maart 2013

URBAN DEVELOPMENTHuisstijl

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: Mon Trésor 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

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The contextIn 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 Long Term Regional Vision 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

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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, well connected with Asia, Europe and the Middle East, 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 PlanThe 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.

BusinessThe 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 servicesThe 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.

TransportThe 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 developmentThe 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 offerThe 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.

PhasingThe 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 developmentThe 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 AssessmentThe impacts of the plan on the environment and the risks for 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.

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EIB European Investment BankMTDC Mon Tresor Development CompanyEIA Environmental Impact AssessmentSA Strategic AssessmentAML Airports of Mauritius CO LTDGDP Gross Domestic ProductBPO Business Process OutsourcingLRT Light Rail TransitBPML Business Parks of Mauritius LtdMTMP Mon Tresor Master Plan MUR Mauritian RupeeUSD United States DollarISDN Integrated Services Digital NetworkATM Asynchronous Transfer ModeIRS Integrated resort schemeRES Real Estate SchemeIHS Invest Hotel SchemeNDS National Development Strategy

OPS Outline Planning SchemeAAP Area Action PlanMID Maurice Ile Durable SIDS Small Island Developing StatesNEAP National Environment Action PlanPPG Planning Policy GuidanceSD Strategic DevelopmentESA’s Environmentally Sensitive AreasPPP People, Planet,ProfitGFA Ground Floor AreaCCTV surveillance Closed Circuit television surveillanceLTRDV Long Term Regional Development VisionBREEAM BRE Environmental Assessment MethodCWA Central Water AuthorityHa HectareCEB Contract Electricity Board

List of abbreviations

Water front Mahébourg

Executive Summary 5

List of abbreviations 11

1 Introduction 151.1 Assignment and objectives 151.2 Deliverables 151.3 The process and methodology 151.4 The master plan team 171.5 Stakeholder engagement 191.6 Outline of subsequent chapters/ Reading guide 19

2 Location and context 212.1 The Island Mauritius 212.2 The Airport region 252.3 The SSR International Airport 292.4 The coastal zone 332.5 The Mon Trésor site 372.6 Omnicane Ltd 51

3 Analysis 553.1 Introduction 553.2 National policies 553.3 Regional policy: Outline Planning scheme (OPS) 603.4 Socio-economic situation and market analysis 613.5 Urban development in Mon Trésor ? 653.6 Improving accessibility in the Airport region 703.7 Urban development, Blue Bay Marine Park and coastal zone 703.8 Environmental and technical issues and constraints 713.9 Conclusion: Strengths and weaknesses in the present situation 72

4 Vision and Strategy 754.1 Principles for the Mon Trésor Master Plan 754.2 Other principles 764.3 Vision for the project 794.4 Strategy 79

5 Long term Regional Development Vision 2065 875.1 Introduction 875.2 Program 875.3 Transport and infrastructure 895.4 Land use and zoning 955.5 Technical issues and constraints 995.6 Phasing 99

6 First phase / 10-years / MT Masterplan 1036.1 Master Plan for 10 year horizon 1036.2 Outlines of Mon Trésor Master Plan 1036.3 Description urban design 1236.4 Designs for future expansions 145

7 Assessments 1577.1 Explanation 1577.2 The Assessment table 1577.3 Strategic assessment – Long term development vision / regional perspective 1587.4 Strategic assessment – Master Plan / 10-year plan for Mon Trésor 1627.5 Strategic assessment – Possible future expansions Master Plan 1647.6 Remarkable scores 1677.7 Financial assessment 1677.8 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 Mon Trésor 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 SpecialistInga Bleiere Technical Assistance Unit Specialist

For Omnicane Ltd:Jacques d’Unienville Chief Executive OfficerJoël Bruneau Head of Property DevelopmentPatrice Binet – Décamps Project Development ExecutiveEmily Olivier Property Sales & Marketing ManagerOlaf 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 VillageHoliday 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

Blue Bay Village

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 environmentThe 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 MauritiusMauritius 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 comparedto 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 are concerned, Mauritius endeavours to become a preferred 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 share of built-up areas is gradually increasing at the expense 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 concentrated along the Western en North-Eastern coastline, 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 perspectiveThe 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, road congestion is growing and traffic jams are occurring on 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 developmentsA 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 office development managed by Business Parks of Mauritius 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 descriptionThe 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 economyIn 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

MahébourgThe 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 BoutiquesMahébourg

Trois Boutiques

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Rose Belle

Plaine MagnienRose-Belle

Plaine Magnien

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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 MagnienThe 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 regionAttached 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 18.000 m2, with space for 150 commercial units, among which 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 developmentThe 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

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Example of typical morcellement with narrow streets and no other public space31

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.The Western 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.

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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 Mon Trésor 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 landscapeThe 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 HeritageThe 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.

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Borders of Blue Bay

Mare aux SongesShandrani Hotel

Le Chaland

Christian Vallet ForestLa 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 useThe site is mainly in use for the culture of sugar cane. 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 Cane Yields 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 Mon Trésor 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 aspectsMahébourg 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. There are many blind alleys and streets are very narrow 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 for car traffic; people meet in the high streets and sometimes 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.No ecological survey of the site is available. The government

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 ParkThe 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.44

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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 BayArea 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 areaSpecific 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 ValleyThe 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 ForestForest with mainly introduced species in a rocky depression, 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 training centre, which will be replaced by the new Currimjee 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

Beach La Combuse

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 geomorphologyThe 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 waterThe Mon Trésor site is connected to the national potable water 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 The absence of surface water shows that the site is a retention 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.

SewerageThe site currently has no connection to the public sewerage connector network. Most houses have sceptic tanks or absorption pits.

EnergyThe 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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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-in Tariffs 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 digital leased lines, Frame Relay, ATM and xDSL connectivity. 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 wasteCollection 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 activitiesHistorically 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 of a number of projects in the property sphere. The property 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 Mon Trésor land holding adjacent to the SSR International Airport.

2.6.2 Omnicane’s longer term company strategyThe 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’s objectives with regard to property development 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.

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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 siteIn 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 HotelThe 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 ParkOmnicane 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

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3 Analysis3.1 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

This paragraph gives a summary of the relevant government 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.

CommentThe 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 2013The 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.

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CommentThe 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).

CommentThis 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 Mon Trésor Master Plan since these are standard subjects in master planning. Employment could be a central theme in the plan since the adjacent airport could be used as a trigger 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 planningThe 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 ImprovementsRoad 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:

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• 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.

CommentDuring 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 IHSUntil 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 rightsWhen 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

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3.2.8 Land conversion permitAdjacent 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 regulationsAccording 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 sensitive location could have an impact on the environment.

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 and Wildlife 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).

CommentThese 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.

CommentSome 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.

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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 Planning Scheme (OPS) was approved in 2006 and reviewed (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.

CommentMost 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 AreasThe 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). ESAs are regulated by the working of several national 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.

CommentThe 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

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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.

CommentIt’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 Mon Trésor 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 surveyIn order to prepare a well-founded development plan for the Mon Trésor 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

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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 activitiesTaking 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. Headquarters and financial firms – all characterised 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

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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 shoppingTourism is an important growth sector. There is a strong focus on beaches, (luxury) hotels and high price, luxury stays. 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 developmentIn 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, all the interviewed local experts see opportunities 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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Eindhoven Airport Flight Forum Eindhoven

Eindhoven Airport at short distance of the ringroad. Flight Forum Eindhoven

Example: Eindhoven Airport

The SSR International Airport is the main airport of a small, isolated country with a modest HUB function. This situation makes it difficult to compare it with many national airports. Some regional airports are in size and catchment area more comparable and one of these is Eindhoven Airport. Eindhoven Airport was originally a military airport, was converted for civil use in the end of the 20 century and was replaced to a new location close by at the fringe of the City of Eindhoven. Eindhoven lies in the South of the Netherlands, is the centre of an urban area with about 700.000 inhabitants. Eindhoven Airport is the second airport of The Netherlands and lies at about 150 km from Schiphol Airport, the fourth Airport in size from Europe, with 51 million passengers in 2012. Eindhoven airport serves about 65 destinations, all in Europe. Since the new start-up, some 20 years ago, Eindhoven Airport shows a fast development to about 3 million passengers in 2012. Eindhoven Airport is closely connected with the highway network of The Netherlands via the Eindhoven Ringroad. Business parks are located just South of the airport, as a buffer to the adjacent residential quarters. The business parks measure together about 160 ha from which 55 ha is reserved for airport related business. The airport is connected with several other business parks within a short drive over the ringroad.

Just South of the zone with business parks lies the residential area and new town Meerhoven, offering good quality housing .

For more information:www.eindhovenairport.nlor search on ‘Flight Forum Eindhoven’ and ‘Park Forum Eindhoven Airport’.

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Households in Mauritius clearly favour detached and semidetached houses (although there are signs that well-priced, good quality apartments are becoming popular) and are very much interested in owning their own homes. As it is not possible to estimate the ratio between the different segments in the housing market an adjusted planning principle can be followed here: make the spatial master plan flexible by planning for a framework in which different categories of housing can be realised according to the market situation. Points of concern for the Mauritian housing market are: the desire to be a home owner, the family-centric ethos and (hence) the needs of the younger generation who strive for independence and owning their own homes/real estate.

3.5 Urban development in Mon Trésor ?

Some questions arise when reading the assignment for a 400 ha mixed use urban development in a remote landscape in the quiet South-East of Mauritius. Is the Mon Trésor site a logical location for such a development ? Are there any alternatives to be considered? What could be the rationale behind the program? How could such an urban development be sustainable?

3.5.1 Review of urban development in the past decadesAlthough Mauritius has shown a remarkable economic and social development in the last decades, the country is

confronted with new challenges, related to further socio-economic development. For future wealth development the economy needs to diversify, especially by attracting foreign investments and companies. Mauritius is a pearl in the African crown since it is safe, politically stable, well connected with the world by port and airport. It has a strong legislative framework, a well-educated population speaking several languages and a favourable tax system. For all these reasons Mauritius is an attractive proposition for foreign investments. But there also serious threats, such as the dated cities, the traffic jams on the M1 Motorway as well as on the main roads in the cities and the urban sprawl to the North, West and East. When the economy grows further , it may be expected that car possession will increase, increasing congestion and that the growing middle-class will leave the cities at a higher pace than at the moment, leaving behind the existing cities with aggravated problems. This should be assessed as a serious threat for the socio-economic development of the country as these cities are also the main economic basis for the country, hosting a major share of business and employment. Foreign investors will assess these problems as risks as well as the uncertainty as to when and how government will solve the problems. Both can influence the long term profitability of their investments in a decisive manner.Government is working on solutions for these problems: they are trying to restrain urban sprawl through policy, they have started with the improvement (widening) of the

M1 and are building new roads, such as the new ring road for Port Louis, and the planning of a light-rail between Port Louis and Curepipe. It’s obvious that these projects will alleviate the pressure on the existing cities, but they cost enormous amounts of money and moreover, the take many years to be completed. And, when the problems on the M1 are solved in the future, there still are the traffic problems in the existing cities, where streets and main roads are not designed to cope with the growing number of private cars. The narrow streets and roads, the scattered land possession and the unplanned structure makes renewal of these cities a very difficult, expensive and long term job.

3.5.2 Review of governmental spatial policies The existing spatial policy for the country, the National Development Strategy was presented 10 years ago. Judging the results, the conclusion is that the chosen policy for a passive and friendly restrictive policy to support the existing cities isn’t sufficient. The urban sprawl, business sites and shopping malls that pop up in the countryside show that this policy tends to aggravate the existing trends and problems. An example: the overcapacity in shops, caused by unlimited building of shopping centres outside the cities, causes shops in the city to close, making urban life for the middle class even less attractive. The former green and tourist friendly country side is more and more spoiled by unplanned and unattractive ‘morcellements’, the price the country pays for unlimited private enterprise and building.

