2013 - Mon Tresor master plan

maart 2013
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Huisstijl
October 2013
Omnicane Urban Development
Master Plan: Mon Trésor Site

“The technical assistance operation is financed under the ACP Investment Facility
of the European Investment Bank. This fund uses non-repayable aid granted by the
European Investment Bank in support of EIB investment activities in the ACP Region,
assisting promoters during different stages of the project cycle.”
This project is funded by
the European Union

Omnicane Urban Development Master Plan:
MonTrésor Site
October 2013
The authors take full responsibility for the contents of this report. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the view of the European Union or the European Investment Bank.

New Airport Access Road projected on Long Term Regional Development Vision 2025

5
The context
In November 2012 the Royal HaskoningDHV – Rebelgroup
– Mega Design consortium was contracted by the European
Investment Bank (EIB) to produce the ‘Omnicane Urban
development Master Plan: Mon Trésor Site’ in cooperation
with the land owner and local promoter Omnicane Ltd.
The project’s objective is to produce a master plan for the
400 hectare Omnicane property, called ‘Mon Trésor’. This
site is located to the south of the SSR International Airport
and borders at the sea and at the Blue Bay Marine Park.
Omnicane has obtained the right to convert this land from
agricultural use to urban functions: business, residential
and tourist development.
The project comprises of a long term development vision
for the Airport Region and a detailed Master Plan for the
first stages, to be developed on the Mon Trésor property.
Both the LongTerm RegionalVision and the Master Plan are
based on a set of principles derived from national policies
and international best practise:
• Long term value development for Mauritius, the region
and Omnicane;
• Economy driven urban development; enhancing
and diversifying the regional and national economy
development, helped by increasing connectivity of
Mauritius and the Airport Region, by attracting foreign
investments especially in key sectors such as high-
tech, light industry, logistics, finance and tourism;
• Creating new jobs and providing attractive housing
for employees at a short distance to prevent urban
sprawl and unnecessary energy consumption;
• Sustainable development according to the‘Maurice Ile
Durable’ policy, with a focus on energy, water, waste
and preserving valuable resources;
• Integrality (involving all relevant aspects such as
transport, market, economy, environment, social
and cultural aspects, utilities), flexibility (resilient to
changes) and feasibility (realistic ambitions for future
development);
• Optimal use of the qualities of the country, the region
and the site.
Executive Summary
The Omnicane property close to the Airport and connected with the sea. Indicated in blue the area with conversion rights.
Map Mauritius with the Airport Region indicated with the
yellow circle

7
The long Term Regional Development Vision (2065)
Mauritius has a well organised and quickly emerging
economy with a stable political climate and a favourable
tax system.
An analysis of the spatial development shows a struggle
with problems connected with fast growth, such as dense
and outdated cities and road-congestion as a result of
growing car possession and urban sprawl.
Noteworthy is the presence of a fully equipped international
airport,wellconnectedwithAsia,EuropeandtheMiddleEast,
with lots of space around it where economic development
lags behind comparable international examples.
Combining these two findings with the national ambitions
for further economic development induced by foreign
investments, has resulted in a vision for a continuous,
regulated and sustainable urban development of the
Airport Region. This vision foresees in a modern and
attractive city for 150.000 to 200.000 people in 2065 and
70.000 to 90.000 new jobs.
This vision presumes careful planning from the start;
land use and infrastructure should be properly planned
and regulated by government as a basic framework for
successful urban development. A strong and legally
embedded development plan will be a vital incentive
for foreign investments since investors can rely on future
accessibility, quality and value development. International
marketing is conditional for success.
In this vision the airport, the main roads and the public
transport line will give excellent opportunities for high
density business development. The coastal area and
quiet green areas will be ideal for attractive medium
density residential quarters. The future city centre will
accommodate shopping, leisure, urban business and living.

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The Mon Trésor Master Plan
The Mon Trésor Master Plan is a plan for the first period
until 2025 totalling 160 ha, comprising of 33 ha of business
development offering 4.800 new jobs, 63 ha residential for
2.700 inhabitants and 63 ha for services, green areas and
roads.
Business
The site along the new Airport Access Road, closest to the
airport is reserved for offices and headquarters, in relation
with the new Holiday Inn Airport Hotel.The multifunctional
business park for light industry, logistics and high-tech is
located just South-East of the hotel.
Residential and services
The former Mon Trèsor sugar factory and compound site
offers green and quiet locations for housing, with easy
access to the coast and the beach. This area is reserved
for suburban middle-class housing. The development
of services and schools in the heart of the project will
follow the business and residential growth. Locations
for affordable housing are available close to the existing
villages.
Transport
The existing road system around the airport has enough
capacity for this proposed development until 2025.
Following the request from the airport manager AML,
Omnicane actively supports the planning and building of a
new Airport Access Road, in cooperation with government
and AML, connecting the southern part of the airport and
the Mon Trésor area with the M1 highway. This new Access
Road will be a strong incentive for new companies to settle
around the airport. A point of attention is the reservation
for the future public transport / light rail connection.
Sustainable and green development
The plan offers working – living – leisure – services at
a short distance, to prevent unnecessary travel and
energy wastage. Walking and cycling are stimulated by
the provision of dedicated paths. Heritage elements,
topography, landscape and existing trees are integrated in
the plan. All roads will be planted with trees. A large part
of the plan area is reserved for greenery. The plan aims
to save energy and water and to produce (solar) energy.
The preservation of Blue Bay and the surrounding coastal
landscape will be actively supported.The plan is connected
with the Omnicane plan for the Dodo Theme Park.
High quality offer
The plan shows an, for Mauritius, unprecedented urban
quality combined with public accessibility. The developer
will manage the Mon Trésor Site during the entire life-cycle
using high quality standards for service, maintenance and
sustainability.
Phasing
The strategy is to start small with minimal investments,
to limit the risks, initially concentrating on business
development. As soon as the first companies are contracted
the construction of houses starts too. At the same time the
planning and building of the new Airport Access Road will
start. Learning from the start-up, following expansions will
be prepared. The pace of development can be increased
when the market reacts positively.
Long term development
The plan has the flexibility to expand further in the future
along the lines sketched in the Long Term Development
Vision, preferably formalised in a legal Regional Plan.
Future expansion should include infrastructure, business
and residential development to achieve a balanced urban
system. Possible projects for the near future are a new
function for the old Mon Trésor sugar factory in the field
of leisure, business or residential, a golf course and tourist
development along the coast. A survey of possibilities of
building a reef to improve recreational and tourist use of Le
Chaland bay and beach is advised.

Strategic Assessment
Theimpactsoftheplanontheenvironmentandtherisksfor
the developer are limited and can all be mitigated. Special
attention is required for the cooperation with national and
local government, AML and other stakeholders. The plan is
financially feasible.

11
EIB European Investment Bank
MTDC Mon Tresor Development Company
EIA Environmental Impact Assessment
SA Strategic Assessment
AML Airports of Mauritius CO LTD
GDP Gross Domestic Product
BPO Business Process Outsourcing
LRT Light Rail Transit
BPML Business Parks of Mauritius Ltd
MTMP Mon Tresor Master Plan
MUR Mauritian Rupee
USD United States Dollar
ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network
ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode
IRS Integrated resort scheme
RES Real Estate Scheme
IHS Invest Hotel Scheme
NDS National Development Strategy
OPS Outline Planning Scheme
AAP Area Action Plan
MID Maurice Ile Durable
SIDS Small Island Developing States
NEAP National Environment Action Plan
PPG Planning Policy Guidance
SD Strategic Development
ESA’s Environmentally Sensitive Areas
PPP People, Planet,Profit
GFA Ground Floor Area
CCTV
surveillance Closed Circuit television surveillance
LTRDV Long Term Regional Development
Vision
BREEAM BRE Environmental Assessment Method
CWA Central Water Authority
Ha Hectare
CEB Contract Electricity Board
List of abbreviations

Executive Summary 5
List of abbreviations 11
1 Introduction 15
1.1 Assignment and objectives 15
1.2 Deliverables 15
1.3 The process and methodology 15
1.4 The master plan team 17
1.5 Stakeholder engagement 19
1.6 Outline of subsequent chapters/ Reading guide 19
2 Location and context 21
2.1 The Island Mauritius 21
2.2 The Airport region 25
2.3 The SSR International Airport 29
2.4 The coastal zone 33
2.5 The Mon Trésor site 37
2.6 Omnicane Ltd 51
3 Analysis 55
3.1 Introduction 55
3.2 National policies 55
3.3 Regional policy: Outline Planning scheme (OPS) 60
3.4 Socio-economic situation and market analysis 61
3.5 Urban development in Mon Trésor ? 65
3.6 Improving accessibility in the Airport region 70
3.7 Urban development, Blue Bay Marine Park and coastal zone 70
3.8 Environmental and technical issues and constraints 71
3.9 Conclusion: Strengths and weaknesses in the present situation 72
4 Vision and Strategy 75
4.1 Principles for the Mon Trésor Master Plan 75
4.2 Other principles 76
4.3 Vision for the project 79
4.4 Strategy 79
5 Long term Regional Development Vision 2065 87
5.1 Introduction 87
5.2 Program 87
5.3 Transport and infrastructure 89
5.4 Land use and zoning 95
5.5 Technical issues and constraints 99
5.6 Phasing 99
6 First phase / 10-years / MT Masterplan 103
6.1 Master Plan for 10 year horizon 103
6.2 Outlines of Mon Trésor Master Plan 103
6.3 Description urban design 123
6.4 Designs for future expansions 145
7 Assessments 157
7.1 Explanation 157
7.2 The Assessment table 157
7.3 Strategic assessment – Long term development vision /
regional perspective 158
7.4 Strategic assessment – Master Plan / 10-year plan for Mon Trésor 162
7.5 Strategic assessment – Possible future expansions Master Plan 164
7.6 Remarkable scores 167
7.7 Financial assessment 167
7.8 Conclusions and recommendations 167
Content
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14 Integrated and iterative approach Royal HaskoningDHV

