Raj JUGERNAUTH
1 November 2007
Port Louis — The records of the ministry of Public infrastructure in traffic management and congestion control are appalling.
We expected things to get worse. But it has now grown from bad to mad. Cabinet recently approved the construction of the Trianon to Terre Rouge road, via Verdun.
This road would cost the country Rs 1,6 billion and is expected to reduce traffic on Motorway 1, by a negligible 2% between Phoenix and Saint-Jean. Also negligible is the reduction of traffic from Saint-Jean to Réduit. A reduction of 10% is expected from Réduit to Soreze by 2015 and 9% in 2020. These figures come from simulations done by experts of the ministry of Public Infrastructure.
Investing Rs 1.6 billion in a road, which would ease traffic by 10% is madness in the present context. Those who have decided on its construction must explain before squandering good taxpayers' money.
Who has decided on the construction of this road, a dual carriageway over 22 kilometres. It all started, during the reign of Goolam Moorea, officer in charge of the Road Development Authority.
This gentleman had asked for a non renewal of his contract as officer in charge. His request came at a time when the press had started to question the necessity of a very high cost bridge at Macondé.
That project has since been frozen.
It is high time that the Trianon to TerreRouge road be scrutinized and questioned. The more so, because in the alignment of this road, the consultant, BCEOM has not at all taken into account the setting up of a New Administrative City (NAC) in Highlands.
This city, which government is very eager to construct, would relocate 80 000 employees from Port-Louis. Most ministries would be housed there, a next Parliament is expected to be constructed, together with a new court house, tertiary education institutions, ICT and BPO industries, and so on.
One can imagine that the traffic such development would generate can justify the construction of a Rs 1.6 billion road from Trianon to Terre Rouge, which would pass through that NAC at Highlands. To achieve this, people at the ministry have only to realign this road and make it longer by some three kilometres.
Constructing a longer road to make it go through the NAC would in fact cost less money. For the road would be mostly constructed on State Lands. But alas, the proposed road is not aligned in that way. It would pass mostly on lands owned by Mont Désert Alma, which government would have to buy through compulsory acquisition.
That road would nevertheless make the promoters of Apollo Hospitals very happy people, for this road would pass near the land bought by Mr Rawat's company for the construction of his five-star hospital. Mont Désert Alma People would also be very happy people, for this road would serve their housing project in the region. Out of good taxpayers' money.
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