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Les Allés d’Helvetia

Les Allés d’Helvetia is a residential project close to St.Pierre in the Moka region, located centrally on the island, developed by ENL Property. The location is situated at a main road, close to existing traditional residential development, a primary and a secondary school.The project consists of 200 housing units: 84 3 bed room townhouses or ‘duplexes’, 49 4 bed room townhouses and 39 apartments. Next to housing the project contains a shopping centre and a sports and fitness centre with tennis courts and a swimming pool.There are three phases from development; the first is already inhabited, the second is in the stage of construction and third is on the market for sales. All houses will be sold from the drawing, are designed by well-known architects and will be built by contractors. The site is designed with spacious roads, pavements, green areas, parking on the streets as well as on the plots. The green areas are maintained by a contractor and the site is surveyed by a security company. The entire site is publically accessible.Compared with the traditional and mostly messy ‘morcellements’ on the one hand and with the luxurious, high quality, gated resorts on the other hand this project is a pleasing example of elegant, comfortable middle-class suburban housing. The quality of the design is fine and it is no wonder that the project was sold out quickly. Although most specialists indicate that Mauritians want a detached house on a plot of at least 300 m2, this project shows that market is changing since all townhouses (also on small plots) were sold quickly and even the apartments are getting popular after a slow start.This project is a unique example of the way private companies can build future-oriented towns and cities for the growing Mauritian middle-class.

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67Source/more information:www.enl.mu www.espral.com 67

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When taking the Maurice Ile Durable ambitions to become a world-class example for sustainability seriously and when elaborating on the task to diversify the economy by foreign investments, government has no other choice than to completely review the long term spatial strategy for the country. The passive approach should be replaced by an active approach and the pressure on existing cities should be alleviated. Instead of concentrating development in the existing cities government should review options such as planning and building state of the art, mixed use new towns / cities at suitable locations. Long term planning should concentrate on planning for and the restriction of land-use to protect the country-side as well as the existing cities and to guarantee long term value creation for (foreign) investors. Long term planning means an active planning for long term infrastructure reservations, limiting development on or adjacent to these future routes.

3.5.3 Perspective for urban development in the Airport region The creation of a state of the art new and sustainable city on Mauritius is a challenging thought. There are several locations which already offer good accessibility; North of the conurbation, just East of Curepipe and close to the SSR International Airport, all three connected with the M1 Motorway. The two options close to the conurbation have the advantage of the proximity of services in the existing cities but have as a disadvantage that there is no basis for business and employment on these locations. New towns

on these locations would tend to be ‘sleeping-cities’ and would generate commuter flows twice a day, aggravating the existing traffic problems. The airport location has the disadvantage of lacking services but has the advantage of a potential own economic basis, bringing employment; the airport and related business development. Above that, this region offers ample space, where the other locations already show dispersed urban sprawl.This Master Plan is not the instrument to make such far-stretching decisions concerning the country and does not presume to. However, there is a sense of urgency. Mauritius has to compete on the world market and has to start attracting foreign investments. The airport region has a tremendous potential for economic development and can start tomorrow without major investments ! The Mon Trésor Master Plan team has compared the Mon Trésor site with airports in the world of comparable size and situation, concluding that, when the trend of the last decade, with gradually improving connectivity and increasing functionality as a regional HUB, the SSR International Airport will be the heart of mixed use urban development within 50 years. This new urban core will grow, planned or unplanned on the foundation of growing international connectivity, bringing more passengers and freight, attracting more business, creating a market for housing and services and so on. This process has been followed in many places in the world and there are no clues that it would be different on Mauritius.The question is not if there will be an urban development

on a regional scale but if it can be planned to optimize the benefits from it. This makes the airport region a region of major strategic importance for Mauritius: as a source of new business and a solution for the existing problems in urban development. This strategic status justifies an active planning and investment approach by government and improved legal instruments for spatial reservations, infrastructure and land use planning.

3.5.4 Blockades for business development in the Airport region Opposed to the expectations for future urban development around the airport as expressed in the previous paragraph is the observation that there are hardly any signs of the development around the airport yet, despite the building of the new terminal. Why is this? During meetings and workshops this question was raised several times, resulting in the following answers:

No offer: Big land owners hesitate, and small owners can’t develop; Major land owners in the airport region, especially South of the airport are AML, owner of the airport site, Omnicane and developers as Currimjee Jeewanjee. AML has shown a reluctance to develop new amenities and facilities for business development on their premises, for unknown reasons. The plan to open a Freeport Zone for logistics has been announced in 2009 but there are no signs that opening may be expected soon.

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Omnicane has focused until recently on high end tourist development along the coast. Business development was considered as an interesting option but not as a trigger for development. No attempt was made to design and actively market a business location. The building of the Holiday Inn Airport Hotel, could be seen as a first step to open the chances for business development South of the airport.Currimjee is focusing on the high end tourist market for their property along the coast, adjacent to Mon Trésor. They also have land very close to the airport terminal which they have reserved for high density mixed use residential development on the long term (statement Currimjee official during meeting).Small land owners don’t have interest for development, since they see their land as an nest egg, don’t have access to roads or don’t have the money.There is thus no offer for companies to choose from, there is no marketing showing the opportunities of the site and there is no incentive at all for foreign companies to settle.

Mauritian culture: wait until others explore the market and copy the successful plansSome respondents mentioned the typical attitude of the Mauritian people to wait patiently until the golden chance comes by. This attitude is said to be deeply rooted in Mauritian culture and goes back to the ages when Mauritius was used to produce sugar for a stable market; business as usual was enough to live comfortably. Most developers and investors tend to wait until others discover the market and

imitate each other in choosing projects which are expected to be profitable, such as the already mentioned shopping malls, popping-up everywhere. Investors continue with this behaviour until the market is saturated.

Cyber City is the place to beCyber City seems to be a huge success, showing a high-rise office concentration where 10 years ago sugar cane was harvested. Until now Cyber City is the place to be for major companies to settle or to build. Many companies bought land in order not to miss the boat, but were confronted with the contractual obligation to build within a given time frame. It is not a complete success because there is an over capacity already in office space. New offices are still being built but are likely to remain vacant due to lack of tenants.

Weak planning system causes focus on quick earnings at the cost of long term value creation.This is probably the biggest risk for the development close to the airport. The spatial planning system on Mauritius, including the governmental spatial policies is stimulating short term cash gains instead of long term value creation. This is remarkable because there are many old Mauritian companies, such as Omnicane showing an opposite position, with a strong long term focus and attention for social and cultural aspects. An explanation could be that long term planning by government doesn’t fit in the local culture in which private property and private enterprise are key. Government is facilitating private enterprise and

doesn’t want to direct too much, certainly not when it concerns real estate. For the optimal development of the airport region this attitude could be detrimental. So Government should think about how to combine the two – private property and public interest - in a new development strategy.

3.5.5 Urbanism on MauritiusThe country does have a rudimentary tradition in urban planning and design. In the 18th and 19th century government was actively involved in urban planning, which fact is illustrated by the historic city centres of Port Louis and Mahébourg, showing a designed chess-board pattern with blocks and streets dimensioned for the former urban life.Nowadays, urban development is left over to private parties, building their projects in and around the city. The role of government is restricted to giving basic rules for urban development: standards for setbacks, for height, plot coverage, parking and some elementary tips for enhancing the quality of the design; visioning and designing the future of the city turns out to be the task for the private developers.It’s not surprising that good quality urban developments are scarce. Some shopping and leisure centres show modern and appealing design quality, but their contribution to urbanism is mostly adverse since they are situated outside the cities along the highway or main roads. The same applies for many new gated residential areas and resorts:

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nice housing for the happy few, but not publicly accessible and outside the urban areas. The ‘Cyber City’ high rise office park looks well from the highway, but lacks coherence and basic amenities such as parking space. At the other side of the real estate spectrum we find the traditional ‘morcellements’ (see also paragraphs 2.2.5 and 2.2.6) with often absolute minimal urban quality.Only a few projects on the island show a future-oriented, public accessible and good quality urban development for the middle-class. These are the examples for the Mon Trésor development. One of them, the ENL ‘Allées d’Helvetia’ project in St. Pierre is illustrated on the pages 66– 67. This absence of spatial planning and urbanism is remarkable because the country is urbanised at a high level and has a growing middle-class, asking for good quality housing and living. Government can’t afford to leave spatial planning and urban planning to private parties. It’s government’s responsibility to envision and outline the desired future urban development, in order to build now the foundation for future’s living and working conditions for their citizens.

3.6 Improving accessibility in the Airport region

Seen from the conurbation and from the airport, the Mon Trésor site lies at the end of the road, in the remote country-side. The Airport Hotel in the utmost North Western point of the site, is the only sign of urban activity. This remoteness is probably a major constraint for mixed use urban development. Therefore, the realisation of a

new Southern access road to the airport, with a separate connection to the M1 highway is a vital condition and should be a first priority towards business development and subsequent residential development. The Master Plan should integrate this new access road and use it as a basis for further development.A second point of attention in designing a future regional road network is to improve the road-connections with the North and the south, to give easy access from these regions to the new urban centre around the airport, which will function as a new fully serviced regional centre. Attached to this improved road system is the objective to get the regional traffic out of the villages and out of the town of Mahébourg. The absence of a road between Mon Trésor and Blue Bay village / Mahébourg adds to the sense of remoteness. In a straight line the distance between the old factory and Blue Village is about 3.5 km, but over the road its more than three times the distance. The Master Plan should answer the question if there should be a reservation for a new road Mon Trésor – Mahébourg, located between the airport and the boards of Blue Bay. Further the Mon Trésor Master Plan should provide for a flexible, modern, future-oriented and safe framework of roads, should integrate reservations or routes for local / regional / national public transport and should offer alternatives for private car use such as the bicycle and walking.

3.7 Urban development, Blue Bay Marine Park and coastal zone

Urban development at a large scale close to Blue Bay Marine Park, bringing more demand for recreation and tourism in and around the Bay is a threat for the future bio-diversity. Beaches are busy on nice days and diving and boating are already causing degradation. So, the Bay is already at or over the limit of sustainable use for tourism and recreation purposes. This threat could be accepted as an invariable consequence of the socio-economic development of the island. But, the status as a RAMSAR site obliges government to “develop wisely” the site defined as “the maintenance of the ecological character, achieved through the implementation of ecosystem approaches, within the context of sustainable development” (source: the Ramsar Convention of Wetlands website). So, the obligation for wise and sustainable use of the Marine Park and adjacent land could ultimately, as a worst case scenario lead to serious restrictions for building and urban development in the coastal zone. The same applies in a less decisive way for urban development in or close to the coastal zone of Le Chaland and La Combuse which have the status of ‘Scenic Landscape Area’.The only way to find out where the demarcation lies between an acceptable and unacceptable combination of urban development in Mon Trésor and a sustainable Blue Bay Marine Park / Scenic Landscape Area, is making a plan

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and an EIA and submit these for assessment to government.To limit the risks of disapproval and long-lasting discussions the Mon Trésor Master Plan should involve a strategy for wisely balancing urban development on the one hand and nature and landscape conservation on the other hand. The following aspects will determine the balance:• The management of Blue Bay: passive management

focusing on regulations or active management with a professional staff, daily presence in the Marine Park, stakeholder management, surveillance and monitoring, an approved management plan, own budget and so on;

• Zoning and buffering; measures to keep distance of the endangered areas and to limit negative influences;

• Density and type of adjacent urban development; • Offering alternatives for recreation and tourism;

alleviating the recreation and tourism pressure by offering good alternatives elsewhere;

• Cooperation between stakeholders: the quality of Blue Bay and adjacent landscapes is in the interest of government / Steering Committee, adjacent hotels and resorts and other owners such as the airport / AML, non-governmental organisations in the field of nature and environment protection.