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1.1 Assignment and objectives
The Royal HaskoningDHV – Rebelgroup – Mega Design
consortium was contracted by the European Investment
Bank (EIB) for the Mon Trésor Master Plan on Mauritius on
the 5th
of November, 2012. This was also the date of the
kick-off meeting in Luxemburg.
The project’s objective is to produce a master plan for the
400 hectare Omnicane property, located to the south of
the SSR International Airport on Mauritius. The aim of this
flexible and sustainable master plan is to create the best
solution for the region and Mauritius and the best possible
development for Omnicane. The plan should be realistic
and flexible and should give perspective on development
on a short to mid-term range.
The master plan is financed by the European Investment
Bank and will be promoted by the property owner,
Omnicane Ltd. The results will be shared with government
and stakeholders.
In the Inception Report, dated the 9th
of January, 2013 the
results of the first meetings with Omnicane, government
and stakeholders were reported together with quickscans
of issues influencing the planning process such as the
availability of data and maps. This Inception Report was,
together with the adjusted schedule for stakeholder
management and contents of the deliveries approved by
the EIB.
In this Mon Trésor Master Plan the team reports on the
results of the surveys, the meetings and workshops, the
development of the vision and strategy and the design
work.
In this report the project site of 400 ha will be referred to as
the‘Mon Trésor site’. The final product will be referred to as
the‘Mon Trésor Master Plan’.
The landowner and promoter of the project is referred to
as‘Omnicane’.
The future developer of the MonTrésor site - to be created -
is referred to as‘MTDC’, meaning‘Mon Trésor Development
Company’.
1.2 Deliverables
The set of deliverables as described in the Terms of
Reference was adjusted in the Inception Report (January
2013) and approved by the EIB. Instead of delivering
successive and separate reports, the Mon Trésor Master
Plan team will deliver one integrated master plan report
covering all the topics described in de Terms of Reference:
• Market Study;
• Long Term Vision;
• Transport Plan;
• Environment Plan / Strategic Impact Assessment;
• Technical Issues / Constraints;
• Spatial Designs.
During the Inception stage it became clear that a market
survey for a mid- to long-term master plan, based on a solid
statistical analysis was not feasible. This was mainly due to
insufficient information (statistics and forecasts) available
on the subject of socio-economic development on the
island of Mauritius. Hence was agreed to produce a socio-
economic study based on the available information in order
to generate a framework for programming the master plan.
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which was
requested in the Terms of Reference, is interpreted as a
Strategic Assessment (SA) scaled to the level of detail of the
master plan.
The final product, the Mon Trésor Master Plan, is to be seen
as a proposal from Omnicane to the government. The level
of detail varies per section of the plan; the sections reserved
for long term development is to be planned and described
in general terms, while the sections to be developed in the
short term are more detailed. Licensing is not part of the
project.
1.3 The process and methodology
The Royal HaskoningDHV team advocates a multi-
disciplinary and integrated and iterative approach in which
several rounds of survey, analysis, planning and design are
run through before the final product, the master plan will
be produced, as presented in the diagram on page 14.
This approach is also reflected in the contents of this report
in which all the relevant aspects are discussed.
The master plan team chose to integrate the strategic
assessment in the planning process and subsequently in
1 Introduction

Mauritius seen from the South West
Port Louis
Sugar cane fields
The M1 highway
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this concept report.The rationale for this choice is that solid
planning requires attention for relevant environmental,
ecological, economic, cultural, social and technical aspects,
exactly as required for an impact assessment. Possible
impacts were assessed continuously during the planning
process and designs were adjusted accordingly.
An illustration of the process followed is showed in the flow
chart above. The study of the region and the site, the socio-
economic context and the policies of government and
Omnicane lead to a vision and strategy for the Mon Trésor
site. The next steps were to develop sets of requirements
for the master plan, the master plan itself and designs for
the first stages. The steps in the process were accompanied
by meetings with EIB and Omnicane, and meetings with
government and stakeholders.
1.4 The master plan team
For the European Investment Bank:
Philippe Brown Senior Loan Officer
Barbara Lemke Senior Planning and
Development Specialist
Inga Bleiere Technical Assistance Unit
Specialist
For Omnicane Ltd:
Jacques d’Unienville Chief Executive Officer
Joël Bruneau Head of Property
Development
Patrice Binet – Décamps Project Development
Executive
Emily Olivier Property Sales & Marketing
Manager
Olaf Olsen Project manager
The Royal HaskoningDHV – Rebel – Mega Design team:
Urban van Aar Team leader and urban
designer
Frans van der Beek Deputy team leader and
urban planner
Jacques van Dinteren Product Manager Markets,
Concepts & Strategies
Jan Nuesink Consultant environment &
sustainability
Hugo Woesthuis Consultant environment
impact assessment
Joep Coopmans Consultant transport &
infrastructure
Frank Sutmuller Urban planner
Rolf Dauskardt MBA Financial strategy and
management
Koen van Baekel MSc Economic analyst and
consultant
Nand Sooredoo Civil engineer & Local
expertise
Daan van den Berg Urban designer

Blue Bay Village
Holiday Inn Airport Hotel
Existing Airport Access Road
Bambous Mountains
SSR International Airport
Rose Belle
L’Escalier
Plaine Magnien
Trois Boutiques
Mahébourg
Mon Trésor
Blue Bay
Present Situation Airport Region
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1.5 Stakeholder engagement
Part of international good practice in master planning is to
engage stakeholders in the earliest possible stage of the
development process. This was done for the master plan
to integrate information, ideas and opinions of relevant
stakeholders in the master plan and to ensure future
acceptance of relevant stakeholders and authorities for
the proposed development. Both for the master plan itself
and for the scoping of issues for the Strategic Assessment,
parties were consulted, asked for suggestions and to
collaborate. During the planning process course of the
development and assessment the following parties have
been engaged:
• The Client: The European Investment Bank;
• The Promotor: Omnicane Ltd;
• Government: representatives of several ministries
dealing with spatial planning and housing, economy,
environment and transport;
• AML, the owner / manager of the SSR International
Airport;
• Chamber of Commerce;
• Local experts;
• Neighbouring land owners.
1.6 Outline of subsequent chapters/ Reading
guide
This interim report gives an overview of all surveys of the
present situation, the analysis of the available information,
the long term vision and strategy, the master plan / urban
design and the strategic assessment. These issues are
subject of the seven chapters in this document.
In the Terms of Reference for this project a series of
deliverables was described. As mentioned above, the
master plan team chose, in accordance with the EIB to
integrate deliverables in one single integrated main report.
The requested deliverables can be found in subsequent
chapters as indicated below:
Inception report:
delivered separately January 2013
Market study:
paragraphs chapters 3 - 5 - 6, paragraphs 3.4 - 5.2 - 6.2
Long Term vision:
chapters 3 - 4 - 5, paragraphs 7.3
Transport Plan:
chapter 2, paragraphs 3.2 - 3.6 - 4.2 - 5.3 - 6.2 - 7.3 - 7.4 - 7.5
Environment Plan:
chapter 2 - 3 - 4 - 5, paragraphs 6.2, chapter 7
Technical issues:
chapter 2, paragraphs 3.8 - 4.4 - 5.5 - 6.2, chapter 5 - 6
Spatial designs:
chapter 5 - 6

The island Mauritius with in red the conurbation: Port Louis, Beau Bassin, Rose Hill, Quatre
Bornes, Vacoas, Phoenix and Curepipe, connected by the M1 Motorway. In the East, just south
of Mahébourg the airport and the Mon Trésor site.
Map Mauritius from 1910 with roads (red) and railroads (black)
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2.1 The Island Mauritius
The island of Mauritius covers 1865 km2 of land created by
volcanic activity about 8 million years ago. It is the product
of underwater eruptions that happened thousands of
kilometres to the east of the continental block made up
by Africa and Madagascar. Today, the island is no longer
a volcanically active region. The geomorphologic history
gave the island its’ hills and mountains reaching over 800
meters above sea level in the southern, western and central
part. The northern and eastern part, show an undulating
landscape sloping down to the sea, intersected by streams
and rivers. The mountains are covered with tropical
rainforest, while the rest of the land is largely cultivated.
Mauritius has a tropical climate; the annual average rainfall
is about 2100 mm, slightly higher in the mountains and
lower in the coastal areas. Even though the average rainfall
is sufficient, water shortages in the supply system can/
often arise in the period from September to December.
2.1.1 Nature and environment
The environment in Mauritius is typically tropical in
the coastal regions with (sub-) tropical forests in the
mountainous areas. Seasonal cyclones have a destructive
effect on flora and fauna, which, generally recover quickly.
The island’s scenery, especially in the coastal areas, the reefs
and the mountains are highly valued and of great natural
beauty. The island’s biodiversity is impressive, especially
its unique and endemic species. The mountains and the
coastal areas and reefs form several protected natural
habitats including three protected sites under the Ramsar
convention.
Mauritius ranked second in an air quality index released by
the World Health Organization in 2011.
2.1.2 Demography
The population of Mauritius has grown to 1,248,126
inhabitants in 2011. The growth of the population has
diminished over the last decade. The current rate of
population growth is 0.41%. A decrease in birth rates and
fertility is noticeable, and the trend of an aging population,
as mentioned in the National Development Strategy, is
already tangible today. The average household size is also
decreasing. In 1990 there was an average of 4.43 people
per household; in 2011 the average dropped to 3.6 people
per household. The growth rate of the total number of
households exceeds the growth rate of the population.
That’s why the demand for housing is larger than the
demographic growth.
Currently 89% of the households in Mauritius are home-
owners. This percentage varies from 93% in rural areas
to 83% in urban regions. Only 12% of the houses are
mortgaged. Almost 100 % of the houses on Mauritius have
electricity, 95% or more of the houses have running water, a
bathroom, a flushing toilet and LPG for cooking. Most solid
waste is collected by authorised collectors.
Regarding the availability of ICT devices in households: 96
% have a TV set, 88% a mobile telephone, 38% a computer
and 32% an internet connection. (source: governmental
statistics).
2.1.3 Economy Mauritius
Mauritius has one of the most competitive economies
in Africa. The Global Trade Economic Report 2010 ranks
Mauritius 32nd in the world and first in Africa.
Since the independence of Mauritius in 1968 the economy
has experienced strong growth. The GDP and the average
household income have shown a strong increase compared
to other countries in Africa. The economy of Mauritius is
based on four pillars: sugarcane / sugar industry, textiles,
tourism and financial services. During the last two decades
the sugar industry has undergone major transformations
based upon centralisation of production facilities paving
the way to the setting of a cane based industrial eco
system – encompassing bio mass energy production , bio
ethanol and refined sugars. Those developments complete
the diversification of the Mauritian economy in the
manufacturing tourism and financial sectors /fields.
Financial services and tourism are moving their focus to
new and upcoming markets. As far as the financial services
areconcerned,Mauritiusendeavourstobecomeapreferred
global investment platform for the region. The tourism
sector is faced with declining spending from Western-
Europe due to the current financial crisis, while China, India,
the Middle East and Russia appear to be new markets. The
number of tourists visiting the island has grown over the
years but not at the pace that was predicted/estimated/
assumed in the National Development Strategy of 2003.
The Mauritian government repeatedly succeeds in finding
new drivers for economic growth and in stimulating
innovation in existing sectors by creating favourable
2 Location and context

