Minister Anil Bachoo reports that the government plans to build more roads

Minister Bachoo says that economic growth and the increase of vehicles on the roads in the country of 15 000 annually, are among of the causes of traffic jams in Mauritius. To resolve this problem, over two dozen roads are under construction, reports the minister Bachoo. He added that the construction of more than a dozen roads is now complete.

In addition, he stress that another strategy to decrease traffic congestion - light rail is still on the list of government projects. “We are seeing the modalities for the Rapid Transit System.A team of experts will visit Singapore before the end of this year to move forward with this project”, he said.

The Minister of Public Infrastructure continued that till now free transport has cost Rs 3.5 billion to the government. It will be recalled that this measure was introduced in September 2005 to enable schoolchildren, pensioners and persons with disabilities to use bus free. However, the Minister says that 208 complaints were recorded and 124 owners of private buses would not receive benefits anymore, because have not complied with the conditions of free transport.

Improvements are also planned at the National Transport Company (NTC), which will have 46 new buses in the coming weeks, as the fleet of the NTC has many worn buses. Moreover, the Minister announced that Mauritius Land and Transport Authority will be running in about three months.