Infrastructure agency closer to fruition |06 November 2021
Mr Shah (Photo: Joena Meme)
The National Assembly will next week consider the Bill for the establishment of the Seychelles Infrastructure Agency, a centralised body dedicated to handling infrastructure projects within government from conception up until completion.
The entity, which will ideally be operational by January 1, 2022, seeks to group together technical staff from the various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) under one management structure, to better plan and implement infrastructure and construction. This will require that MDAs plan projects well ahead, to be submitted to the agency and inter-ministerial committee comprising key stakeholders to design and implement the various projects. The inter-ministerial committee has oversight over the agency,
Director of contract management within the Ministry of Lands and Housing Jutesh Shah yesterday explained that some categories of infrastructure projects are to be excluded, namely those engaged in highly-specialised works, and others that are not necessarily budget-dependent, such as the Public Utilities Corporation (PUC), Seychelles Land Transport Agency (SLTA) and Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA).
“The agency itself, we are looking at merging the majority of project units that exist in government today. So, we are looking at having all of these technical staff fall under one management structure, which will help us to allocate resources more efficiently, to better manage and programme our work as well as design master plans of developments, where everybody is working together from the start of the project for better communication across the sectors. We will be providing support in terms of designing and implementation of projects to government as well,” said Mr Shah.
“We will be involved from the very start, as of when land is identified, or even when the Ministry of Lands and Housing (MLH) will ask us to conduct an assessment to assess the potential. Architects and engineers will then design the project, then comes costing, and once finance has been secured, the tender process, supervision of the construction. Normally, up to one year after the completion of the project, it still remains under the responsibility of the agency as it is still the defects liability period, whereby contractors are still responsible, and it will then be transferred to the different ministries,” Mr Shah noted.
Through the agency, it is expected that projects will be better planned and organised, that there isn’t duplication and that projects are aligned with national development strategy of the country. Additionally, the agency will serve to aid government to prioritise financial and human resources, to bring about standardisation and gradually improve on the established standards.
Considering the quantity of technical staff, that is project officers, engineers, architects and project managers including at the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs and the Seychelles Agricultural Agency (SAA), the agency is expected to employ around 150 staff, with at least 135 as technical staff, while the others are support staff.
As with other entities, the agency will be allocated a budget in the 2022 budget appropriation, to be considered by the National Assembly.
In addition to handling new projects, the agency will also be tasked with the responsibility of maintenance of existing government facilities, except for housing and residential facilities under the responsibility of the Property Management Company (PMC).