Waterfront Port Louis Street in Quatre Bornes
Areal view Port Louis - Rose Hill Cyber City
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(financial) conditions, resulting in growth in the ICT, BPO
(Business Process Outsourcing), financial services and real
estate sectors. The skilled workforce (highly educated and
bi-lingual) makes Mauritius a good base for international
companies.
2.1.4 Settlement pattern and infrastructure
Mauritius is a densely populated country with
approximately 1.3 million inhabitants. Most people live in
a string of cities (the‘conurbation’) extending from the port
city Port Louis in the West towards Curepipe on the central
plateau, connected by the M1 Motorway. Apart from the
planned grid-structure for Port Louis and Mahébourg,
dating back to the 19th century, the cities have developed
in an unplanned manner. The result is an agglomerate of
individual real estate projects, mostly in a suburban density
connected by mostly narrow streets and with a scattered
ownership. Business and shops are concentrated along the
main roads in or nearby the cities.
About one third of the island is used for agricultural
purposes, with sugar cane being the main crop (85%). The
shareofbuilt-upareasisgraduallyincreasingattheexpense
of agricultural land. Across the country many settlements
have emerged along the rural roads. Most villages are of
suburban population densities.
The tourist facilities, like many hotels and resorts are
concentratedalongtheWesternenNorth-Easterncoastline,
where reefs protect the beaches from erosion.
The country has a dense network of well paved two-lane
roads. The national highway leads from Grand Baie in the
north, via Port Louis and the central string of cities to the
airport in the south.
The highway and the main roads in the cities are very busy,
especially in the rush hours, often resulting in traffic jams.
Probably because of the lack of quality of the urban areas,
the middle-class has started to leave the cities, settling in
attractive areas along the coast: Grand Baie in the North,
Flic en Flac in the South-West and the Flacq area in the East.
The traditional approach for project development on
Mauritius is to focus on tourist and leisure development
close to the coast, especially on high end hotels and
resorts. The sea and the beach is the main trigger and
the presence of tourism and leisure can be a secondary
trigger for residential development for locals in the
form of ‘morcellements’. These coastal urban cores grow
unplanned, as a conglomerate of individual projects.
2.1.5 Transport in national perspective
The current transport system of Mauritius consists mainly
of a fairly reasonable road system, comprising of the M1-M2
Motorway, an additional system of main roads and lower
order urban and rural roads. As the railway system on the
island was closed some 50 years ago, all inland transport
in Mauritius is done by road. Public transport consists of an
extensive (privatized) bus system, which takes a substantial
part of the trips. However, the vast majority of the daily trips
is done with private cars. Non-motorized transport, such as
cycling and walking have limited coverage.
As the urban development has focused in the conurbation,
roadcongestionisgrowingandtrafficjamsareoccurringon
a daily basis. Further growth of the population, an ongoing
growth of car ownership and the lack of competitive public
transport, tend to worsen the traffic situation on the island.
Programs have been set up and are being implemented to
cope with these problems: extension of the road network,
a traffic management program for Port Louis, a road
decongestion program and the provision of a Light Rail
Transit (LRT) public transport system should alleviate the
pressure towards the future.
2.1.6 Recent spatial developments
A very conspicuous feature in the Mauritian landscape
is the urban sprawl. Every road is lined with houses or
‘morcellements’(see also 2.2.5) and only in the most remote
rural areas there are free vista’s over the landscape. This
sprawl has a strong presence along most coastal roads and
along roads leading from the conurbation to the coast in
Soutern, Northern and Eastern directions. The South-East is
still relatively free of sprawl.
A remarkable new development is the Cyber City
development in the heart of the island. This is a high-rise
officedevelopmentmanagedbyBusinessParksofMauritius
Ltd (BPML), owned by the government. The view from the
highway on this new office park is spectacular, but when
visiting the park the experience is rather disappointing
because there are no proper parking facilities, so the roads
and green areas are used for parking cars. Also in the
heart of the island, for instance in Quatre Bornes, high-rise

Basic landscape elements
The Airport Region
Rural roads and villages
The M1 highway and the airport The existing situation
Existing village
Airport
Urban green area
Sea
Road
High way
New development area
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residential blocks are popping-up in the landscape.
New shopping centres are another new phenomenon;
many of them have been built in existing villages or outside
them, somewhere along the highway or the main roads. A
well-known example is the ‘Bagatelle’ shopping centre in
the islands centre, along the highway. These centres make
front to the road and the new ones have large parking lots.
They typically include shops, a supermarket, as well as
restaurants and small businesses.
2.2 The Airport region
2.2.1 General description
The Airport region is the region directly surrounding the
SSR International Airport.This region is located in the Grand
Port Savanne District and doesn’t have any administrative
status. This region is ‘invented’ in this master plan as the
area influenced directly or potentially by the airport. This
region stretches from Mahébourg in the North-East to
Rose-Belle in the West and Trois Boutiques and Mon Trésor
in the South. The region comprises mainly agricultural
land, some villages, a small town and the SSR International
Airport Area as defined in the Outline Planning Scheme
( see also page 60) .
2.2.2 Demography and economy
In the Airport region live approximately 45.000 people.
The population growth in the last decade was moderate.
The expectations for population development in the next
decade show a tendency to a moderate growth.
Most people in the Grand Port Savanne District have
traditional jobs in sectors, such as agriculture, forestry,
fishing, manufacturing, construction, transport and
trade. However, the SSR International Airport employs
approximately 5.000 people (statement of the director of
AML, Mr. S. Petit, during one of the stakeholder meetings).
2.2.3 Landscape
The landscape in this region is relatively flat, slowly sloping
to the ocean in the East and mainly covered with sugar
cane. The topography shows the foot-hills of the Bambous
Mountains in the north, tree lined valleys eroded by rivers
and streams, and a beach zone along the coast-line.
Within this landscape, the Mon Trésor site is a remote,
green, quiet and somewhat derelict location, located far
from the main roads.
2.2.4 Infrastructure and transport
The SSR International Airport is an important traffic
attractor in the region. In this southeast area of the island
the urban population is limited, not faced with road
congestion yet. The busiest part of the regional network is
the M1 Motorway, which currently takes 14,200 vehicles on
a daily basis. Such traffic volumes can be handled easily by
a two by two lane motorway. Traffic forecasts towards 2030
show substantial increases of traffic, building up towards
peaks of about 3,000 vehicles during peak hour, which falls
within the capacity limit of a 2 x 2 lane motorways.
Public Transport exists of bus lines between villages, cities
and schools mainly for the poorest part of the population.
The quality of the buses is mostly poor. The bus transport is
privatised. Buses often stop on the road, causing dangerous
situations when bikers, mopeds, cars and other buses try to
pass by.
Non-motorized transport, such as cycling and walking has
a reasonable coverage on local scale for shopping, going to
school and so on.
2.2.5 Settlements
Mahébourg
The largest settlement is Mahébourg with 15.200
inhabitants, close to the place where the first settlers, the
Dutch entered the island and built their camp. This town
is very densely build on a chess-board pattern, comprising
of mainly narrow residential streets (5 – 8 meter between
private properties, often bordered with walls) and also
narrow main streets ( 7 – 12 meter for all transport means)
which is also the main road connection to the North. The
town is a lively and in certain areas charming place, but at
the same time primitive and dated .
There is nice waterfront, with a magnificent view on the
bay and the Bambou Mountains.The first phase of plans for
building a new tourist waterfront her has been developed
in the form of a recreation zone along the coastline. The
following phases are postponed for unknown reasons.
Rose Belle