3.8 Environmental and technical issues and constraints

As described in chapter 2.5.10 there are no major environmental and technical issues constraining a mixed use urban development in the Mon Trésor site assuming that the Master Plan will take the natural and landscape values into account in a proper way and that the noise contours will be respected. However, there are some attention points:• The possible further growth in the air traffic after 2022

might cause wider noise contours;• Hindrance and danger for inhabitants as a result

of main roads intersecting residential areas in Mahébourg, Plaine Magnien and other villages;

• Space reservations should be made for public transport in the region and between the conurbation and the airport;

• In the vicinity of the airport the building height is limited to 100 m above sea level (according ICAO obstacle limitation zone regulations). This means that the maximum building height along the Airport Avenue is restricted to 45 meter and around the old factory to 65 meter.

• Safeguarding a sustainable development of the Mon Trésor site with respect to use of energy, water resources and natural values;

• Present shortages in capacity for supply with utilities (water, energy, internet) might lead to complementary costs or even to delays in the development.

• For all utilities the same rule applies: that they should be brought to a higher level / higher capacity when the Mon Trésor site is developed. The required capacity depends on the size and the temp of the development and on the level of sustainability of the buildings.

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3.9 Conclusion: Strengths and weaknesses in the present situation

The present situation in the airport region and on the Mon Trésor site shows certain strengths and weaknesses, in the context of the assignment as described below. This overview will be used to formulate starting points for the Mon Trésor development and the strategic assessment. Strengths and weaknesses Airport region

Issue Strength Weakness

Socio - Economic Airport as business and job motor Region with limited economic development and moderate demographic growth

Triggers for development Proximity of the airport Distance to the conurbation

Proximity of the sea and beaches Coastal zone privatised over considerable length; limited length of public accessible coast line

Settlements / Urban development

Ample space available for development; relatively low price level land Poor spatial structure in existing town and villages.

Poor public quality in existing villages and new morcellements

Low level of services in existing settlements

Roads and infrastructure Close to the highway Rural roads give insufficient access on the longer term

No traffic jams Airport region connected with North and South by rural roads only

Basic level of public transport (buses)

No space reservations for public transport on / to Airport

Landscape & nature Quiet and green landscape Limited possibilities tourist and recreation development along the coast line

Nature reserve Blue Bay

Green coastal zone with landscape value

Heritage features

Environment Mon Trésor site outside noise contours Potential noise hindrance airport

Hindrance and danger form highway and main roads in settlements

Technical aspects No major constraints for mixed use urban development Utilities on insufficient level for urban development

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Strengths and weaknesses Mon Trésor site

These are basically the same as for the entire Airport region. Some special points of attention are:

Issue Strength Weakness

Tourist development Presence of tourist facilities / 2 hotels and 1 planned hotel Limited public accessibility along the whole length of the

coast. Public beach Le Chaland close by No beach for swimming at La Combuse

Urban development Existing compound / park landscape suitable for starting residential development

Roads and infrastructure Existing road system suitable for access to first phase developmentLandscape Existing trees and landscape features as valleys, forest, tree lanes add flavour to the

landscapeHeritage Existing building(s) of the old factory in the centre of the siteTechnical aspects Utilities on insufficient level for urban development: water,

power, sewerage, high quality internet

These tables show an agenda for the Mon Trésor Master Plan: a plan of action is needed to mitigate the weaknesses and existing qualities should be used as a basis for future development.

The Black River Gorges

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4.1 Principles for the Mon Trésor Master Plan

The four leading principles for the master plan are already stated in previous chapters, but summarized here:• Sustainable development;• Diversifying the Mauritian economy;• Realism and flexibility;• Cooperation and transparency.

4.1.1 Sustainable developmentIn this Mon Trésor Master Plan sustainable development is defined as “a development that is profitable and feasible, and both benefiting people and planet over a long period of time”, a concept often referred to as PPP (People, Planet, Profit). This principle is the main starting point for the whole of the development, building on existing qualities and improving aspects when required. It is interwoven throughout the plan and vision as well as the assessments in this report. Long term spatial planning is seen as one of the conditions for a sustainable development.The level of ambition with regard to sustainability in the Mon Trésor Master Plan depends on the task to produce a feasible and flexible plan. Local culture, local resources, the capacity of the economy, the national ambitions and legal system are important considerations in balancing the interest of people, planet and profit in the Mon Trésor Master Plan.

4.1.2 Diversifying Mauritius’ EconomyGovernment wants to add new economic activities to the existing ones by public and private initiatives: financial services, high-tech light industry, ICT-BPO and logistics / distribution. Strengthening the HUB function of the SSR International Airport within the African – Mascarene region, with improved connections with Asia and Africa plays an important part in this ambition. MTDC has the opportunity to offer these new activities a location to settle close to the airport.

4.1.3 Realism and flexibilityThese two starting points fit together: a realistic plan for the longer term should be flexible in order to cope with changes in the (international) economy, with new legislation and with the changing preferences of the Mauritians. The Mon Trésor Master Plan can be realised on a short to mid-term time scale, will start the economic and spatial development in the Airport region and the Mon Trésor area and is flexible in responding to the changing context.

4.1.4 Cooperation and transparencyFor a successful master plan, cooperation between the initiator, the landowner, government, the airport manager, stakeholders and investors will be required. MTDC will actively seek the cooperation with government and stakeholders from the start of the project, although this is not customary on Mauritius, resulting in the integration of ideas, opinions and commitment of stakeholders and hopefully long-lasting cooperation.

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4.2 Other principles

The surveys and analysis, being discussed with the client, the promoter, government and stakeholders led to an expanded set of starting points, together forming the basis for the vision and the strategy. These discussions are summarised in this chapter, together with resulting principles.

4.2.1 Airport, accessibility and business development are the main triggers There are several reasons why the traditional approach for development, concentrating on tourism along the coast, is not preferred for the Mon Trésor Master Plan: • The present dip in the tourist market; • The fierce competition for clientele between hotels,

resorts and golf courses; • The presence of one hotel at Blue Bay, a second hotel

close to the airport and a third hotel planned at Le Chaland;

• The environmental / ecological constraints and requirements;

• The absence of a beach and swimming water along the Mon Trésor coastal strip.

The Mon Trésor Master Plan comprises of a new concept based on the vicinity of the airport, on the improvement of accessibility of the Southern Airport region (the new second Airport Access Road), combined with good quality business parks close to the airport. These are the triggers for

a mixed use urban development. Residential development will follow the increasing employment in the region. In later stages of the development, there will be a market for supplementary triggers for tourists as well as for Mauritians, in or around the Mon Trésor site.

Principle: Main trigger for the Mon Trésor development is the Airport combined with improved accessibility. Tourist, recreation and leisure facilities as well as services will add attraction to the Mon Trésor site on the longer term.

4.2.2 Long term value creation Experiences elsewhere in the world show that improved accessibility and starting up an urban development will result in a considerable value creation for the land South of the airport. Secondly, there are the revenues from Real Estate sales and rent. The total revenues will be maximised when the quality of the total development is high, also on the long term. For investors and buyers it’s of vital importance that the long term value of their investment is guaranteed.

Principle: A well planned and well managed development will create the most value on the long run financial value for the land owner as well as value for the Mauritians.

4.2.3 Jobs development – sustainability – housingThe Mon Trésor development will be different from Flic en Flac and Grand Bay, which are based on tourist development along the coast, followed by residential development for middle-class Mauritians. The foundation of the project is job creation by capitalisation of the growing potential of the SSR International airport. One of the offers for foreign companies is the supply with excellent living conditions close by. That is the main incentive for the residential part of the development.

Principle: The development will start with new business creating new jobs, which will stimulate the local economy and will create a market for housing in the vicinity. Working, living and leisure at a close range matches the sustainability ambition.

4.2.4 Starting up a new city, complementary to the existing citiesLooking far ahead into the future is not a science, it is rather speculation but nonetheless very important. The success of the best airport related developments lies in the potential to look ahead, to plan for the long term, to be in front of the competition: “the best way to predict the future is to create it” (Peter Drucker). The question is not if there will be an urban development on a regional scale in the airport region but if it will be planned and organised sufficiently, to get the optimal benefits from it.The new city will not threaten the existing cities but it will

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be complementary to them and it will help to alleviate the pressure on the conurbation, giving time and space to renew infrastructure and buildings. The airport region is of major strategic importance for Mauritius: as source of new business and jobs as well as a solution for the existing problems in urban management.

Principle: The Airport region will inevitably grow into a new urban core on Mauritius. This new city will alleviate the pressure on the existing cities and will be a sustainable alternative for the present phenomenon of urban sprawl.

4.2.5 Concentrated urban development In this master plan the government ambition for urban concentration is entirely supported since it is a far better and far more sustainable option than urban sprawl. The conversion of the Mon Trésor site into a good quality middle-class urban area, will be an instrument to restrain urban sprawl in the South-Eastern region and to preserve the present landscape values. In this perspective the density of the project should be high; urban living requires less land, less roads, less length of cables and wires and less energy. But, the density of the initial stages of the project should answer the preferences of new inhabitants who will have to live for years without the advantages of the services of the future city. So the initial residential offer In Mon Trésor will be comparable, even better than comparable residential projects elsewhere on the island. The first residential projects will have an average Mauritian

density and will be located in the suburban areas of the future city. In following stages the density will be increased by developing the central city quarters.

Principle: the new city will be a concentrated city to serve the objective of sustainability. The project will start up with average densities, in the future suburban part of the city, with a residential offer comparable with other residential projects in the region.

4.2.6 Focus on middle-class development The middle-class on Mauritius is growing in numbers, in income, in education, in self-confidence and so on and is a major driving force in the socio-economic development. It will be the target group for residential development in Mon Trésor, reflecting their future demands. The foreign employees of new companies settling in Mon Trésor will also mostly be middle-class. They are used to good quality middle-class housing in their home countries, with well-designed and well-maintained public space and facilities. It’s important to answer this demand and to connect successful local and international concepts.Next to the middle class there will be space for affordable housing; close to the existing villages are many locations for this purpose. And there will be space for high-end residential development on carefully selected locations. The balance between these target groups has to be determined over the years. Also for the tourist and leisure development the focus will

be on the international middle-class.

Principle: The main focus in the project is to realise a good quality middle-class development with affordable housing and chances to build for the upper middle-class and for rich foreigners.

4.2.7 Focus on the unique selling points of Mon Trésor Principle: Use the unique selling points for the Mon Trésor development as an instrument to direct and market the project:• Close to the airport, close to the sea, close to the

highway (without traffic jams);• Long term value guarantee for Omnicane and clients;• Working, living, leisure integrated;• Well planned, well managed, high quality area;• Safe, green and spacious;• New, modern, dynamic (internet) city.

Illustration of a possible organistaion model for development of the Mon Trésor site.

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4.3 Vision for the project

The central vision for the Mon Trésor Master Plan is as follows:

‘The Airport region has the potential to develop within the next decades into a new, modern and sustainable urban centre on Mauritius, complementary to the existing conurbation. The growth of this new city will be driven by improved connectivity and accessibility and by business development, bringing foreign investments and new employment. Long term planning for value creation is the instrument to capitalise this potential. MTDC will quick-start this development with a first master plan, in cooperation with government stakeholders and partners, introducing a new standard for urban living environment on Mauritius. Nature and landscape will be respected and integrated, local culture and social networks will be respected.’

4.4 Strategy

The steps from vision to master plan and realisation are complicated. To direct the process strategic starting points are discussed and concluded as follows:

4.4.1 Cooperation with governmentAs government doesn’t plan for the long term and since long term planning is vital for the project, MTDC should take this task upon itself. This creates a potential conflict with government and could be perceived as political interference; it could be a show-stopper. A solution for this problem is to assign an independent and trustworthy spatial advisor / master planner who will take the responsibility for long term planning and design aspects and who will discuss these with government on the appropriate level. Since government is not familiar with discussing, assessing, and deciding long term regional plans it’s advisable to produce a master plan / Area Action Plan of modest size and with a time horizon of maximal 10 years, as advised by the planners from the Ministry of Housing and Lands. This Master Plan / Area Action Plan, will be based on the long term vision as presented in this report. It will be submitted to and discussed with government. After approval it will form the foundation for architectural designs and permission requests. When new opportunities arise, the master plan / Area Action Plan will be adjusted / expanded/updated, discussed with government and hence elaborated in designs and permit requests.

