35% completed, this mega project is a four-lane highway (dual carriageway) of 15.7 km. Red Earth / Verdun Link Road is, in fact, the first biggest project we had, which cost $ 2.2 billion is funded largely by the French Development Agency (AFD), which Maurice offered 40 million euros for the start of construction of this first phase. The French engineering company, in association with Gibb (Mauritius) Ltd, acted as a consultant. The 40 million represent 91% of the total.
AFD has imposed strict conditions that we must follow to the letter. The Minister of Public Infrastructure Anil Bachoo conducted a 'site visit' Monday morning and said he was fully satisfied with the progress observed in the field. He does not believe that Mauritius has experienced a similar site.
"This is an important 'challenging project." He began to Terre-Rouge and ends at Trianon, which makes us a 28 km drive from 21 meters wide, a dual carriageway. There are eight roundabouts, seven major bridges and three 'great separated junctions'. It was the work of two mountains, we cut to 30 feet deep but did not make tunnels. It is possible that there will be a small delay in the first phase, due to the climate that we played a trick. This first phase will go beyond October. "
When it rains, mud is everywhere on the site and it is difficult for the contractor to do the work. It is for this reason we have delays in the first phase. But for the second phase, we will be on time and will be completed in October next year. The biggest problem we faced was the acquisition of land. In some places we could not make land acquisitions because their owners do not want us to sell them. For this, the State Law Office (SLO) will take over " the minister argued.
The second phase will link Verdun to Trianon. The work will be financed by the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa. Assistance of 21 million euros is expected. The cost of this route of 11.6 km is 35 million. The project was completed to 15%. The total project cost is around Rs 4 billion. As for the toll, Anil Bachoo said the issue has been considered by the government, and that a study was done on the subject. "Then we'll cross the bridge when we reach it."
According to information overlap, as the government builds the roads in partnership with the private sector in a Public Private Partnership (PPP), already, c ' Clearly, these roads will be paid.