Mahebourg
Trois Boutiques
Mahébourg
Trois Boutiques
26

Rose Belle
Plaine Magnien
Rose-Belle
Plaine Magnien
27

The Rose-Belle Business Park
The Rose-Belle business park (purple) and the planned new shopping centre
(orange) on 8,5 – 10 km distance of the airport.
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Rose Belle, hosting 12.000 inhabitants, stretches along the
A10 main road over more than 7 kilometres. The village is
very narrow as most houses and buildings are built directly
along the main road or along short alleys connected with
the main road. All local traffic, through traffic, buses, bikers,
mopeds and pedestrian traffic and parking is active within
the 10 to 12 meter cross section of the main road resulting
in delay and dangerous situations.
Trois Boutiques and Plaine Magnien
The villages of Trois Boutique (7.300 inh) and Plaine
Magnien (10.400 inh) also started as road villages, but
have now a more concentrated lay-out. Plaine Magnien
is intersected by the existing Airport Access Road, a dual
carriage highway, causing hindrance and danger for the
inhabitants. All settlements include (mostly small) shops
and business along the main roads. Mahébourg, Rose Belle
and Plaine Magnien have one or more super markets. Most
houses in these settlements are detached, surrounded
by walls and self-built and owned by the inhabitant. The
original garden in the older parts is often filled with all
kinds of small out-houses and sheds.
2.2.6 New developments in the region
Attached to the existing settlements, but in the middle
of sugar cane fields, many new residential developments
are constructed in a typical manner. These ‘morcellements’
are stretches of land in various sizes equipped with roads,
utilities and plots to build houses.The plots are sold to build
a house by the owner or for speculative purposes, a very
popular nest egg on Mauritius. Most houses are built by the
owner himself, taking many years. Plots sold for speculation
purposes stay empty and become overgrown with weeds
and bushes. There is no other public space than the narrow
roads. The brutal way these‘morcellements’are established
and managed, the often half built houses standing alone in
the derelict space mark these new developments as scars
in the landscape.
Remarkable is the absence up to now of any business
development around the airport.The first example of which is
the Holiday Inn Airport Hotel, due to open in December 2013.
There is one business park, just outside the airport-region
close to Rose-Belle along the highway located about 8,5 km
distance from the airport. This 24 hectare park, equipped
with roads and facilities and 30 plots, was opened in 2005
but remained unused until now. The manager BPML has
recently restarted marketing and has announced that one
or two buildings will be delivered shortly. The objective
is to develop a ‘small Cybercity’ in the South of the Island,
bringing several thousands of jobs to the region. Selling
prices are approximately 50 euro / m2.
Another new development in the central area of Rose Belle is
the plan to build a new shopping centre with a floor area of
18.000m2,withspacefor150commercialunits,amongwhich
supermarkets, many shops, small businesses, restaurants,
fast-food, wellness facilities, a car-centre and a huge parking
lot. Completion is (according the website) planned in 2014.
2.3 The SSR International Airport
2.3.1 Historical development
The airport Plaine Magnien near Mahébourg started in
1942, to import products from the United Kingdom and
its colonies, as well as for export. In 1986, infrastructural
works were undertaken to accommodate larger aircraft.
Now, 17 scheduled airlines serve more than 35 destinations
through the SSR International Airport. In 2011 more than
2.67 million passengers transited through the airport, and
over 19,800 aircraft movements were recorded.
A new passenger terminal will be opened in 2013, with a
capacity of 4 million passengers. The new parallel taxiway
is of strategic importance, as it will ensure that the airport
operations can continue in case the main runway is closed.
In 2011 more than 2.67 million passengers transited
through the airport, and over 19,800 aircraft movements
were recorded. The Outline Planning Scheme Grand
Port Savanne from 2004 indicates a growth in passenger
transfers up to 5.3 million passengers in 2022.
The airport is planning a new Freeport Logistic Centre at
the Sout-Eastern side of their teritory, totalling 71 hectare,
which will stimulate the air cargo handling, estimated at
115 000 tons in 2015 and 200 000 tons in 2025.
The owner and operator of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
(SSR) International Airport is ‘Airports of Mauritius Co. Ltd’
(AML), a public company incorporated in May 1998. The
Government of Mauritius is the major shareholder of AML.

Pictures of morcellements and self-built houses on Mauritius
30

Example of typical morcellement with narrow streets and no other public space
31

Airport site present siuation Present connectivity Maritius / International Airport; note the lacking
connections with Eastern Africa32
Suggestion for New Access RoadI
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2.3.2 The SSR International Airport Master Plan
A master plan was made for the Airport in 2004. Requests
to receive this master plan or information from it were not
honoured by AML. The master plan seems to be publically
available (statement of the director of AML, Mr. S. Petit,
during one of the stakeholder meetings) but the Mon
Trésor Master Plan team only managed to see a map of the
airport master plan, dating from 2008.
This information combined with information acquired from
tender documents is used to reconstruct a drawing of the
airport and its future development.
2.3.3 Infrastructure / existing airport access road
The SSR International Airport is connected with the
conurbation by the M1 highway. From the highway a dual
carriage road enters the airport area from the west to end
at the roundabout giving access to the airport facilities.
AML has requested Omnicane to cooperate with the
construction of a new connection with the highway at the
Southern side of the airport. There are five reasons to build
this new access road on the short term:
• To improve accessibility to the new terminal building
and the new Freeport and logistic site both oriented
to the South;
• To guarantee access in case of an emergency, the
airport should have two major road connections with
the M1 highway;
• To alleviate the Plaine Magnien village from hindrance
(noise, emissions) and danger (level road crossing
of village traffic and highway traffic) caused by the
existing access road;
• To create a representative entrance road to the airport
which is not possible along the existing access road
where typical village houses are built right up to the
border of the road;
• To exploit the present situation South of the airport
where no major buildings or other constructions are
blocking the possible route to the M1 .
AML has suggested a route for the new Access road, as
illustrated on the left.
The airport is connected to the South and the North of the
country with two lane roads, leading through towns and
villages. On the Airport site there is no space reserved for
public transport route.
2.4 The coastal zone
The coastal zone in the Airport Region has been built
with private houses over a considerable distance. This
means that the shore line or beach is not accessible for the
inhabitants of the region or for visitors. Furthermore, there
is no view of the sea from the adjacent roads. Although the
‘Pas Geometrique’ (the first 80 meters from the high water
line) is property of government by law, many coastal areas
are leased or made inaccessible by hotels, resorts or house
owners.
Mahébourg has a recreative boulevard with a length of
several hundreds of meters with nice views over the bay
and the mountains.
TheWestern and South-Western borders of the Blue Bay are
grown over with trees and bushes and inaccessible. From
Blue Bay to the south, the protecting reef disappears and
the coast line becomes rocky with the last beach area at Le
Bouchon.
Between the stretches of privatised coast line, natural
areas and rocky shores, there are some public beaches, as
such protected and managed by government (see also the
Outline Planning Scheme map on page 58). In the airport
region there are six: Pointe Brocus in the North, two small
stretches in Mahébourg, the well-known Blue Bay beach
at the Northern shore of the bay, the public beach of Le
Chaland and the beach of Le Bouchon. Together these
public beaches have a length of approximately 3 km or an
estimated 6% of the total shore length in Aiport region. It’s

The SSR International Airport seen from the North with the Mon Trésor Site at the background.

35
Public beach in Le Chaland Most public beaches have facilities for visitors

The Mon Trésor Site: In blue the land for which conversion rights are available. In green the Omnicane property within the project boundary, not covered by conversion rights and in orange the
land leased from government by Omnicane. Source: Omnicane Ltd.
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not surprising that the public beaches of Mahébourg, Blue
Bay and Le Chaland are in weekends crowded with people,
mainly locals.These beaches are serviced with public toilets
and kiosks. The visitors often park their car under the trees
adjacent to the beach. Sometimes there is separate parking
lot.
2.5 The Mon Trésor site
2.5.1 General description
The MonTrésor site in the South east of Mauritius comprises
400 ha hectare of mainly sugar cane agricultural land
owned by Omnicane Ltd. The site is located just south of
the SSR International Airport. It’s a remote area, very green
and quiet. The Southeast trade winds from the ocean add a
constant breeze to the area.
Special features are the tree clad borders of the Blue Bay,
the green valley of Mare aux Songes, the Christiane Vallet
Forest site and in the centre of the site the former Mon
Trésor sugar factory including a charming compound with
full-grown trees.
In the North-East lie, interlocked by Omnicane property, the
Shandrani hotel and land owned by developer Currimjee.
Next to this is the location of the Le Chaland public beach,
which is now poorly accessible, but nevertheless on bank
holidays and in the weekends very busy with mainly local
visitors.
2.5.2 Topography and present landscape
The topography of the area south of the Airport shows
a rather flat landscape, sloping down to the coast. The
western tip of the site is located about 55 m above sea level,
the old factory 25 m and the flat coastal park about 5 m
above sea level.
Small rivers have cut valleys in the plateau. One of these
valleys is at the southern boundary of the plan area (the
‘Ruisseau des Mares du Tabac’) and another one formed
a hilly area in the north-east of the plan area, between
Mare aux Songes and Blue Bay. Around the old factory are
some (man-made) valleys and streams, ending in a natural
retention basin, a depression where the water sinks in.
Special features in the landscape are the old sugar factory
including a charming compound with full-grown trees, the
forest close to the sea and an old tree lane, leading from the
factory to Blue Bay.
The borders of Blue Bay (2.2 km in lease Omnicane) are
densely clad with trees and bushes. The beach at La
Chaland is wide, white and lies at calm bay, protected by a
reef. The shore at La Combuse (1.3 km in lease Omnicane)
has a narrow beach and is not protected by a reef, leaving
the shore open to the waves and heavy currents.
Between the beaches and the agricultural land lies a zone
of varying width withsandy soil, and park-like vegetation.
2.5.3 Heritage
The landscape shows the history of centuries of human
exploitation: there are some heritage sites, such as the
former sugar factory, (first mentioned in the archives in
the 18th century) and also the former factory compound
(20th century) with full grown trees and plot walls made of
volcanic rock.
The factory which is owned by Omnicane, no longer runs
as a sugar refinery since it was closed in 2007. However,
the whole factory is still in place, with its attached offices
and drainage systems. Part of the site is presently used to
weigh sugarcane to be sent to the Savannah sugar factory.
Another historic element, connected with the sugar factory
is the old railroad, which track is still recognisable in the
landscape. In the 19th and early 20th century Mauritius
was spanned with a network of railroads to transport sugar
cane. In the second half of the 20th century trucks took
over the transport and all the railroads were dismantled.
One of the old locomotives is preserved as a monument of
the past close to the entrance of the sugar factory.
2.5.4 Roads and transport
The Mon Trésor site is connected in the current transport
system mainly via de M1 Motorway and a number of
Classified A and B roads in the region, such as the A10 trunk
road. These roads provide the main access of the area,
towards the airport, the surrounding area (Mahébourg,
Plaine Magnien) and the further hinterland of the island,
such as the Curepipe – Port Louis corridor. In the area itself
additional rural roads take care of the local access.

The Mon Trésor Site seen form the sea .In front the narrow beach of La Combuse.

