Foundation stone laid for new fishing quay at Ile du Port |31 May 2014

Construction work on a new commercial fishing quay on zone 14 at Ile du Port is expected to start soon.

The foundation stone for the construction of the 425-metre quay was laid yesterday by Jacques de Chateauvieux, the chairperson and chief executive of JACCAR Holdings – the Luxembourg-based foreign investment company which will build and operate the quay, and Pierre Laporte the Minister for Finance, Trade and Investment.

This was during a ceremony attended by the ministers for Natural Resources Peter Sinon, Land use and Housing Christian Lionnet, Home Affairs and Transport Joel Morgan, chief executive of the Seychelles Port Authority, Lieutenant Colonel Andre Ciseau, key government officials among other distinguished guests.

The agreement with JACCAR Holdings to build and operate the quay was signed here in March this year.
Under the agreement a Seychelles-based joint venture company called Ile Du Port Handling Services (IPHS) was created to run the project on a Built-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis. This means the company will build and manage the quay and transfer it to government after the construction cost has been recovered.

The IPHS comprises the Société Seychelloise d’Investissement on behalf of government with 40% share, JACCAR Holdings also with 40% and other private Seychellois shareholders with 20% shares.
The project, expected to cost between US $15 million and $20 million, will be completed by the end of next year.

Once the quay is completed, IPHS will offer berthing and handling services to fishing boat owners unloading their catch at Ile du Port.
The quay will have five berthing spots open to all ship owners.

IPHS will manage any handling operations required by the ship owners such as delivery to IOT, container stuffing, cold storing, reefer loading among others.

Addressing guests at the ceremony yesterday morning, Minister Morgan said the start of this new venture “marks the birth of a significant public and private sector partnership project which will contribute to our objective and commitment to diversify the economy of our country and create employment and investment opportunities”.

Minister Morgan thanked Mr de Chateauvieux and partners for choosing “to partner in with us and invest in our port infrastructure and fisheries industry”.
“We are committed to being one of the most vibrant and competitive ports in the region and the support from government, the private sector and continuous effort from our people are helping to transform our aspirations and vision into reality,” said Minister Morgan.

Furthermore he expressed optimism that the new quay will bring significant contributions towards our port infrastructure and encourage further developments of the fishing industry.
Minister Morgan noted that the project comes at a crucial time, with increased competition in the region, it is vital that we continue to grow this industry to maintain our position as the main tuna landing, processing and transshipment port in the Indian Ocean.

For his part Lt Col. Ciseau said the additional quay will reduce congestion at Port Victoria area and liberate more space to allow more bigger vessels to come.
He noted that the new quay will be a dedicated area for industrial fishing.

“We will concentrate most industrial fishing activities to this area so as to create a centre for industrial fishing in Victoria,” said Mr Ciseau.