A very careful and well-organised plan for communication with government will be required. Communication should be organised per governmental level and should be managed at the highest level, as follows:• A dedicated official of high rank, keeping contact

with high levels in government and managing all communication;

• An official for long term planning issues, with planning officials in government as counterpart;

• An official managing all permit requests and discussions on that level with district council and utility managers as counterpart;

• An official with the task to inform the press, the public and stakeholders.

4.4.2 Long term quality management by the developerThe long term presence of MTDC in Mon Trésor forces the developer to deliver a high and continuous level of service, not only for the property for sales or rent but also for the already delivered streets, green areas and services. As government has difficulties to maintain public space at the proper level, MTDC will accept this task as part of the job. The cost of these maintenance activities will be charged to the residents and companies on a non-profit basis. The entire Mon Trésor site will publically accessible. An option is to install a camera surveillance system at the entrances to improve the safety level for companies and inhabitants completing it with surveillance on the site by

80Types of business buildings Maintenance and surveyance Residential and services

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Kings Hill Estate in Kent, UK

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Kings Hill estate in Kent, UK

A sustainable business and residential communityLiberty Property Trust UK has transformed the former West Malling airfield into a successful mixed-use estate on 320 ha of landscaped parkland. It is home to:• A business park with 100 international and local

companies (90.000 m2 GFA) amd 5000 workers, 15% of them living with their families in Kings Hill;

• A village with 2450 houses for different target groups with 6000 inhabitants;

• A village centre with shops and services of 4000 m2;• Schools, kindergarten, medical services, community

centre, church, mobile library.• An 18-hole golf course, a sports centre, medical

services, a recreation park. Kings Hill is located at 43 km distance South – East of the London City and is connected to the city with highways and by rail.

Other amenities at Kings Hill ‘There are homes with small gardens that require little maintenance as these are particularly popular with the older and younger buyers. However, there are also family homes with substantial gardens to match. These are so rarely provided and they are exactly what growing families are looking for when moving out of the city.’

“People’s live-work balance has never been so important. The exciting thing about this trend is that outside major conurbations we seem to be heading back to where we started a few hundred years ago – local.”

The original masterplan for Kings Hill was set out in 1989. One of the major reasons for Kings Hill’s success is that those plans have evolved and have been adapted over the years in response to the ever-changing economic and social climate. In 2012 the management started a masterplan review process to consider future development proposals for Kings Hill.

Business type and services Headquarter offices, regional offices, start-ups, disaster recovery, back office, research and development, call centres and clean, hi-tech manufacturing are all catered for. Three main styles of building with three levels of specification provide tenants with a range of property solutions that can be tailored to meet their changing business needs. Each building differs slightly according to the standard of finish.Site-based companies Kings Hill Property Management and Kings Hill Estate Management maintain the buildings, car parks and landscaping and provide security on a not for profit basis.Facilities management is offered from a “shopping list” of services from which tenants may tailor a package to suit their needs. Two thirds of tenants have contracted with Liberty for this service.Liberty Property Trust UK’s head office is situated at Kings Hill. Commercial property tenants are reassured that their landlord/asset manager is site based and accessible, with a proactive policy of welcoming feedback.

Business and residential SecurityThe estate has two access points into and out of the park, both benefiting from CCTV surveillance. Kings Hill Guarding provide a 24 hour, mobile patrol of the commercial property areas. A Police Community Support Officer, financed jointly by the Parish Council and Kings Hill Residential Estate Management, patrols the residential elements of the park.For businesses the estate offers the following services and facilities: Security, Refuse collection, Utilities ( Electricity, heating, lighting, water, internet), cleaning, insurance, repairs and maintenance, signage and office Services.

ResidentialThe homes are arranged in distinctive residential neighbourhoods around focal points such as a village green, cricket ground and golf course and have been built using a mix of traditional and contemporary designs.Events, such as music and theatre are organised regularly.Source: www.kings-hill.com

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The ‘Blue Bay Marine and Landscape park’ comprises:1. Blue Bay Marine Park;2. Part of the Grand Port Fishery Reserve;3. Public beaches at Blue Bay and Le Chaland;4. Natural buffer zones / landscape zones;5. The Mare aux Songes area; 6. The Dodo Theme Park;7. The Christian Vallet Forest park zone with tourist

facilities;8. The le Chaland / La Combuse costal park;9. Shandrani Hotel;10. Chaland Hotel (in preparation); • Network with paths for biking and walking;• A visitors and information center.

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safety officers. These tasks of maintenance and surveillance connect with the experience of Omnicane as agricultural landowner and manager of secured sites. For the start-up of the project, MTDC will landscape the site introducing the character of an estate, with fenced hedges around the site, meadows instead of sugar cane, new planted trees and gates at the entrances. The planting of trees is already started on the site.

4.4.3 Nature and landscape as integrated parts of the developmentFor the coastal area, with Blue Bay in its core, it is absolutely crucial to find the balance between private interest and public interest. Mauritius is bound to international obligations prescribing the preservation of Blue Bay Marine Park. MTDC reasons that it is in the interest of the project and also in the interest of all other stakeholders around the bay to preserve and enhance the unique value and beauty of the bay. To a lesser extent the same applies for the landscape value of the coastal area of Le Chaland and La Combuse. Since urban development in the region could harm these values MTDC accepts the responsibility for initiating and supporting mitigating measures. MTDC will approach the Blue Bay Marine Park Steering Committee to offer support and contribution. The offer will include:• The initiative to establish a Marine and Landscape Park

for the entire Blue Bay – Le Chaland – La Combuse area, comprising of Blue Bay as the pearl in the crown, the boards of Blue Bay, the public beaches, the Mare aux

Songes area with the Dodo Theme Park, the Christian Vallet Forest and the green coastal zone at Le Chaland - La Combuse. The objective is to preserve and enhance it’s values for the sake of Mauritius and its visitors. The name could be the ‘Blue Bay Marine and Landscape Park’;

• Support in organising all landowners and stakeholders around the Bay into a board of contributors;

• Financial support for management, staffing, surveillance and nature development in and around Blue Bay Marine Park and the same for the other parts of the ‘Blue Bay Marine and Landscape Park’;

• The initiative to make a recreation development and management plan for all coastal areas in the Mahébourg – Le Bouchon area in order to spread the pressure and to develop new facilities, especially accessible beaches, for tourists and local visitors. To guarantee the preservation of the natural values of Blue Bay, this plan will be made in consultation with government, the RAMSAR organisation and other experts.

MTDC will adjust the development plans for the coastal area in accordance with the outcome of the initiatives mentioned above. The idea is that in and at the borders of this landscape park the focus will be on ‘green and sustainable’ development for recreation, leisure, tourism and residential functions. The effort and the contribution of MTDC will increase with the growth of the urban development in Mon Trésor.

4.4.4 Active marketing to survey the market Market information will be collected by marketing activities, based on the Mon Trésor Master Plan and by adjusting the plans to the reactions. That’s the way many developing institutions worked and still work; knowledge and expertise grow by doing it. MTDC will actively approach the business world offering them proposals for location for their investment, listening to their reaction and adjusting the plans accordingly. Development starts when there are interested parties and the knowledge of the first development will be used to set-up the following. Active marketing is very important; Mon Trésor will be on the shortlist when browsing ‘business location Mauritius’, complete with all the required information of the location and the offer. Marketers will visit local companies, foreign companies, real estate exhibitions and so on. Also in marketing MTDC will look for cooperation with government, other companies and partners.A very strong marketing tool will be aquiring the settlement of one or more well-known ‘Anchor’ Companies in the initial development stage. Omnicane and MTDC will be such an ‘anchor’ when opening their new office on the site, showing their confidence in the project.

Main entrance road Port Louis with the House of Parliament in the background

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4.4.5 The developing organisation Developing Real Estate on a long term basis is a profession in itself. By starting small, the developing company, will learn ‘on the job’ and if successful it will expand and reorganise. A possible organisation model for the developer is depicted on page 78. Other models could do as well.

4.4.6 Managing the risksReal estate development on a large scale has proven to be very rewarding and also very risky. The risks of the Mon Trésor development shouldn’t be exaggerated; the land is owned by the company, and even doing nothing will create a considerable value increase of this very strategic land property.To limit the risks further, the organisation scheme as depicted above comes in. Partnerships spread the risks. Losses of the developing company won’t affect Omnicane’s other activities. Staffing is on behalf of the developing company. And, Omnicane can control its own relationships with government, which will not be affected when problems in the Mon Trésor development might occur.For the Mon Trésor Master Plan appropriate risk management means that pre-investments should be limited. The spatial strategy is to start small, without major investments in infrastructure, utilities and ‘Triggers’ and to expand when the first steps have proven successful. The time horizon of 10 years for the Master Plan is chosen to balance the objectives of the Long Term Regional Development Vision with feasibility and acceptance by

government. However, a horizon of 10 years is a rather long time in terms of real estate development. Changes in the market or in the legal system could force the adjustment of the plan, which could conflict with contractual obligations. To limit this risk to a minimum the Master Plan should be phased in steps from 2-3 years giving the opportunity the market regulary. There are signs that there is not enough capacity available with the providers for the timely delivery of utilities, such as potable water and power. When this shortage occurs, the realisation of the Master Plan can be delayed or obstructed. However, there are several years to address this potential problem properly between the start of the project and the moment that this shortage could occur. Besides that, technical alternatives to solve these problems are available, but the expectation is that these will lead to an increase in costs. In the future stages of the project development a solution for this potential problem will be discussed with the providers.

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5.1 Introduction The objective of this Long Term Regional Development Vision (LTRDV) is to offer a guideline for the Mon Trésor Master Plan derived from a long term and regional / national perspective. This LTRDV is not a plan to be decided on. It should be seen as an illustration of expectations and possibilities. There is no exact plan border and no fixed time horizon: we use the airport region as reference area and 2065 as a point on the horizon. This vision could be used as input for a regional development plan. The main components are the principles of planning for infrastructure and land use.

5.2 Program

A general program for the urban development around the airport has been derived from international statistics about urban land use in comparable areas. This turned out to be difficult because statistics are mostly based on administrative units or municipalities, often with agricultural land, forests and so on within their boundaries and not on urban areas. And, different statistics use other definitions for types of land use.

Type of land use Functions Ha

residential Total 1195

Existing 115

Affordable / lower Middle cl 520

Higher Middel / Top class 380

Infrastructure / paved surface 180

Economic functions total 880

Heavy / middle heavy ind 120

Light industry / logistics 310

Commercial 80

Offices 40

Tourism / hotels 100

Services 70

Infrastructure / paved surface 120

Green area Total 325

Highway 50

Rest / not in use 50

Total 2500

Table showing the program for the southern part of the city / Long Term Regional Development Vision 2065

5 Long term Regional Development Vision 2065

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Long Term Regional Development Vision (2065)Road hierarchy

Airport AvenueHigh way connector

Mon Trésor Avenue

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This program takes into account that the airport area will have a larger area for economic functions than many other cities. The airport itself is not integrated in the program. The number of inhabitants for the southern part of the city is estimated on 100.000 and the number of jobs on 55.000. For the entire urban area around the airport these estimations are 150.000 and 70.000. In size, the new city is comparable with Port Louis.

5.3 Transport and infrastructure

The transport system for the project area is based on the current traffic situation in Mauritius, the autonomous developments, the national policy and the project vision. The objectives are: • Provide main access to the area: connection to

surrounding main roads (M1 / A10), connection with the airport;

• Potential (future) connection by rail based public transport (LRT);

• Provide further access to the final destinations, tailor-made and optimized through roads, public transport and non-motorized transport facilities;

• Facilitate and stimulate public transport, the use of the bicycle pedestrian and walking;

• Planning of parking facilities.For the transport planning traffic forecast projections, as recently developed through the national Ministry of Public Infrastructure, have been used.