39
Borders of Blue Bay
Mare aux Songes
Shandrani Hotel
Le Chaland
Christian Vallet Forest
La Combuse
Ruisseau des Mares du Tabac
Le Bouchon
Factory Compound‘Mon Trésor park’
Old sugar factory
Holiday Inn Airport Hotel
SSR International Airport
L’Escalier

The old railroad on an embankment just north of the Mon Trésor compound and and a preserved locomotive on the factory site.
The front of the Mon Trésor Sugar Facory
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2.5.5 Agricultural use
Thesiteismainlyinuseforthecultureofsugarcane.Because
of the poor Latosolic soil the yields are unfavorable, when
compared with other regions on Mauritius, for example in
the South. In 2012 the yields in the Mon Trésor area were
almost half of the yields in Benares (see table below).
Sugar CaneYields
Locations
Yield in tons / hectare
2010 2011 2012
Mon Trésor Master
plan Site
68 64 52
Brittania (South) 84.3 94.2 99.0
Benares (South) 105.5 110.4 101.6
This unfavourable agricultural situation was one of the
reasons for the land owner, Omnicane to decide to convert
this site for other functions.
Impression of the Mon Trésor Site

Green coastal zone La Combuse Large tree (banian) on the factory site
Christian Vallet Forest The ‘Mon Trésor Park’, the former compound
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2.5.6 Habitation
In the former Mon Trésor factory compound and scattered
between the cane fields are some inhabited houses. All
of these houses and the land on which they are built,
are owned by Omnicane. The inhabitants are (former)
employees of Omnicane.
The houses are out-dated, don’t comply modern living road
standards and some of them are very small. Omnicane has,
according to the rent contract, offered the inhabitants of
the houses in the former factory compound a period of
several years to move to a new house. The expectation is
that in one or two years all the inhabitants of the former
factory compound will have been moved to a new home.
The empty houses are made uninhabitable or demolished,
in anticipation of on the future use of the site for other
functions.
As a consequence of the Sugar Reform, Omnicane recently
gave 700 (former) employees a plot of land on which they
can build their own house. Two of these sites with plots
were donated and made ready for building by Omnicane,
including roads and utilities. These sites are located close
to the Mon Trésor site. Two of them are located within the
Mon Trésor Master Plan site.
On the MonTrésor site there are no other inhabited houses,
other than mentioned above and there are no squatters on
the master plan site.
The only new development is the Holiday Inn Airport Hotel,
situated at the northern point of the site.
2.5.7 Local community aspects
Mahébourg and the three villages are made up of streets
and alleys lined with houses, often mixed in function size
and class. Sometimes shacks are built on unused plots or
on yards. The bigger houses, shops, bars, temples are often
situated along the high street which invariably also serves
as the inter-village road connection. All the villages have
grown up along a road, usually a major road and therefore
the villages are divided by a busy and dangerous road.
Pavements are very rare; sometimes the gutter functions as
such.Therearemanyblindalleysandstreetsareverynarrow
which could form a problem in case of an emergency.
There are no statistics available on the subjects of income,
house types. It is therefore impossible to make an analysis
of these subjects per village. However, the villages do give
the impression that they are inhabited by poor people ,
lower middle class and some middle class.
The service level in the small villages is also poor to
moderate (some small shops) and on a normal level in the
bigger settlements with shops, banks, schools, medical
services and so on.
There is hardly any public space except the space reserved
forcartraffic;peoplemeetinthehighstreetsandsometimes
there is field for playing football outside the village.
2.5.8 Ecology
Besides the agricultural land, the site contains several green
areas, as described below.
Noecologicalsurveyofthesiteisavailable.Thegovernment
has information, especially of the coastal area, but the
officials are not allowed to hand this over to the Mon Trésor
Master Plan (statement representatives of the Ministry
of Environment). Some information is available from the
Outline Planning Scheme for Grand Port Savanne and from
EIA’s for the Currimjee Hotel and the Holiday Inn Airport
Hotel.
Blue Bay Marine Park
The Blue Bay Marine Park, located East of the master plan
area, was proclaimed a National Park under the Wildlife
and National Parks Act 1993 in October 1997. The Blue
Bay Marine Park is known for its diverse and rich fauna
and flora especially the corals, fish species and molluscs.
It was declared a Marine Protected Area and designated a
Marine Park in June 2000 under the Fisheries and Marine
Resources Act 1998. The Fisheries and Marine Resources
Act Regulations 2001 stipulate severe restrictions on the
activities permitted in the park. In January 2008 it was
officially nominated as the second Wetland of International
Importance (RAMSAR Site) for Mauritius. The total area of
the Marine Park is 353 hectares.The water depth in the park
varies from 1 to 150m metres.
For the management of the park the area is zoned (see map
below).
In several meetings with the Ministries of Environment
and Fisheries the threats and chances for this area were
discussed. Studies by government indicate a degradation
of biodiversity caused by intensive tourist and recreation

Blue Bay and the Shandrani Hotel with in the background the Mon Trésor site.
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45
activities such as boating, swimming and diving. Another
source of problems is the run-off of contaminated rain
water from adjacent land during rains storms.
For these reasons government is studying improvement
management and enhanced regulations for the use of the
water as well as for the use of the adjacent land. In addition,
there is a Steering Committee for the management of
the park drawn from most of the environment-related
ministries ( Environment, Tourism, Housing and Lands, etc.)
and daily patrols are conducted to enforce the regulations.
Western boards of Blue Bay
Area with dense forest and bushes. The main value for the
Blue Bay Marine Park is the local presence of mangroves
and the function as a green buffer.
Coastal green area
Specific low vegetation on sandy soils, locally forming sand
dunes. No specific ecological value for insects, reptiles,
mammals and birds. No endemic plant species, mainly
introduced plant species.
Valley of The Ruisseau des Mares du Tabac and the Mare aux
Songes Valley
The Mares du Tabac valley is narrow and lined with trees.
The Mare aux Songes Valley contains several swamp areas
in which remains and fossils of the dodo bird, other birds
and tortoises have been found.
Christian Vallet Forest
Forestwithmainlyintroducedspeciesinarockydepression,
measuring 18 ha. There is only one path leading through
this forest.
The main value of these green areas is their contribution to
a framework of green, more or less natural areas and their
contribution to the characteristic landscape.
2.5.9 The Shandrani hotel and the Currimjee
property
Along the coast line lies, at the Southern side of Blue Bay,
the Shandrani Hotel. This is a 5 star hotel with 330 rooms,
4 restaurants, 2 bars, a spa, swimming pool, a 9-hole
golf course and water sport facilities. The hotel has a
considerable length of beach, which is formally accessible
to the public, but in practice private and exclusively for
hotel guests. Visitors have to pay 2000 MUR to obtain
entrance.
Directly to the South of this hotel is the location of a police
trainingcentre,whichwillbereplacedbythenewCurrimjee
Jeewanjee & Co Ltd ‘Chaland Resort Hotel’, a high-end
facility with 224 rooms. Plans for this resort are ready. The
Strict Conservation Zone A
Strict Conservation Zone B
Conservation Zone
Multiple Use Zones
Swimming Zones
Fishing (Pole & Line Only)
Traffic Lane
Ski Lane
Fringing reef
Mooring zone
Regulatioins Blue Bay

The bay of La Combuse; no reef breaking the waves

Design visualisation Le Chaland Resort Hotel with at the left the Christian Vallet Forest, in the middle the new resort hotel and to the right the existing Shandrani Hotel. Also visible is the new road
giving access to the site and bordering the planned Resort Village sit with an estimated number of 200 villas.
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EIA was approved in 2009 and building is planned to start
in 2014. Government demanded a setback from the high
water line of at least 100 m for this hotel. Behind and next
to this hotel site Currimjee has planned a villa project, the
Chaland Resort Village. This hotel and resort together will
comprise of about 40 ha, from which 14 hectares in the Pas
Geometrique (see also 3.3.3), in the form of a lease from
government and 26 ha for residential purposes (estimated
number of 200 villas).
A new road, to be built in 2014 by Omnicane and Currimjee,
will give access to the site.
The beautiful beach in front will only be accessible from the
resort and from the side of the public beach.
2.5.10 Environmental and technical issues
Earthquake and Tsunami risks are limited. The possible
future sea-level rise doesn’t seem to be an issue due to
the topography and the restrictions for building along the
shore line. The country has learned to cope with cyclones
and rain storms.
Specific environmental issues are associated with the
nearby airport and the old factory.The noise contours of the
airport, as indicated on the Outline Planning Scheme (see
also page 58) restrain the building of houses, but the Mon
Trésor site is situated outside these noise contours, except
the area west of Blue Bay, close to and under the take-
off route. In the long term, with a considerably higher air
transport intensity, these contours could expand outwards.
This depends on many factors such as type of air planes, air
traffic control/management, and type of buildings between
the source of noise pollution and the Mon Trésor site.
It is not expected that aircraft emissions will significantly
impact the air quality of the Master Plan site because of the
prevailing South Eastern wind.
There are no indications that the former factory site or other
locations within the plan area are contaminated by toxic
emissions. All other sources of hindrance (stone crusher,
chicken farms, fuel station) in the region don’t affect the
Mon Trésor site.
The existing airport access road divides Plaine Magnien in
two, is a danger for the inhabitants and is a potential source
of harmful emissions close to residential areas. The same
applies for the main roads crossing the villages of Rose-
Belle, Plaine Magnien, Trois Boutiques and Mahébourg.
Soil and geomorphology
The site shows poor Latosolic soils and sandy soils on
volcanic bedrock. In this subsoil it is possible that tunnels
and holes are present which could restrict building. A
survey of these types of restrictions is required prior to
building.
Potable water
TheMonTrésorsiteisconnectedtothenationalpotablewater
supply system, managed by the Central Water Authority. The
potable water comes from ground water sources and rivers.
In dry periods there may be insufficient capacity available.
Surface water
Theabsenceofsurfacewatershowsthatthesiteisaretention
site where the rainwater easily infiltrates in the soil. Close
to the factory lies a depression in which superfluous water
infiltrates into the underground. This depression should be
preserved for this function to protect the water reserves.
Sewerage
The site currently has no connection to the public sewerage
connector network. Most houses have sceptic tanks or
absorption pits.
Energy
The site is connected to the electricity network managed
by the governmentally owned Central Electricity Board
(CEB). At present the CEB seeks to diversify its resource mix
to increase the use of locally available renewable sources
to generate energy and to be less dependent on more
polluting and imported fossil sources like coal.
Omnicane itself is a reliable supplier of electricity to the
CEB with its thermal electric-power generation plant (coal/
bagasse cogeneration) in La Baraque, located nearby Mon
Trésor. Equipped with two units of 45 MW the plant delivers
roughly 19% of the total electricity generated at Mauritius
(2011), of which roughly 40% is renewable.
As part of the ‘Maurice Ile Durable’ policy the CEB seeks to
achieve 35% self-sufficiency in electricity supply by 2025
by increasing the share of renewable energy sources.
Currently around one fifth of the electricity generation is
from renewable sources. Bagasse accounts for the major
share of this. Hydro-electricity and wind energy make up
the second and third positions in the renewable total.
With respect to further increasing the use of renewable

