Mauritius: Road Map to the Future - Page 5

Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport is a critical component of the Mauritian transport system, ensuring the movement of people, goods and services and serving as a vital link between Mauritius and the rest of the world. Serge Petit, CEO of Airports of Mauritius, explained the company’s expansion plans:

“Physical infrastructure is an essential requirement for any economic development. The government’s vision has always been to make our airport not only a gateway for the country but also opening up the country to world opportunities,” he said. “Over the years, our airport, which dates as far back as 1945 as a military airport, now stands among the five best airports in Africa and is a leader in the world airport category of 2 to 5 million passengers, according to the latest results of Airports Council International. The annual contribution of the airport to the national economy was estimated at about 15% of the national GDP for 2012, which amounts to about 92 billion rupees.”

Airport Master Plan

The rapid growth of the tourism sector in Mauritius over the past 30 years has only been possible through enhanced air access and increased passenger handling capacity. As Petit explained, the existing terminal has been extended and renovated three times since 1990, and it endeavors to provide as much comfort as possible to passengers despite space constraints. With a record number of 2.69 million passengers last year, the existing infrastructure is being used beyond its designed capacity, although a new master plan aims to alleviate this. Salient features of the plan include terminal extensions to cater to up to 10 million passengers, the construction of a second runway, a freeport and cargo zone with a dedicated air cargo terminal and light industrial processing facilities all spread over an area of 71 hectares, and more facilities for general aviation and helicopter services to meet the projected increase in demand. An area of 250 hectares has also been earmarked for long-term development and probably a second terminal, and last but not least, an airport city covering an area of 50 hectares comprising dedicated spaces for commercial and industrial development, and a business and science park, among others.

Joël Bruneau, head of property development at Omnicane, explained how his company will be developing the airport: “At the moment, when you arrive in Mauritius, you see nothing but the runway: we want to change this and create a good impression.“ He is delighted to be partnering InterContinental Hotels Group in the building of a Holiday Inn at the airport. “IHG’s consideration for the local environment and the unique qualities of the site such as its mature botanical diversity has impressed us,” he says.

The island as a whole is certainly unique, too. Louis Amédée Darga, chairman of Enterprise Mauritius, the body that helps the private sector progress within the country, explained in a book he contributed to why he believes that to be true: “When you have no valuable resource endowment except land and people, when you have a very small domestic market which cannot be a lead driver in growth, when you are very far away from developed markets and are a tiny speck in the ocean, when you are no longer an important geopolitical pawn, particularly after the opening of the Suez Canal, you can either despair, or you can rise to the challenge. This has been the psyche of the Mauritian people since independence. Political leaders still repeat the leitmotif ‘Nobody owes us a living.’”