Authorities urge compliance with rules governing road works |24 January 2013

This follows an incident last week where a buried 33HV line belonging to the Public Utilities Corporation was damaged during contracted work by a private party.

As per regulations in the Road Act and Road Transport Act, anyone wishing to undertake works on public roads or footpaths must have approval from the Road Transport Commissioner, first. This is done through an application form for excavation which can be collected at the Seychelles Land Transport Agency (SLTA).

Once the application has been received, the Road Transport Commissioner’s office in consultation with SLTA assesses the request and then a decision is communicated to the applicant. Any approval given is subject to conditions, either general or specific.

When such requests are made, applicants are always given the general conditions to familiarise themselves with in case they are not familiar with the conditions set.

As for the incident resulting in damage to the PUC HV line, a joint communiqué from the road transport department and SLTA said that the contractor in question was well aware of the general conditions as it was clearly attached with his application, where it directs the applicant or client to liaise with other utilities agencies with regard to their proposed excavation works.
 
Clause 6 and clause 14 of the general conditions refer to the proper care that should be taken when using machinery for excavation work so as not to do any damage, and to the fact that the applicant is responsible for any damage or injury caused to properties or people.