Design for the Mon Trésor Site by Espral&IyerRothaug Collaborative, 2006.Sketch by Omnicane, showing the ideas for a golf course, Beach Club and housing at the
borders of the Blue Bay.
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51
energy the CEB is setting up several hydro and wind farm
projects on Mauritius as well as it promotes larger scale
private initiatives such as the wind farms at Plaine des
Roches (9-18 MW), Brittania (22 MW) and Curipepe (20-30
MW). Besides these projects the CEB develops a Grid Code
and Feed-inTariffs to enable third parties to access the CEB’s
power system by producing electricity on renewable Small
Scale Distributed Generators (SSDG) such as solar panels.
Certainly the future grid of the Mon Trésor development
will be fit to facilitate these SSDGs.
The availability and percentage of renewable energy for
the Mon Trésor site is expected to rise steadily due to these
policies, potentially augmented through private initiatives
by residents and developers.
Telecom and internet
The island has an elaborate fibre optic network for both
telephony and data services. Businesses operating in
Mauritius can benefit from ISDN, National and International
digitalleasedlines,FrameRelay,ATMandxDSLconnectivity.
The sector is well-regulated with the following legislative
framework:
• Electronic Transaction Act 2000
• Cyber-crime and Computer Misuse Act 2003
• Data Protection Act 2004.
The airport is connected to the fibre optic network.
Solid waste
Collection is undertaken by solid waste operators who
dispose of it directly at the nearby Mare Chicose Landfill.
2.6 Omnicane Ltd
2.6.1 Omnicane organization and activities
Historically principally a sugar cane grower, Omnicane
today focuses on growing, milling and energy.
The Group currently comprises of a number of companies
in the following main areas of operation:
• Cane Growing;
• Sugar Milling;
• Energy Production;
• Ethanol Production;
• Haulage;
• Hospitality.
2011 saw Omnicane management initiate the development
ofanumberofprojectsinthepropertysphere.Theproperty
development efforts over 2011 and 2012 concerned:
A development location in the highlands where build-to-
sell residential development is now successfully being
undertaken at competitive price levels for middle class
households;
• A development location near Ebene where a more
gradual development is foreseen (industrial property
mostly);
• Development of the Holiday Inn Airport Hotel, via
a lease arrangement with an airport hotel operator
adjoining the SSR International Airport (currently
under construction and due to open late in 2013);
• Further development on the approach and Master
Plan for the larger MonTrésor land holding adjacent to
the SSR International Airport.
2.6.2 Omnicane’s longer term company strategy
The historical socio cultural and economic backdrop of the
sugar industry has not been of any hindrance for Omnicane
stating“yesterday is another country”: The tag line triggers
a forward looking vision of the company firmly attached to
its values of “integrating energies” and meritocracy at all
levels of the organisation and throughout its operations.
Omnicane has a mature position in the sugar and energy
production industries in Mauritius. The future growth
potential for the Group lies principally in expanding its core
agricultural and energy operations into the African market.
A central focus for the Group going forward will therefore
be managing and financing the expansion into Africa.
Omnicane’sobjectiveswithregardtopropertydevelopment
is dominantly to generate funds to support it’s expansion of
agricultural and energy activities into Africa. The purpose is
therefore to generate maximum value from the Omnicane
land positions.This is achieved by selective disposal of non-
strategic land and revenue generation through property
development.
It is notable that Omnicane is a prominent company within
the Mauritian economy, and the company consistently
demonstrates a broader national and social responsibility
within Mauritius. Omnicane has a mature approach to
ensure value creation via a balanced, integrated and long
term approach to development of its property holdings. In
all the company’s activities it’s the ambition of Omnicane to
place economic, social and environmental sustainability at
the centre of activities and development projects.
This will be reflected in the Master Planning of the Mon

The first Omnicane project for the Mon Trésor Site: the Holiday Inn Airport Hotel, to be opened in 2013.
52

53
Trésor development. With new activities the company aims
on creating new chances and new jobs for the country.
2.6.3 Previous plans for the Mon Trésor Site
In August 2006, the predecessor of Omnicane assigned
a South African consultant, Espral & Iyer Rothaug
Collaborative for a master plan for the Mon Trésor area. This
plan is based on a program with a boutique hotel, a beach
hotel and spa, a small marina with adjacent apartments
and retail, golf course, villa-park, Dodo-centre, business
park, beach club and country club.
This plan focuses on tourism and leisure, mainly for rich
foreigners, following the IRS scheme (legal scheme which
gives foreigners the right to own freehold land when
they invest more than USD 500,000) and the absence of
connections with wider Airport area or the longer term.
This master plan was not realised because of unfavourable
market conditions.
2.6.4 Program for the site
In January 2013 Omnicane summarised their ideas and
initiatives for development of the Mon Trésor Area in a
program called ‘Panorama January 2013’, together with
a map with proposed locations (see below) The program
shows the following elements:
• Holiday Inn Airport Hôtel;
• Mare aux songes = DODO PARK Opening January
2015;
• Plaisance Golf Course = At the end of the runway a
championship 18 hole golf course; Opening 2016
• Marina = Apartments adjacent to the club house of the
golf course. Opening 2015;
• Airport city = Around 130 companies are planned to
settle and create the airport city. Starting 2014;
• Five senior residences = Units of 80 apartments of
different origins: French, German, Italian, Asian and
British. Planned first opening 2015;
• Villas = The Airport city will create a demand for
residential properties. Around 300 villas are planned;
• Anti-Aging centre + Thalassotherapy center (9) =
together with the 2 resorts on the beach;
• Resorts = To target mainly the medical destination
new trend;
• Aesthetic clinics;
• Sports space;
• Le Village Outlet shopping = Model : “Chic outlet
shopping villages”;
• The old factory building = to be renovated to
administrative building and animation & recreation
centre;
• Universities and learning centres = A strong demand
arises for service to Africa mainly;
• Beach club and facilities = Along the beach access for
all.
Omnicane sees a Beach Club and a golf course as
indispensable conditions for top end and middle class
development on the Mon Trésor Site. As the best location
for these facilities, Omnicane has chosen for the borders
of the Blue Bay lagoon because of the beauty of the site,
the accessibility for small boats (Marina) and because the
land under the take-off route cannot be used for housing or
hotels. These plans have the status of a preliminary design.
No permits have been applied for yet.
2.6.5 The Airport Hotel
The first project to be realised is the 4 star Holiday inn
Airport Hotel, 1.3 km distance from the terminal building,
comprising of: 140 rooms, a restaurant, meeting facilities,
a sport centre, wellness centre and a swimming pool. The
hotel aims at the tourist and business market.This hotel will
employ approximately 140 people, more than are working
now on the entire Mon Trésor site.
2.6.6 The Dodo Theme Park
Omnicane Co. Ltd in close collaboration with Government
authorities are committed to preserving the region of Mare
aux Songes by establishing an eco-friendly environment
park, comprising of:
• Scientific centre connected with the preservation of
the heritage site;
• An Interactive Museum;
• A Theme Park with gardens which show original
vegetation, a pond;
• Family attractions.
Visitors will therefore familiarize themselves with the
history of the Dodo and the ecosystem in the time of the
dodo. This park will be realised on Omnicane property
by a consortium of private organisations. It will have the
character of a natural park of 16 hectares, including a car
park. The plan is made by a team of French consultants,
independent of the Mon Trésor Master Plan.

Design Dodo Theme Park by French design team contracted by Omnicane
54

55
3 Analysis
3.1 Introduction
An analysis of the current situation of the area, ambitions,
trends, developments and policies, provides a starting
point for the elaboration of the Mon Trésor Master Plan and
also for the strategic assessment.
In this chapter relevant trends and developments are
described and analysed.
3.2 National policies
Thisparagraphgivesasummaryoftherelevantgovernment
policies.
From the discussions with local experts and with
government offcials during the workshops and meetings
it became clear that there are some differences between
policies and all-day practice and specific points of attention
for the Mon Trésor Master Plan. Some policies bring
interesting perspectives for the Mon Trésor site. These are
summarised in a separate section titled ‘comment’ after
each paragraph.
3.2.1 National development strategy (NDS)
The National Development Strategy (April 2003) is a twenty
year vision for the strategic development of Mauritius. The
general policy can be summarized as concentrating future
development in and around strategic growth zones in the
conurbation and in existing major settlements elsewhere.
Before considering the option of the development
of greenfield sites, future development should be
concentrated in places well served by infrastructure and
transport services in, or adjacent to existing settlements
and in urban areas and town centres.
Comment
The Mon Trésor site is, according the NDS and the OPS
(see also paragraph 3.3) considered as a greenfield site.
So, there is no basis for mixed use urban development
according the national policies. However, Omnicane has
acquired the right to convert 400 ha agricultural land
into residential, tourist and business functions. During
the workshops, the government representatives advised
to make an Area Action Plan (see also paragraph 3.2.5)
for this converted land, which will have to be approved
by government after which the OPS will be changed
accordingly by government.
3.2.2 Budget Speech 2013
The budget speech from November 2012 identifies
the challenges faced by the Mauritian economy, whilst
outlining measures aimed at protecting the economy from
the negative impacts of the current global economic crisis.
The budget is focused around the following objectives:
• Supporting economic growth and employment
creation (for example in the financial services,
manufacturing , ICT-BPO and logistics and distribution
sectors);
• Reinforcing the African strategy;
• Ensuring a sound macroeconomic environment;
• Sustainable development;
• Accelerating technological transition;
• Strengthening public services.