5.3.1 RoadsThe road system exists of an elongated M1 highway, with three highway connectors (2x2 / 2x3 lanes) into the new city. Attached to these three connectors is an efficient grid of main roads (2x1 / 2x2 lanes). These main roads give access to residential streets. The maze of the grid of main roads depends on the type and intensity of land use. Intersections will be in principle roundabouts or traffic light

regulated, depending on the forecasted traffic volumes.The roads system provides new and improved regional roads to the North and South, connecting the country side with the new city and avoiding existing residential settlements.Part of this system is also a main road between Mon Trésor and Blue Bay village and Mahébourg. This road will have an intra-local function and should be constructed in such a way that it doesn’t damage the natural values of Blue Bay.

5.3.2 New Airport Access Road descriptionOne of the three highway connectors, mentioned in the previous paragraph is the New Airport Access Road, which answers the request of AML, explained in paragraph 2.3.3.The new access road to the airport will function next to the existing access road and will serve most of the traffic between the airport and the conurbation, alleviating the Plaine Magnien village. The existing access road will keep the present capacity and will have a complementary function for airport access in the case of an emergency. The New Access road will get a fluent connection with the highway, forcing the main traffic flow to the airport. This new access road comprises of three sections:• The highway section with 2 x 2 lanes, split-level

intersections with local roads and with a reservation for two extra lanes;

Projection of Port Louis on the new city on the same scale

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New Airport Access RoadAlternative Routing

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Long Term Regional Development Vision (2065)Public Transport

Cross section high way connector; part of the New Airport Access Road

Prefered future route new Airport Access Road Alternatieve option New Airport Access Road

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• The ‘Airport Avenue’ which will be a major urban road in the new city, connecting the city heart with the airport terminal and giving access to high density mixed use developments. This road will have 2 x 2 lanes with a space reservation to 2 x 3 lanes and will be connected with other roads by roundabouts.

• The existing road within the Airport Area leading from the Holiday Inn Hotel to the Airport Terminal which has to be expanded from 2 x 1 to 2 x 2 lanes with a space reservation for 2 x 3 lanes on the long term.

Options for routingThe preferred route for this new road is illustrated in the Long Term Regional Development Vision (see page 86 and 88). In this option, the new highway runs straight from the M1 to the Airport Avenue, allowing excellent connections with the local road network and offering very attractive space for business development. However, in this option the road crosses an area with several small land owners who should be bought out.To avoid this area with small land owners a second option is designed in which the road is located on Omnicane land (see map page 90). This second option shows less favourable connections with the local road network and is also located close to residential areas but could be part of a strategy to realise the New Airport Access road as soon as possible without delays caused by compulsorily expropriation.

Capacity and design Since this new road won’t be used at maximum capacity at the short or mid-term, it’s possible to phase the construction to spread investments: a first phase with roundabouts at road crossings and a second phase with split level intersections / fly overs. Estimations of the traffic volumes on the new highway connection indicate up to about 4,000 vehicles per direction in the busiest hour1. This is about the road capacity of a 2 x 2 lane system. To keep sufficient flexibility for future traffic demand a reservation for additional third lanes is advised. Next to the road and the Airport Avenue is ample space for 1st class accessible business development. Careful landscaping of the road is required to enhance the business climate.

5.3.3 Priority and implementation of the new Airport Access Road The necessity of the New Airport Access Road, seen from the present situation in the Airport Region is explained in paragraph 2.3.3. The road is required for assuring accessibility of the airport, for environmental and safety reasons and for a proper representation of the airport. Seen from the perspective of the Long Term Regional

1 Calculations based on traffic forecasts for peak hours in the year 2030, as provided through the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, complemented with predictions on traffic based on the land use plan and general traffic generation figures and distribution of internal trips and external trips.

Development Vision this new road is a vital condition to kick-start the economic development of the Southern Airport Region since companies look for excellent accessibility when choosing a location of settlement. For both the development of the Freeport Zone in the Airport Area as for the Mon Trésor development the new road is indispensable. This set of reasons motivates a top-priority for the New Airport Access Road. AML and the Road Development Agency support the realisation but the road is not entered in the governmental planning and budget for road works. This means that AML and Omnicane have to request government formally to enter this road in their program and budget, for which purpose a feasibility study will be required. Omnicane has assigned a local consultancy to provide for this feasibility study in which the motivation, alternative routes, preferred route, construction principles and costs will be explained.

5.3.4 Public transport The public transport system for this development area includes a light rail system or other (dedicated) public transport system. Given the size of the development in 2065 and the numbers of passengers and workers travelling daily to and from the airport it might be feasible to create such a dedicated rail system. On the long term a high quality public transport connection between the Airport Region and the Conurbation will be required, which could be the LRT system to be implemented in the conurbation. This light rail system will serve major destinations in the new

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city, such as the airport, the City Center, the main business and residential areas and the village of Mahébourg (see illustration on page 91). Although a light rail might not be feasible on the short term, it’s of vital importance to reserve space for future construction, preventing buildings activities on or close to the route. In the meantime the reserved space can be used by buses. A formal, legally based space reservation for this future public transport system is indispensable to secure future accessibility.Special attention is required for public transport in the airport area, especially close to the terminal building. In the master plan for the airport no attention was paid to public transport. To prevent costly interventions and constructions in the future it is advisable to make as soon as possible a future-oriented public transport plan for the airport and to adjust al buildings plans on the airport site on this transport plan. A bus service system will provide for local public transport and for the connections with villages and towns in the region. Bus lines will follow the main roads, provided with separated bus bays, serving adjacent neighbourhoods.

5.3.5 Cycling and walking In the scheme extensive facilities are foreseen for cyclists and pedestrians. These facilities serve the objective of discouraging the use of private cars and add to a safe and comfortable living environment. Living, working, services

and leisure will be designed at close distances, stimulating the use of Some relevant principles are mentioned here.• A network of separate cycle paths should be planned

between the (relevant) residential areas and the main attractors, such as the city center, shopping centers, schools and the sea side. These cycle paths can be designed as integrated in the cross sections of roads (efficient road with public lighting) or in green areas (recreation routes).

• Recreational cycle routes fit very well in the development, especially towards and within the green and tourism areas, such as the sea side.

• All residential streets and roads in or close to residential areas will be provided with pavements. Extra attention is required for city centers, shopping areas, routes to bus stops and schools.

5.3.6 Parking The planning and provision of parking facilities is an important strategic instrument. In areas which are well accessible by public transport and per bicycle, such as the city center, the number of parking places can be reduced, creating more and pleasant space for pedestrians. In dense areas as the city center parking garages are required for large offices, apartment buildings and shopping centers. In all urban area’s, but especially in residential areas the design should foresee in the flexibility to construct more parking space in the future to accommodate the expected growth in car possession.

5.4 Land use and zoning

5.4.1 Economic functionsLocations for business development are concentrated close to the airport and along the main infrastructure. This principle keeps the business traffic out of residential areas and creates a buffer between the busiest roads and the living quarters. Industrial functions causing hindrance are concentrated at distance of residential areas, in this region especially under the airport approach route. Light industry and logistics get a place close to the airport and close to the highway. The Airport Avenue and the Mon Trésor Central Road are potential locations for offices, commercial facilities, services, tourist and leisure functions and so on.The preferred locations for tourist, recreation and leisure functions are the coastal zone, the Airport Avenue and the city centre (shopping, cinema, disco, theatre, downtown).

5.4.2 HousingFor the location residential areas the main principle is that it should be locations without hindrance, close as possible to services and work. The affordable / social housing and the affordable middle-class housing will be concentrated around the existing villages in traditional ‘morcellements’ or in the form of pre-built housing projects for rent or sale.The middle-class housing is located in the intermediate zones. The higher middle-class housing and top-class housing lie at the fringes, close to the sea and close to the

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mountains in the north. Housing should be mixed with other functions to make the residential areas livelier; small offices, medical services, schools, sport areas, parks and playgrounds, local shopping centres, small workshops, home offices and so on.

5.4.3 Service centresA concentration of daily services such as shopping centres and schools is advisable, also because these services should be located on well-accessible central locations, amidst the living quarters. The heart of city, with the highest density and with a mix of functions next to each other or organised horizontally (dwellings on offices or shops), lies at the best accessible spot; the crossing of the main roads and close to the end point of the highway connector.

5.4.4 DensityThe density is the highest at the best accessible location: in the city centre where main roads, the highway connector and public transport meet. From there the density decreases in the direction of the coast.

5.4.5 Green network and landscapeA framework of green spaces and lines spans the future city. Vital elements in this network are the foothills of the Bambous Mountains, the North and the Blue Marine Park with its green borders in the East, the green coastal areas and the valleys of streams and rivers. These natural

components will be respected and will be used as the basis for green zones and green routes for bicycles and pedestrians. Urban green zones, along main roads, parks and green areas for sports will complete the network. This network is mainly oriented from West to East, related to the sloping topography and the flow of the rivers. In this way the future city will be closely connected with sea. The typical parcellation of the landscape (rectangular on the plains and fluent in the valleys) will be reflected in the urban structure. Natural spots, such as Mare aux Songes and specific heritage elements, such as the basalt pyramids, close to Plaine Magnien will be integrated in the green web.The parts of the coastal zone which are still non built-up and are non-protected will be reserved as publically accessible zones for recreation, leisure and tourism in a green setting.

5.4.6 Central areas and services In the heart of the city lies the city centre where all lines and functions converge in intensively mixed use urban central district. In this city centre a large part of the services will be concentrated: shops, commercial facilities, offices, schools, basic medical services, cinema, a casino, restaurants and also many dwellings on the top floors. This city centre will be a challenge for planners and designers; a separate master plan for this area, carefully shaping the relations between public space and private buildings based on a solid business case, will be the key to success.In the former villages and also in the Mon Tresor area

there will local service centre with some shops and / or a supermarket, service offices dependances of government, basis medical services and so on. Schools, play grounds and parks will be spread over the urban landscape, or will be concentrated close to the service centre, depending on the specific local situation.

5.4.7 EnvironmentThe Long Term Vision is based on sound environmental and sustainability principles:• Concentrating the city in an acceptable way to reduce

the use of land, roads, materials and energy and to keep the countryside green;

• Using the potential of the airport and existing infrastructure for creating jobs by using the adjacent land for business development, enhancing the functioning of the airport;

• Planning of locations for daily use such as work, living, recreation, education shopping close to each other to reduce unnecessary use of cars;

• Planning of sensitive functions such as housing outside the future hindrance contours of highways and the airport, taking into account that these contours can expand in the future;

• Replacing existing housing outside long term oriented hindrance contours or the replacing of hindrance causing functions, such as the stone crusher outside the city;

• Preserving and enhancing precious natural resources

Long Term Regional Development Vision (2065)Hindrance and Acoustics

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such as the Blue Bay Marine Park, the foothills of the Bambous Mountains, the rivers and the other natural spots;

• Respect for existing values of heritage, respect for existing social structures / villages, respect for local culture;

• Introduction of space reservations for future expansion of roads and public transport, introduction of bicycle and pedestrian paths;

• Planning and designing for a future-oriented quality of the living environment to avoid costly renewals within a short period of time;

• Planning for restricting the use of limited resources such as water and energy;

• Building a safe living environment where children can play outside and bike to school by themselves;

• Building a place of beauty and character to love and to cherish as a guarantee for long-lasting investments.

5.5 Technical issues and constraints

The Long Term Regional Development Vision has a level of abstraction in which more detailed technical issues are outside of the view. However, there are some technical issues influencing the plan. One them is, if this vision will limit the future development of the airport. It is understood, after consulting specialists in airport development that the airport can expand to at least 4 x times the actual numbers of passengers and

freight within the present location. The expectation is that the airport will transfer maximal twice as much passengers in 2022 as it does today. So quadrupling the number of passengers will be far away in the future when new technical improvements will give new chances for the airport and the adjacent city. Another issue is the supply of services. The present capacity for potable water and power has to be expanded considerably to serve this new city. This problem could become an issue in the early stages of the development. But, it may be expected that the suppliers will take their responsibility to cater properly for the supply of water and power for the growing population and business world of Mauritius. So it is important to inform them timely on the expected development. The expectation is further that with new techniques for on-site energy generation (solar panels, smart grid, energy saving (natural air conditioning) and by using existing techniques for saving potable water (using rain water for irrigation and swimming pools), the future demand could be lower than expected now.

