the moment you can picnic, party, play music, but when the hotel is planted there, I don't think these activities will be compatible with the presence of the hotel, it will have to be more low key," he said.

As with all beaches in Seychelles Port Launay will remain public property up to the high water mark.