Pamela Charlette

"Seychelles is vulnerable, especially where climate change is concerned. So with everything we do, we have to keep in mind climate change and how it’s going to affect Seychelles. There’s a big boost in renewable energy, something that we are also incorporating here. The president also announced in his State of the Nation Address on 6th March 2018 the need for Seychelles to move to liquefied natural gas, which is another area where investment from China could be welcome."

"We’ve been very fortunate to have a very good relationship with China for a long time. They’ve always been at the forefront of our development. Some infrastructure has already been funded by the government of China, including the construction of the Palais de Justice, the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation Building and the Anse Royale Hospital. At the same time, we welcome more cooperation via bilateral agreements, grants or alternative funding options, such as PPPs. The tenders will also be international giving the opportunity for Chinese Investors to bid. Currently, there is one Chinese company that has a contract with the Seychelles through the Public Utilities Corporation. The company is called Sino-Hydro and they won an international tender to raise the La Gogue dam project, which will boost the water supply on Mahé. This is the kind of partnership that we really want to nurture and encourage."

"The road network is a huge challenge for us. It’s something that we’ve been battling with for years now on Mahé. Traffic can be bad, especially here in Victoria, so we need to fund and develop new road infrastructure. We have plans for bypasses, road extensions and bridges, but it all needs funding. Government has a plan to reclaim land in five locations around Mahe and Praslin islands creating an additional 82 hectares of land. The cost of the project is anticipated to be about Euro67million. Land reclamation is also important, for the socio-economic development of the country and to link regions (so instead of having to go through town to get from the north of the island to the south, we could utilize reclaimed land to link different areas) and avoid traffic congestion on the existing main road network."