5.6 Phasing

The development as shown in the drawing of the Long Term Regional Development Vision 2065 is already been started with :• Plans for new business development on the airport

site;• Plan for a new Access Road for the airport;• New residential expansions of the villages and

Mahébourg; the ‘morcellements’;• The building of the Holiday Inn Airport Hotel and the

planning of the Chaland Resort Hotel.The first phase of development with a time horizon of 2025 shows the initiatives as mentioned above being realised, and added to that the first phase of the Mon Trésor development. This initial development will concentrate at the Southern side of the Airport.The second phase, twenty years later, shows how the road system develops and how the city grows and develops on many fronts at the same time. The city centre starts to develop.The last stage, here assumed to be finished in 2065, shows the city in a completed form.The temp of the development could be faster or slower, depending on economy, connectivity of the airport, demographic development and on many other factors.

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6.1 Master Plan for 10 year horizon

The Mon Trésor Master Plan will, as described in paragraph 4.2.1, start with the improvement of accessibility, with business development close to the airport and consequently residential development . This plan will have a time horizon of ten years (see paragraph 4.4.1.). The size and scale of this master plan have been carefully considered (see also paragraph 4.4.1, 4.1.4 and 4.4.6): big enough to show the long term intentions and not too big, to stay in line with governmental expectations. The Mon Trésor Master plan comprises of an area of approximately 160 ha, which is 40% of the original Master Plan area, and is entirely located on Omnicane’s property for which conversion rights have been acquired. Many functions and elements have been considered as part of the Master plan. However, the functions that are considered as too risky, too costly, or too early in the development have not been included. The most important functions and elements to be developed in the period after 2025 will also be described in this chapter.Since the New Airport Access Road will be located outside the Master Plan area and will be planned, designed and built in a separate planning process in which government will formally have the lead, the planning of this new road is kept outside this Master Plan. However, this road will have a considerable influence on the accessibility and exposure of the Mon Trésor Site and is a vital incentive for the business development. Therefore elements of the routing and design of this road are integrated in this Master Plan.

6.1.1 The spatial concept Nowadays the Mon Trésor site has the quiet, green and pleasant atmosphere of a rural area. This atmosphere will be used and enhanced by landscaping and management measures introducing an ‘estate concept’. All roads and streets will be planted with preferably flowering trees creating the lush green atmosphere of an urban forest. The Mon Trésor Avenue will connect the business park and the residential quarters directly with the sea, where a publically accessible landscape of park, beach, sea and sun will await the visitor. Apart from the high-rise area along the Airport Avenue all offices and houses buildings will be lower in height than the tree tops, will have sloping roofs and a villa-like appearance. Such a city quarter combining public accessibility with high quality and green public space will be entirely new on Mauritius. There is no other urban area on the island with comparable scale and qualities.

6.2 Outlines of Mon Trésor Master Plan

Using the Long Term Regional Development Vision the program for the Mon Trésor site can be outlined as follows:• The two new main roads: The Airport Avenue and the

‘Mon Trésor Avenue’;• Business development close to the airport and more

service oriented business close to the old factory; • Residential development in and around the ‘Mon

Trésor Park’ in a suburban density in green and quiet surroundings;

• Nature, green areas, leisure recreation and tourism along the coast.

• Space for future growth, space reservations for future expansion of the road network and for public transport.

6.2.1 Detailed program BusinessThe program for the Mon Trésor Master Plan is derived from an estimation of the expected business development in the period to 2015. Assuming growing connectivity of the island and an improving international business climate and assuming a good offer for settlement and active marketing, a business development of 40 ha is feasible. This area will accommodate the entire range of potential sectors: logistics, light industry, offices, headquarters, commercial and local / regional / national services such as education and training centres, a clinic, sports centre and so on.Next to this development on the Mon Trésor site, there

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Phasing in time and space

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will be other new economic activities in the airport region: shops, offices, freeport development on the airport and at new hotel for tourists. This development is estimated on 20 ha until 2015. This total business development will bring approximately 7.000 jobs to the airport region. These new jobs will generate a demand for housing and services.

ResidentialFor the residential development the estimation is based on the number of jobs: 7.000 jobs will generate about 4.100 households (1.7 workers / household). From these 4.100 households 25 - 50% (this percentage is based on international examples) is assumed to be interested in buying or renting a house in Mon Trésor.Per 100 jobs, 10 are for high / higher middle class incomes, 35 are for middle class incomes and 55 are for lower middle / low class incomes. Thus there will be a potential to market 100 - 200 units for high / higher middle class-incomes, 350 - 700 units houses for middle classincomes, and 560 - 1120 units for lower middle and lower class incomes. Together this will make a settlement of 1.000 - 2.000 houses. A part of the lower class income groups will find a house in or close by the existing villages, outside the Mon Trésor Master Plan site, but preferably also on Omnicane land. The growing population and the growing demand for new houses in the region as a consequence of the decreasing average household size, will also generate demand

for housing in Mon Trésor. Combining both effects it is estimated that the Master Plan could host 600 – 1.000 housing units in 2025. The program is kept at the middle of these estimations: 760 units.

Function Section Hectares Units Inhabitants Workers

Business sites 33 4.800

Airport Avenue 8

Business park 20

Other locations 5

Residential 63

Affordable middle class 25 485 1700

Higher middle class 35 167 600

Apartments 3 110 380

Green 45

In cross section roads 35

Green areas 10

Pavements roads 18

Total 160 762 2.680 4.800

General program Mon Trésor Master Plan

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Types of housingInitially de program was based on the local preference for detached houses on a plot of at least 300 m2 and an average density of 20 houses per ha. The study of the Helvetia project in St. Pierre (see also page 58-59) learned that duplex houses and middle-class townhouses on smaller plots also do well. The same project taught us that there is a growing market for apartments on Mauritius.For the Mon Trésor site is chosen for typical middle-class houses in different types as shown in the illustrations (see also paragraph 6.3.4). The number of apartments is kept to a minumum.The excellent spatial quality of the ‘Mon Trésor Park’, the former compound means that the Master Plan hosts relatively more higher middle class housing than lower middle-class. The optimal balance in the program has to be determined during the marketing and sales process. This could lead to adjustments in the program and to adjustments in the locations of development; more lower middle class means expansion to the North-West and more high / higher middle class means expansion in the direction of the sea. Plans for such extensions are presented in paragraph 6.4.When it turns out that the housing market is better than expected, the Master Plan can be expanded, for instance in the directions mentioned above.

Specific target groupsIn order to keep the plan flexible, generally accepted housing types are used. There could be a market for specific housing for specific groups, for instance elderly people. The plan is flexibile enough to dedicate blocks or sites to offer housing for these groups, together with dedicated services, for example a service unit for elderly people (medical, household support, catering).

ServicesServices will follow the residential development. In the initial stage the first inhabitants can use the shops in Plaine Magnien at a five minutes’ drive, or in Mahébourg. The Master plan comprises of a location for a local, expandable shopping centre, at a size of 700 m2 in the third year of the development and growing into a 4.000 m2 centre in 2025. This location lies between the residential and the business park, along the Mon Trésor Main Road.A shopping centre with a regional or even national function (cars, computers, furniture) is best located along the Airport Avenue near the future city centre especially when the New Airport Access Road is opened and 15.000 people a day will pass on their way to the airport or the conurbation. Services such as sports parks are not in the program. It’s not clear if there are foundations, corporations, clubs or companies exploiting these parks.

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Green areasThe ambition is to offer a high quality, green and spacious business and residential areas. All workers, inhabitants and visitors should enjoy the site when they are travelling around it To achieve this goal the Master Plan contains a considerable surface of public green areas: 45 hectares. A large share of this surface, almost 35 ha is public green area in the cross section of the roads. The remaining 10 hectares is reserved for a public park (or public parks) and play grounds.The main roads serve not only the businesses and inhabitants in the Master Plan area but also future businesses and inhabitants. A large part of this infrastructure and the integrated green areas is to be seen as an investment for future expansion.

6.2.2 Ownership, management and quality: Mon Trésor EstateThe principle is that MTDC will be the owner and manager of the site, the roads, the green areas and so on, will maintain these spaces and will charge the owners / users for the costs. MTDC can sell or lease land to businesses and house owners. Next to this MTDC will build and own houses and business buildings and lease them. To preserve quality of the development MTDC will sell plots with professionally built houses or will organise such regulations that owners will be obliged to build their houses in a given period of time and of sufficient quality. The traditional way of selling plots for speculative purposes

Type of serviceYear 1 – 3 Approx 250 – 750 inh

Year 4 – 6 Approx 1000 – 1500 inh

Year 7 – 10Approx 1750 – 2700 inh

Shopping centre 500 m2 3000 m2 4200 m2

Supermarket475 m2 (including cash machine and post office )

  1850m2 (Including bank and post office)

1850 m2- 2960 m2(Including bank and post office)

Shops, restaurant --   500 m2 1000 m2

Medical post 100 m2 per doctor 100 m2- 200 m2 200 m2- 340m2

Management office 50 m2 150 m2 300 m2

Community center 40 m2- 130 m2   130 m2- 250 m2 250 m2- 420 m2

Other services      

Dentist -- 100 m2- 200 m2 200 m2-340 m2

Pharmacy -- _ 190 m2

Petrol station --  --2000 m2(outside plan area)

Schools 1100 + 2100 m22 x 1100 m2 + 2 x 2100 m2 + 2300 m2

2 x 1100 m2 + 2 x 2100 1 x 3800 m2

Primary school(4-11 years)

1080 m2 2160 m2 2160 m2-3600 m2

After school care facility(4-11 years)

1260 m2 2520 m2 2520 m2-4200 m2

Kindergarten (0-3 years) 810 m2 1620 m2 1620-2700 m2

Secondary school(12-18 years)

-- 2300 m2 3840 m2

PM; sports & recreation, Governmental services ,

 In the green areas   In the green areas   In the green areas

Program for services in the Mon Trésor Master Plan in GFA (Gross Floor Area)

HedgesTrees

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will not be possible in Mon Trésor. All buildings will respond to strict regulations (see also paragraph 6.3) for lay-out, architectural quality and building activities which will be controlled by MTDC.By designing, selling and building in small clusters (50 – 100 units) MTDC guarantees that inhabitants experience minimum of hindrance from building activities.The site will be publically accessible, with reference to regulations for the visitor, will be secured by a camera surveillance system and by surveillance by MTDC security officials. The number of entrances will be limited where possible and all entrances will be marked with gates and by signs which welcome the visitor and explain the rules. All business and residential areas, except the ones at both sides of the Airport Avenue, will exclusively be accessible via the main entrances of ‘Mon Trésor Estate’.

Flowering tree species, colour and flowering time Jacaranda purple blue late springPersian Lilac lilac late springPink trumpet pink springBottle brush red early summerFlamboyant orange summerGolden flamboyant yellow summerNiaouli white from spring to autumn

6.2.3 Landscape and heritage; Mon Trésor estateEstate landscapeThe entire site will be cleaned up; the sugar cane will partly be replaced by meadows, especially at both sides of the main roads and on locations where houses will be built. These fields will be grazed by cattle. These types of extensively grazed meadows are rare on Mauritius and could play host to flora and fauna. The resulting landscape will be inviting: gently rolling fields with the mountains and the sea in the background.The site will be surrounded with a hedge combined with a fence, a maintenance path and groups of trees. A tree nursery on location has already been started. All roads and streets will be planted with trees. The main roads and the residential streets with green verges will be planted with species growing into large trees and the smaller streets with smaller trees. In the residential area trees species will be selected on flowering colour; roads will turn into feasts of blue, lilac, pink, red, orange and yellow in the flowering season (see also frame with examples).