56
Comment
The Mon Trésor site has the potential to fit very well in
these objectives when it supports the settlement of new
companies from abroad in the preferred sectors, bringing
new employment and wealth to the region. A point of
concern for the Mon Trésor Master Plan is the supply of
good quality public services.
3.2.3 Maurice Ile Durable (MID)
The main objective of the Maurice Ile Durable concept is to
make Mauritius a world model of sustainable development,
particularly in the context of SIDS (Small Island Developing
States). While the initial thrust was to minimize the
dependency on fossil fuels through increased utilization
of renewable energy and a more efficient use of energy
in general, the MID concept soon broadened to include
all aspects of development, i.e. economic, social and the
environmental aspects as these are considered pivotal
in the quest for a sustainable Mauritius. The MID project
rests on five designated Es, namely Energy, Environment,
Education, Employment and Equity. It now embraces
the concept of becoming self-sustaining and promoting
sustainable development in the 5Es.
(Source: quotation from the official MID website www.etc).
Comment
This policy is closely connected with the assignment for
the Mon Trésor Master Plan, in which long term sustainable
development is one of the key objectives.
Attention for Energy and Environment is obvious for the
MonTrésor Master Plan since these are standard subjects in
master planning. Employment could be a central theme in
theplansincetheadjacentairportcouldbeusedasatrigger
for business development. Equity could be translated into
a focus, not only on rich foreigners but also or preferably
on local middle-class. Education could be addressed in
the form of reserving locations for educational functions:
schools, training, science centre and so on.
3.2.4 Transport planning
The transport policy and strategy focus on integrated
planning for land use and transport, providing safe and
convenient travel options, the reduction of dependency on
the private car for journeys to work and the improvement
of social and environmental conditions. Sustainable and
environmentally friendly means of transport should
be considered explicitly. The provision of bicycle and
pedestrian facilities and well-thought parking facilities
requires special attention.
Planned Transport Improvements
Road congestion is a daily and still growing problem
especially in the Port Louis region. Programs and
investments in infrastructure have been set up to alleviate
the pressure on the existing road system and to aid a freer
traffic circulation:
• New road connections, increase of road capacity
• A traffic management and road decongestion program
for Port Louis,
• A plan for the construction of a new public transport
system between Port Louis and Curepipe, the Light
Rail Transit (LRT). The National Government decided
recently to implement a first section of the LRT,
between Curepipe and Port Louis, starting in 2014.
Road improvements in and around the Airport region are
planned, but not formalized yet. Governmental maps show
new extensions of some B-roads, connecting the A1 (Mare
d’Albert) with the South Coast (Souillac). It’s unclear what
the actual status of these plans is.
3.2.5 Action Area Plans (AAP’s)
An Action Area Plan is a development plan in terms of
the Planning and Development Act 2004. This type of
plan applies to sites for major development in designated
growth zones (identified within the NDS) and in other
suitable areas of significance for environmental, social
or economic planning. If these major developments are
acceptable on planning grounds, scheme promoters and
private sector developers are encouraged to bring forward
Action Area Plans. In preparing such Action Area Plans
consideration should also be given to the requirements for
future support activities including public transport, traffic
management and new highways and housing, education
and health facilities. In these cases planning for future
adequate water, sanitation and solid waste facilities are
important considerations. Based on the OPS the process of
Action Area planning will involve:

57
• An area-wide approach to integrated development
planning and design;
• Targeted public and private sector investments;
• In appropriate circumstances, the use of planning
obligations/agreements, and improved and simplified
mechanisms, including financial incentives for project
implementation.
Comment
During the workshops and meetings with government
representatives, it became clear that no Area Action plan
has been submitted until now on Mauritius. There is no
description available of or regulations for the preferred
contents of such a plan (level of detail, topics, surveys)
and it’s not clear which authority is entitled to assess and
approve an Area Action Plan for the Mon Trésor site. This
situation makes it difficult to prepare such a plan properly
and brings risks for the initiator. On the other hand, the
description of an Area Action Plan shows that a carefully
prepared and integrated plan is what government expects
for a large development area, before individual building
requests will be assessed. Given that the Mon Trésor Master
Plan has been developed exactly in this spirit of integrated
and sustainable development, it can perfectly serve as
basis for such a formal Area Action Plan. Representatives of
the Ministry of Housing and Lands and the District Council
advised that an Area Action Plan should have a scope, not
exceeding 10 -15 years and should be of moderate size.The
connections with surrounding areas (roads, relations with
adjacent functions) should be indicated in the explanation
of the Area Action Plan.The plan should give a level of detail
and enough information to estimate the consequences for
the environment, traffic et cetera.
3.2.6 IRS, RES and IHS
Until recently foreigners were not permitted to purchase
property in Mauritius. In 2002 the Mauritian Government
took the decision to open the market to foreign buyers
on a restricted basis through a project named IRS. The
Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS) is specifically designed to
facilitate the acquisition of resort and residential property
by non-citizens on the island.
The Real Estate Scheme (RES) for small landowners allows
the development of any mix of residences for sale mainly to
non-citizens on freehold land of an extent of at least 1 acre
but not exceeding 10 hectares.
The Invest-Hotel Scheme (IHS) allows hotel developers to
finance the development of a hotel project by allowing
them to sell villas, suites, rooms or other components that
form part of the hotel to individual buyers.
Comment
These schemes were used for a boom in developing many
resorts and hotels, bringing foreign investmenst and
employment to Mauritius. The IRS scheme was the basis
for the 2006 plan for the Mon Trésor site (see also 2.6.3).
Nowadays the market for high end tourist and resort
development seems to be saturated. Many plots in resorts
are for sale. There are signs that some high end resorts
are making considerable losses. Another example for the
declining high end tourist market is that the construction
of the Le Chaland hotel could have started a few years
ago, but this start has been postponed. This hotel is to be
developed by Currimjee.
Respondents stated several times that the island is
confronted with an over capacity of hotel facilities.
3.2.7 Land property and conversion rights
When the prices for sugar on the international markets
fall, sugar companies moved into new fields of enterprise.
The most obvious move was into property development
(residential, commercial, business parks, and IRS/RES) given
the vast areas belonging to the estates. The second was
to increase energy production from bagasse-only power
generators to bagasse-coal generators able to produce
additional on and off-season electricity. The third and
less obvious move has been into tourism either by way of
tourist attractions or hotels.
Sugar companies were the first to build Integrated Resort
Schemes (IRS), for example designated gated communities
where wealthy foreigners could purchase freehold
property.
Omnicane is one of the sugar companies which has moved
into property development. In this regard an area of 400 ha,
owned by Omnicane, adjacent to the country’s airport has
been converted from agricultural land to non-agricultural
purposes to be zoned for mixed-use urban development.

The Grand Port Savanne Outline Planning Scheme (revised 2011)
58

59
3.2.8 Land conversion permit
Adjacent to this land Omnicane owns a large area which
is not yet converted. To develop this land a permit for land
conversion is required. The Ministry of Agro-Industry and
Food Security has the authority to grant conversion of
agricultural land to non-agricultural use. For this conversion
the land owner has to pay a fee to the government.
Conversion rights don’t have to be connected to a specific
location: the rights can be transferred to other sites, with
permission of government.

3.2.9 Specific Policies and regulations
According to the Environmental Protection Act 2002 and
its amendments, an Environmental Impact Assessment
License will be required for the Mon Trésor Master Plan or
parts of it.
The Minister is allowed to request an EIA for any non- listed
activity, which, by reason of its nature, scope, scale and
sensitivelocationcouldhaveanimpactontheenvironment.
Other laws which influence the the master plan are:
• The Fisheries and Marine Resources Act 1998 & MPA
regulations 2001 (and amendments 2007);
• The National Parks andWildlife Act (1993), the National
Parks and Reserves Regulations 1996, the Wildlife
Regulations of 1998;
• The National Environmental Action Plan for the next
decade (NEAP, 1999).
Comment
These laws and attached regulations will restrain the
possibilities for the developments of the coastal zone,
especially close to Blue Bay. The laws are not always very
specific and regulations may change during the planning
process. Governmental officials are not entitled to give
advice on the feasibility in preliminary consultations; they
advise to “make a plan and an EIA and send it to us, then
we will give you an answer”. There are no formal standards
showing the criteria on which a plan will be judged. The
fact that government is provided with information from
surveys which are not publically accessible makes the task
even more difficult. It is therefore difficult to predict which
plan or development will be granted permission.
During the meetings and workshops, representatives
announced new initiatives for the Blue Bay Marine Park.
Due to intense use of the area, biodiversity is decreasing,
creating the need to improved management and new rules
for use of the Bay and the borders. The legal distance for
building ‘solid structures’ is 30 m from the high water line.
But there are many examples where a distance of 50 m
was demanded for permission. For the Le Chaland Hotel
a distance of 100 m was required. Representatives of the
Ministry of Environment announced considering a distance
of 200 m for the borders of the Blue Bay.
For the management of Blue Bay several ministries have set
up a special committee. New regulations and measures are
expected in due time.
For the Mon Trésor Master Plan this situation means that
Omnicane should be very cautious when formulating
ambitious plans for sensitive areas along the coast and Blue
Bay. These plans should not be conditional for other parts
in the master plan or for the master plan as a whole.
3.2.10 Design quality
New development should conserve and enhance the
character and attractiveness of the district. Proposed
development should be expected to conform to the
national Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) on the design
quality of:
• Residential Development;
• Industrial Development;
• Commercial Development;
• Hotels and Integrated Resorts Development and
• Any future nationally-adopted Design Guidance
matter.
Comment
Some of the rules in this guidance are approved by law and
are mandatory. Most of them have no formal status but are
used as rules in the process of permitting.

60
3.3 Regional policy: Outline Planning scheme
(OPS)
The 1954 Town and Country Planning Act provides for
approved Schemes to be used as the main reference
against which building and land use permit applications
are judged. The Mon Trésor area is part of the Grand Port
District. For the Grand Port Savanne District an Outline
PlanningScheme(OPS)wasapprovedin2006andreviewed
(without major changes) in 2011.
The OPS is mainly based on two policies:
• Strategic Development (SD) policies which are generic
to a variety of development types and have district-
wide application;
• Detailed Development policies which mainly apply to
a particular land use type, settlement or area.
Strategic development policies should be used to
determine if the development, in principle, is likely to be
given an approval given a range of specified criteria. Once
the ‘in-principle‘ decision has been taken to proceed,
the detailed development policies and related Design
Guidance for specific land use types should be used to
prepare or assess key elements of the proposal, such as it’s
likely impacts on adjoining uses, the local community and
amenity and the natural and built environment.
Comment
Most remarkable feature is that the OPS, which has been
revised in 2011, doesn’t contain any reference to the
conversion rights, acquired by Omnicare for 400 ha mixed
use development South of the airport.
3.3.1 Environmentally Sensitive Areas
The Outline Planning Scheme (OPS) for Grand Port Savanne
also deals with the protection and conservation of the
natural environment. The natural environment is protected
by the designation of Environmentally Sensitive Areas
(ESAs).ESAsareregulatedbytheworkingofseveralnational
Acts (mentioned above). Any development proposed
within or adjoining these Environmentally Sensitive Areas
will be required to first obtain an Environmental Impact
Assessment licence under the Environment Protection Act
2002, prior to seeking a development permit.
Following from the OPS the natural and open character
of Scenic Landscape Areas should be protected.Proposals
for tourism, leisure or recreation, or an integrated resort
scheme, settlement extension or new settlement adjoining
or as part of a Scenic Landscape Area may be allowed
where they are in accordance with the sequential approach
to site identification.
Due to their open natural physical attributes, some areas
whilst consisting of vegetation of limited ecological or
natural landscape value, provide variation and character
to the countryside, coast or within or on the edge of
settlements. Whilst such areas are not worthy of protection
on ecological grounds alone, or on grounds of outstanding
natural beauty, they can contribute to the scenic attributes
of built-up areas. The open countryside and the coast
and are thus worthy of conservation, consistent with the
principle of sustainable development.
Strategic open gaps: A positive approach to the retention,
provision, use and treatment of open countryside between
settlements should be adopted by safeguarding open
land from built development and maintaining its positive
contribution in providing a visual and physical break
between settlements.
Strategic open spaces play a significant role in sustaining
and improving the amenity of settlements in urban and
rural areas, attracting new investment, employment
opportunities and improving the quality of life of residents
and workers.
Comment
The OPS shows several Environmentally Sensitive Areas
and Scenic Landscape Areas within the Mon Trésor Master
Plan site:
• Blue Bay;
• The fishery reserve before the Mon Trésor coast line;
• Mangroves at the borders of Blue Bay;
• Wetland at Mares aux Songes;
• The entire coastal strip.
Noteworthy is that the neither the Christian Vallet forest or
the Ruisseau des Mares du Tabac are indicated as locations
of special interest and that neither the old factory or the