In the parks and large gardens will be space for fruit bearing trees, which will be appreciated by humans, birds and bats. In the coastal zone (Mare aux Songes, Christian Vallet Forest and the coastal park) original Mauritian species will be planted where possible.All residential plots will be delivered with one or two trees to stimulate the forest appearance of the site.

Valuable landscape and heritage elements will be preserved. The old buildings in the sugar factory complex will be preserved, together with the magnificent trees around it. The complex will be given a new function. Also the old tree lane to Blue Bay will entirely be preserved and will get the function of a bicycle- and foot path. The street pattern and the full grown trees in and around the former compound will be given a place in the future city quarter.The old railroad will not be preserved (also see 6.6).

Masterplan Mon Trésor

Road hierarchy

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A-Roads

B-Roads

Local Roads

Pedestrian paths

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6.2.4 Road system and transportRoads The Master Plan contains three types of roads: • Two Classified A roads: the Airport Avenue and the

Mon Trésor Avenue provided with service streets and / or cycle paths;

• Several Classified B roads, providing the access to the specific subareas, provided with bicycle and pedestrian paths;

• Local roads / other roads: a fine network giving access to business and houses. These roads and streets have pavements, mixed traffic and limited driving speeds. All residential streets will be equipped with speed bumps to slow down the traffic.

Estimations of the traffic production of the total Mon Trésor Master Plan area show that this traffic can be handled by the existing road network around the airport. Thus, strictly speaking the New Airport Access Road will not be required to handle the Mon Trésor traffic until 2025. When business and residential development continues as expected after 2025, the New Airport Access Road becomes indispensable.

Airport AvenueThe Airport Avenue is in The Long Term Regional Development Vision a very important road (see also paragraph 5.3) connecting the airport with the future city centre and the Southern suburbs and is a major component

of the New Airport Access Road. In the Master Plan only a short section of this Airport Avenue will be incorporated, namely the section between the connection with the Mon Trésor Avenue and the existing roundabout next to the Holiday Inn Hotel. The ambition for the period after 2025 is to expand this Airport Avenue is Southern direction and to develop it in a high-rise, high quality mixed use heart line.

Mon Trésor AvenueThe Mon Trésor Avenue connects the future city centre / business district with the residential quarters and the sea at La Combuse. The ambition is to build this road over the entire length in the early stages, possibly in phased manner, to give access to the coastal area and the planned Dodo Theme Park. When the situation might occur that the New Airport Access Road is delayed, there is always the option of elongating this Mon Trésor Avenue to the existing highway connection nearby Plaine Magnien giving the Mon Trésor site its own access to the highway M1. In the distant future when the New Airport Access Road is completed, this road could be disconnected from the highway and could than function as a main road.

Public transport The Master Plan includes, following the Long Term Regional Development Vision a space reservation for a high quality public transport line at most North Western tip of the plan area. For local and inter local public transport bus routes can be developed covering the development area and its functions and using the main road network provided with separated bus bays.

Paths for pedestrians and bicycles The plan provides for an intensive network of bicycle and pedestrian paths. The bicycle paths will on the long term be part of a regional cycle path network.

The old rail road The old railroad will not be preserved, because the track has no relevance for any form of transport. The new network of roads and lines for public transport will take over the function. The old tree lane, which runs about the same route as the railway, will be used as a path for bicycles and pedestrians.

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6.2.5 Sustainable water management planningNext to the environmental policies and measures mentioned in the previous chapter, this chapter concentrates on more detailed environmental issues and measures connected with water and energy. The Master Plan entails measures and issues on the level of the public space as well as buildings. All houses and commercial buildings will be BREEAM certified (sustainability performance standard).

Retention and drainage All business sites will be set up with a relatively large green surface, on the private plots as well as in the public space. This green space enhances the quality of the sites and will serve as retention area for rain water during heavy rain storms. Depressions in the topography which are currently functioning as retention areas will be respected. One of these is located in the centre of the Master Plan, just east of the old factory. All non-main roads will be paved with stones instead off tarmac to let the rainwater infiltrate in the subsoil. Any surplus can also be stored and reused for garden irrigation and swimming pools.Urbanization brings a considerable increase in the surface area of pavements and roofs. This enlarges the risk of flooding during heavy rainstorms. Another risk is the runoff of polluted water from the streets in the sea and Blue Bay. To prevent these risks, the following measures are integrated in the Master Plan:• Permeable pavements wherever possible: in all

residential streets, in parking lots, storage spaces, for

drives and for footpaths;• Green verges as retention basins along main roads;• Use of depressions in the topography as green sites for

recreation and for retention of storm water; • Green roofs on large logistic and industrial buildings,

with a capacity to retain the rain water and / or green retention basins on the plots;

• Green basins close to the coast in which the run-off from the residential areas can infiltrate before they reach the sea;

• These measures also guarantee that a large amount of the rain water will infiltrate in the sub-soil replenishing the groundwater level, an important source of fresh water for potable water production.

Efficient use of potable water The use of potable water will be reduced by optimal use of the rain water for specific purposes such as the flushing of the toilet, irrigation of the garden and the filling of the swimming pool. For this purpose the possibilities for tanks or cisterns in the buildings will be studied. A solution to prevent shortage of potable water in the dry season is the integration of potable tanks in every building, which will be filled in the seasons with an ample supply of potable water.

Supply of potable waterThe Omnicane Development is located within the District Water Supply System – South and presently derives its potable water supply from Piton du Milieu reservoir and

from various boreholes operated by the Central Water Authority (CWA). Water for commercial and industrial uses is derived from the same sources.The Master Plan for the Development of Water Resources in Mauritius recently completed by NIRAS and Mega Design Ltd forecast a total water shortfall of some 12 Mm³/year for the South Water Supply for the planning horizon 2025. The forecasted shortfall for the horizon 2050 is 14 Mm³/year. A new reservoir, the Rivière des Anguilles dam, is presently in the construction phase. Once in operation in 2016, it will provide a safe yield of 30 Mm³/year and will be able to satisfy the future domestic as well as irrigation water for the whole of the South water supply zone downstream. Sufficient water from Piton du Milieu presently being supplied to the area downstream of the Rivière des Anguilles dam may then be remobilized to supply the Omnicane project.A few alternative connection points to the CWA water supply system exist in the vicinity, among which the Ramp Le Moirt service reservoir, the Trois Boutiques borehole or through upgrading of the existing pipeline to Mon Desert.As part of the Water Resources Master plan, it was also assessed that Rivière La Chaux discharges some 60 Mm³ of water per year into the sea and Rivière des Créoles discharges some 33 Mm³/yr into the sea. Two potential dams had been identified across these rivers which can produce annual yields of 19 Mm³/yr and 40 Mm³/yr.

Several types of permeable pavements

Green roofs will catch the first flush of rain water

Basins for retention of storm water in green areas

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SewerageNo water borne sewerage exists in this region and wastewater treatment can only be effected through localised anaerobic methods (individual septic tanks and soakage pits or leaching fields) or through collective aerobic activated sludge treatment/rotating biological contactors.For the Mon Trésor Development, a wastewater collector system will be implemented and a treatment plant installed just south of the plan area on Omnicane land, close to the fields where the treated water will be used for irrigation purposes. The treatment plant will be modular in design to permit expansion as development progresses. The size of the plant will not exceed 2 hectares until 2025 including buffer reservoirs.It is fairly common practice to use treated effluent free of hazardous chemicals and heavy metals for irrigation after secondary treatment, thus avoiding any emissions to the sea or rivers. The treated water is usually diluted 1:1 or 1:2 with normal river water prior to irrigation. However, a few other constraints have to be taken into consideration, namely:• This region has a good rainfall regime and may not

need irrigation for very long intervals, during which time the water should be stored or dispose of by other means, e.g. borehole injection / recharge (the water is pumped into a borehole reaching the aquifer);

• Out of psychological apprehension, workers are reluctant to work in sugarcane fields irrigated by

overhead centre pivots even if the water is well treated – surface irrigation or the more expensive drip irrigation system may be adopted;

These constraints should be managed by the management. Otherwise and in view of the amount of water at the initial stage being small, progressively increasing with development, this option would be a viable solution for disposal of treated effluent.The treated effluent should be given a transient stay in a maturation pond to permit further biological treatment pending its use. The pond will also serve as a buffer reservoir when demand for irrigation is low.The landform has a gradual slope from 110m above mean sea level inland to 10m above mean sea level along the coast line. This lends itself to a gravity based reticulation sewer system with a few trunk collector sewer mains running almost parallel to the contours. Collected waste water nearer the coast will have to be pumped inland to the treatment plant located at approximate 30m contour, and this will involve some 5 pumping stations.

6.2.6 Sustainable energy management planning Electrical Power RequirementIn the short term (Year 2020) the power requirement is estimated as 2.9mVA and this is expected to progressively increase to 7.25mVA by the year 2020. This demand of 7.25mVA represents about 3% of the present maximum demand for the whole island and the present electrical distribution (22kV) infrastructure in the vicinity of the

site can with some upgrading work meet this power requirement.However it may be the requirement of CEB that the 66kV transmission line be diverted to a 66/22 kV transformer and a distribution substation erected at the periphery of the project boundary. This proposed substation, for which a dedicated land area of approximately 800 m² should be provided, shall comprise of one incoming 66kV feeder two 66/22kV transformers and an indoor 22kV distribution substation with a number of outgoing 22 kV feeders to the development.Electrical power will be brought to the heart of the development through underground 22kV cables which will supply the individual plots/buildings in the traditional ring circuit through ring main units.Each commercial or industrial building whose power consumption is estimated to be above 500 kVA will have its own dedicated 22kV/400V step down transformer accommodated within an enclosed and ventilated space of about 16 square metres within the precinct. These buildings will also be equipped with standby generators which will provide 100% backup. The standby generators will be of the automatic type and will start immediately upon failure of the electrical supply and stop upon restoration of supply.

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Strategies for decreasing the use of fossil fuelsThe acquired decrease in the use of fossil fuels will in practice be achieved by two strategies: • Reducing the energy consumption;• Renewable energy generation on or nearby the site. The Mon Trésor Master Plan offers great opportunities to implement both strategies:• The project will be developed from scratch and thus

offers the opportunity to steer energy usage and organise energy supply in an innovative and highly sustainable way;

• Omnicane, is already involved in power production and could expand their service to small scale energy production units such as solar panels;

• These techniques and results will underpin the sustainable objectives for the Mon Trésor development, will add to the ‘green’ and ‘modern’ image of the project and will attract businesses and inhabitants with ‘green’ objectives.

Energy savingWith respect to reducing energy consumption not only concrete measures are available. In fact, energy savings are an underlying principle of the concept of Master Plan. Several important measures and principles are noted here:

Reducing mobility related energy consumption• The Mon Trésor Master Plan combines working, living

and leisure in one location. This in combination with a good network of bicycle and walking lanes/ paths for daily traffic limits the need for car traffic and the related energy consumption and pollutant emissions;

• Although not intrinsically part of the master plan, public transport between the airport region and the conurbation is made possible with proper space reservations for future public transport development. This way, private transport with the related energy consumption can be further decreased;

• A good alternative for cars with internal combustion engines are electric cars. They are more energy efficient, require less maintenance and are more environmentally friendly because they don’t emit exhaust pollutants while driving. The big disadvantages of these electric cars, the limited driving range and the long (battery) charging -time, are not a real problem on a small island like Mauritius. Most trips are short and there is time to recharge during the night. Especially when the cars are loaded during the night with for example energy produced by wind parks, these cars offer huge advantages;

• For transport within the site and its direct surroundings also small electric cars such as golf carts come in the picture. MTDC will try to stimulate this type of transport by offering loading facilities as an option in housing and business projects and will try to interest a dealer or dealers to open a shop in the plan area for sales and car rental.