61
adjacent compound or the old lane are mentioned as
having a specific landscape or heritage value.
3.3.2 Fishing Reserve (Marine Protected Area)
Bordering on the Blue Bay Marine Park is the Grand Port
Fishing Reserves, Zones A and B. It was proclaimed a
Fishing Reserve under the Fisheries and Marine Resources
Act 1998. The reserve has been set up to protect and
conserve habitats that are nursery grounds for juvenile fish.
The Fisheries and Marine Resources Act (Marine Protected
Areas) Regulations 2001 provide for the conservation and
protection of the reserves. It stipulates the allowed and
permitted fishing methods.
Recently surveys have been carried out in some reserves
prior to the release of juveniles. The Fishing Reserves
surveyed were characterized by extensive sea grass and
macro-algal beds and were found to be excellent breeding
and nursery ground since large schools of juvenile fish of
different species were recorded.
Comment
It’s not yet clear which limitations this fishery reserve will
bring for developments on the adjacent land. It is to be
expected that all developments in or close to the sea will
require an Environmental Impact Assessment.
3.3.3 Pas Geometrique
The Pas Geometrique is a stretch of land along the coast,
measuring about 82 m from the high water line which is the
property of the government by law. Omnicane has acquired
long term leases for two stretches of this land within the
MonTrésor site: at Blue Bay and in the south at La Combuse.
According to the lease contract Omnicane is entitled to
develop both the coastal strips, but, as indicated above,
regulations concerning the ecological and landscape
values of this land prevent the development of any ‘solid
structures’when a setback distance of 100 m is be applied.
Omnicane has in store some progressive plans related to
the development and enhancement of the coastal zone of
La Cambuse.
Experience elsewhere on Mauritius shows that after the
lease period for the Pas Geometrique, government might
decide to allow all kinds of settlements in these coastal
zones: small businesses, bars, temples and so on. The
Mon Trésor Master Plan should endeavour to find a fitting
solution for this problem.
3.4 Socio-economic situation and market analysis
3.4.1 Summary of the socio economic survey
In order to prepare a well-founded development plan for
the MonTrésor site a social-economic analysis on a national
and regional level is necessary. With the results of this
analysis the opportunities for the development of preferred
functions in the region can be estimated. The analysis
focuses on a strategic, analytical and broad assessment of
the country’s current situation, relevant trends and main
parameters influencing the intended development of Mon
Trésor.
3.4.2 Limitations
The initial objective of the study was to scan the market
opportunities for the Mon Trésor site. For such a survey
basic information is required, such as comprehensive
statistics (looking back) and forecasts (looking forward)
for demographic and economic development. In
most countries governmental or semi-governmental
organisations gather and provide this information.
However, in Mauritius forecasts are not available, especially
not per region, which makes it virtually impossible to make
any quantitative forecasts for the Master Plan site.
For the international market and potential foreign
investments in the fields of tourism, industrial and
commercial activities, there are no databases available
which can help forecasting. This potential market for
foreign investment is so diverse and dispersed over the

62
world that a survey of these opportunities is not possible
within the framework of this master plan.
This report is therefore mainly based on available literature,
statistics, face-to-face interviews with local experts and
workshops with governmental officials. Trends and actual
developments have been analysed and available statistical
material has been extrapolated as far as possible to forecast
bandwidths of development in sectors. The result is an
overview of socio-economic development in the country
and the Southern region, where the Mon Trésor site is
located. The approach in this report is pragmatic in terms
of general outlines for the program, based on the available
market organisation.
3.4.3 General perspective
The Mon Trésor development is situated in peripheral
region, but can be described as a potential intermediate
zone, thanks to the nearby airport and the good connection
with the conurbation. Given the growth perspectives of
the international airport (from 2,7 now up to 5,3 million
passengers in 2022 and as per AML projections further
to 10 million passengers on the long term) there are
interesting prospects for commercial development,
offering opportunities for attracting firms and institutions
and creating jobs in the southern part of Mauritius. Growing
employment is a good basis for residential development
close by.
3.4.4 Economic activities
Taking into consideration the geographical position of
the area and the vicinity of the airport there is particular
potential for light manufacturing, logistics and (supporting)
services.Headquartersandfinancialfirms–allcharacterised
by high decision power and because of that interested in
being clustered – will remain in or nearby the conurbation
as long as there is no airport city. The same goes for the
services for these types of firms such as lawyers, advertising
& communication, and the like. That is not to say that there
are no opportunities for back offices, for example for the
financial sector.
Sector Mauritius South Mon Trésor
Light manufacturing 0 0 +/++
Logistics + + + +
Tourism + + + +
Retail 0 / - - -
ICT / BPO + + 0 0 / +
Financial Services + + 0 0 / +
Housing + + + +
Table: Growth potential per sector for Mauritius, the South and
Mon Trésor
The establishment of economic activities in the Mon Trésor
area will partly be determined by the competitive power
and the available space on or near the airport. That applies
to logistics and to a certain extent to manufacturing. The
rules for the Freeport Zone planned to be developed on the
Airport will determine this. On the other hand salaries in a
Freeport Zone area are rising compared to those outside.
This hampers the competitive power of a Freeport Zone to
a certain extent.
It is obvious that the best situation for economic activities
is immediately west of and parallel to the airport. Higher
quality business estates should be situated on a clearly
visible location close to airport. The economic zone can
consist of three types of development:
• A manufacturing park; aiming at light / clean
manufacturing in a functional, relatively low spatial
quality environment;
• A high tech park; aiming at high-tech, light industrial
activities and a part of the office sector (which will
be able to find the right conditions here) such as
call centres and ICT. Office(like) activities should be
situated near the main infrastructure;
• A logistics park; aiming at distributional activities in a
functional, relatively low spatial quality environment.
The logistic park needs to be reserved for logistic firms and
sustaining services exclusively.The manufacturing park and
the high tech park can be realised on the same location,
where they will choose for different levels of quality, which
can be facilitated with a zoning in plot size, quality and

63
pricing. The dividing line between these two zones will be
determined by the market.
From experience we know that location, visibility and
quality of the site are the most important criteria for
companies in choosing their location. When a business
park complies with these criteria and is managed well, a
broad spectrum of economic activities will be able to find
a suitable space.
3.4.5 Tourism, leisure and shopping
Tourism is an important growth sector. There is a strong
focusonbeaches,(luxury)hotelsandhighprice,luxurystays.
Some respondents advocate mid-price accommodation
(for example bungalows, bed & sbreakfast, apartments),
complementary to the existing offer on the island.
The development of a large scale shopping centre that goes
beyond the normal catchment area of a small town is not
an option here.Too many shopping centres have been built
and another one has no real attraction power on tourists.
A (fashion) outlet centre is a very specific type of shopping
centre. To function well it needs a broad offer and a large
catchment area. There is possibly a market for only one
such centre on Mauritius. Because people tend to travel
1 – 2 hours to such an outlet shopping centre, the Mon
Trésor site, however far outside the conurbation, might
be a possible location, but we have to keep in mind that
car ownership is relatively low. On the other hand, the
proximity of the airport can be seen as advantageous.
As is the case with most tourist developments, it is hard
to predict the market. The main question is, if one of the
leading developers in this field is interested. To profit from
the flows of tourists going to or travelling from the airport,
a (fashion) outlet centre can best be situated as near to the
airport entrance and the highway as possible.
Finally, local experts do not believe that a park with the
Dodo as the main theme will become a tourist attraction.
The number of visitors is estimated to be too low to attract
other investments.
3.4.6 A mixed housing development
In the Program Based Budget for 2012 – 2014 the
government has set the targets for the next ten years. The
construction of over 30,000 houses is needed. It is expected
that 27% of the houses should be affordable for low income
households; the remainder is for serviced lots for the lower-
middle and middle income households. Notwithstanding
the fact that social /affordable housing is among the top
priorities,alltheinterviewedlocalexpertsseeopportunities
for the development of middle income housing.
As the population grows further and household size
decreases, Mauritius will face an on-going demand for land
to build houses on.
Local experts consider the airport region to be the next
area of development boosted by the nearby international
airport and the proper highway connection with the
conurbation. Local experts point out that people are willing
to move to another region as long as this brings them a
better standard of living.
The period between 2000 and 2011 has shown an increase
of 18.6% in housing units in the district of Grand Port. The
figures in the table below characterize the housing sector
in the region in 2011.
Number /
percentage
Total housing units 30,286
Type of housing (share of total housing units):
Detached housing units 58.7%
Semi-detached housing units 22.7%
Block of flats with 3 or more housing
units
11.0%
Building crudely sub dived into smaller
housing units
2.1%
Housing units in partly residential
buildings
5.6%
Public 0.1%
Table: General housing figures of Grand Port Source: CSO
Mauritius

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