Reducing building related energy consumption (offices and houses)• Enhancing natural ventilation (prevailing wind

orientation) to reduce air conditioning;• Solar de-oriented building to prevent unwanted

heating of the house;• Choosing the right materials and colours to reduce

heating of the buildings;• Trees and green verges in the streets giving shade

and help to prevent urban heat stress and reducing air conditioning;

Reducing energy consumption in public space• Applying the newest energy saving LED techniques for

the street lighting.

Renewable energy productionIt is estimated that with the newest technologies and building principles energy consumption can be maximally reduced to 10% of the traditional consumption levels without compromising the living comfort. For the energy demand for public space a reduction of 50% is possible. The remaining demand for energy can easily be supplied for by new and clean energy producing technologies. The use of renewable energy sources like solar energy is a very interesting option for the Mon Trésor Master Plan. The following measures are to be elaborated and will produce a considerable percentage of the power demand of the Mon Trésor project:

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• Deployment of a smart grid by the Central Electricity Board facilitating Small Scale Distributed Generators (SSDG);

• The use of these SSDGs such as solar panels or small scale wind turbines will be stimulated and can provide their surplus to the net. Potential locations for these SSDGs include roofs of parking areas, business areas and private houses;

• Also other power producing systems like solar water boilers will be stimulated. An interesting option is to use the proximity of the sea to cool water and bring this to the offices and houses for air conditioning. A feasibility study for such a system in the airport area is in preparation. This system can result in a considerable increase of the percentage renewable energy in the total energy consumption in the Master Plan area.

For security and reliability reasons a self-supporting energy production should always be backed up with a central net connection of the CEB.

Many of these techniques are not yet profitable. The development of knowledge in this field within the 10 year time frame of the project and the large scale on which these techniques will be applied could bring this

profitability within reach. Further research and fine tuning with other parties (such as the CEB) is needed for a proper design and management of the total sustainable energy strategy. To realise the sustainable energy strategy MTDC will prescribe measures for the Mon Trésor development and will give them a high priority when conflicts arise with other interests, for example esthetical considerations.

utility

2020 2025

Estimation based on average use Mauritius

Estimation feasible savings on power and water use by efficiency measures

Estimation feasible savings on power supply by local and renewable energy production

Estimation based on average Mauritius

Estimation feasible savings on power and water use by efficiency measures

Estimation feasible savings on power supply by local and renewable energy production

Power 2,900 kVA 10% 30 – 50 % 7,250 kVA 15 % 40 – 60%

Potable water

400m3 / day

20% 1,000m3 / day 25 %

Irrigation water

400m3 / day

900m3 / day

Capacity sewage plant

50m3 / hour

100m3 / hour

Masterplan phase 1, Western part, the office park around the hotel

Masterplan phase 1, Eastern part, residential and servicesMasterplan phase 2

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6.2.7 Technical issues / constraintsExisting borehole Airport Avenue A borehole for water is located close to the Holiday Inn Airport Hotel, at the Western side of the future Airport Avenue. This borehole will be integrated in the setback zone. Special protective measures, such as sealing of paved surfaces and prevention for leaking of sewages pipes are required to prevent pollution of the groundwater

Telecom/Internet ConnectivityDSL (Digital Subscriber line) connection (ADSL and SDSL) is present almost everywhere on the island through the copper wire telephone network or through wireless broadband Internet access services. Broadband connection using fibre optic is provided at limited places in Port Louis, Ebene and at the airport. Fibre optics connectivity is provided to domestic subscribers at specific locations in Curepipe, Floreal, Rose Hill and Beau Bassin.The Mauritius Telecom has embarked into an aggressive rehabilitation of its network to expand fibre optic transmission to all businesses and even to domestic subscribers as this is proving to be a lucrative business and other service providers are joining the band wagon, for example CEB using broadband over power line.In this respect the Mon Trésor Omnicane project will encounter no major problem in being connected by optic fibre through an extension of its facilities at the airport.

6.2.8 Phasing Phase 1 The project starts close to the Holiday Inn Airport Hotel, with the development of a business park, offering mainly offices for companies which are connected with the airport. This project enhances the function of the hotel. The initial ambition is to acquire the settlement of one or more ‘anchor’ companies. For the Mon Trésor residential site the first housing project will be programmed (types, numbers, requirements) designed, submitted to government for permits, marketed and built if sales reaches the expected level. If required from a marketing point of view the first stage of the service- and shopping centre will be incorporated. For these initial developments the existing road system will be sufficient, although it’s preferred to start in the earliest stage with the planning and building of the New Airport Access Road since this new road is expected to be a strong incentive for the business development.

Phase 2 The lessons learned and the money earned in the first phase will be used to direct the second phase. If required the Master Plan will be reviewed and up-dated. The second phase will start with the detailing, permits procedure and building of the Mon Trésor Avenue and the Airport Avenue section within the plan area. The program and the lay-out of the business sites along the Airport Avenue and in the logistic / light industry park South East of the hotel will be prepared and marketed. The same applies for residential

sites for different target groups in the Mon Trésor Park and for the service and shopping centre. When marketing and sales generate the expected level of interest from buyers and tenants, building of the sites will start.

Phase 3 and further In these phases the project will grow in steps along the same lines as described for the first stages. The process will be accelerated when the market reacts positive or decelerated when demand is low. When the plan reaches the borders of the Master Plan area a second Master Plan for the expansion of the Mon Trésor development will be prepared. This second Master Plan will be based on an evaluation and update of the Long Term Regional Development Vision, in consultation with government and stakeholders.

Regulations Airport Avenue

The plot lay-out• Minimum of 40% green space• Maximum of 40% pavement• Shared access roadParking• Parking at the back of the building• Parking standard 1 parking place per 60m2 gross

floor area• Parking roofed with solar panels or if not appli-

cable: stretches of pavement not wider than 16m intersected by green and trees at least 2m

The building• Minimum of 4 floors• Maximum height 45m• Minimal floor area ratio 0.8• Entrances at the side of the buildingSetbacks• 10m setback from front boundary• 5m setback from side boundary for parking and

building• 5m setback from rear boundary for parking and

building

Architecture• Materials: concrete, metal, glass• Modern, international, high tech architecture

Cross section Airport Avenue

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6.3 Description urban design

The urban designs for the composing elements in the Master Plan are based on a general program. More elaborated programs have to be developed before detailed designs can be made.This paragraph shows the urban designs, regulations and designs for public space. The regulations and the design of urban space are based on the national design guidance but sometimes there are deviations. These will be explained.The components which were studied in the design process but were rejected as part of the Master Plan are also described. These will be used to guide the follow-up plans for the longer term.

6.3.1 Airport AvenueThe Airport Avenue will connect the airport with the highway via the new highway connector and will be one of the busiest roads on the island on the long term, comparable with the present highway in Port Louis.

Business stripThe land at both sides of the Airport Avenue will be an ideal location for offices, commercial functions and services. In expression it will be comparable with Cyber City, but better organised. All buildings will be oriented towards the Airport Avenue, made accessible by the service roads at both sides. These service roads will also serve bicycles and pedestrians. At the Western border a reservation for public transport is added to the design.

RegulationsThe regulations for this business area prescribe green setbacks at the roads-side and parking at the back. The buildings should have a modern, international and high tech character, with as main materials glass, concrete and metals.An important issue in this area is the relationship between building height and parking capacity. The principles for this area are:• A green appearance of the plot, regulated on minimal

40% of the plot surface, including the setbacks;• Buildings of minimal 4 floors high but preferably

higher, with a maximum of 100 m above mean sea level (airport safety regulation, at this location, approximately 45 meter);

• A maximum footprint of the building of 20% of the plot size;

• The governmental 1 parking place / 60 m2 GFA standards, with a maximum parking lot of 40% of the plot surface.

• The rule to interrupt the parking area with trees and green verges.

These rules imply that the developer can build on a plot of 1 ha a maximum of 160 parking places, resulting in a maximum of 9600 m2 GFA. When the developer wants to build more volume, a garage of maximum three floors is allowed at the back of the plot and covering maximal 30% of the plot.

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View on the Airport Avenue with in the back the new office park near by the Holiday Inn Hotel

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On the long term, after 2025, the new city centre with high density mixed use will arise along the Airport Avenue

Mon Trésor Avenue

Cross section Mont Trésor Avenue

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6.3.2 Business park and the Mon Trésor AvenueThe Mon Trésor Avenue This new road connects the city centre with the sea and gives access to all quarters within Mon Trésor. The road gives the visitor a good impression of the site and the quality of the estate: spacious, green and safe. Also this road will have service roads to give access to plots at both sides.At the entrance of the Mon Trésor Estate a gate will be built.

The Business ParkThe business park will accommodate several types of businesses: logistics, light industry, high tech, services and offices. The lay-out is zoned with the more representative functions, such as offices and high tech at the main road and logistics at the side of the airport.The cross sections of roads comprise of ample green space with an important function for the retention of rain water during rain storms. The regulations also provide for green retention space on the plots.The lay-out for this park is flexible to adjust plot sizes and to phase the development. It is possible to provide space to all types of companies within one phase and consequently it’s possible to develop this park in phases.

RegulationsBuildings will stay beneath the tree-top line; the maximum building height is 15 m. All plots will have green setbacks and a minimum of 40% green area, from which half the surface has to be designed as a retention basin to catch the first flow of rain water during rain storms. For the logistic and industrial buildings this rule doesn’t apply when the buildings have green roofs with sufficient retention capacity. Industrial and logistic buildings will be designed functionally, with a good level of architectural detailing. For the office strip along the Mon Trésor Avenue specific regulations apply. These buildings will in scale and design refer to traditional villas. All office buildings will be clad with sloping roofs.

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On the foreground the Mon Trésor Avenue connecting the residential quarters with the business parks and the sea

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View from the Mon Trésor Avenue over the coastal park and the sea

Masterplan Mon Trésor

Business park

Airport Avenue

Mon Trésor Avenue

A’- A’’

B’- B’’

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Masterplan Mon Trésor

Cross sections roads Mon Trésor Business Park

A’

B’

A’’

B’’

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For location see map page 130

Regulations Business Park(for logistics, light industry, high tech, services and offices)

The plot lay-out• Shared access road• Building entrances at the side Parking• Parking at the back of the building• Parking standard 1 parking place per 60m2 gross

floor areaThe building• Stretches of pavement not wider than 16m inter-

sected by green and trees at least 2m• Minimum of 30% green space, 15% designed as a

water retention basin

Setbacks• 6m setback from front boundary• 4m setback from side boundary for parking and

building• 4m setback from rear boundary for parking and

buildingArchitecture• Maximum height 12m for industrial buildings• Maximum height 15m for offices

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Regulations Business Park – Offices

The plot lay-out• Minimum of 40% green space• Maximum of 40% pavement• Shared access road• Building entrances at the sideParking• Parking at the back of the building• Parking standard 1 parking place per 60m2 gross

floor area• Parking roofed with solar panels or if not appli-

cable: stretches of pavement not wider than 16m intersected by green and trees at least 2m

The building• Maximum of height 15 m

Setbacks• 6m setback from front boundary• 4m setback from side boundary for parking and

building• 4m setback from rear boundary for parking and

buildingArchitecture• Matrials fitting in estate atmosphere: painted

stucco, wood, stone• Colours light shades• Window to wall ratio maximal 0,35 • Porches / bay windows• Hipped roofs

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Masterplan Mon Trésor

First phase office park

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6.3.3 The area around the Holiday Inn Airport HotelThis location will show the first phase business development on the site; the new Holiday Inn Airport Hotel will be the centre of this office cluster. It will exist of office units of maximum 5 floors in a park landscape dressed with groups of trees. The same regulations apply as for the business buildings in the park as described above.

On a temporary basis the entrance will be at the airport side. At a later date the park will be made accessible from the Airport Avenue and the Mon Trésor Avenue. Possible future expansions for this cluster, so close to the airport, would be a building with business support (meeting facilities, secretarial services, car hire etc.) and a conference centre, with facilities for events, the latter preferably at the Airport Avenue.

Regulations See regulations offices in 6.3.2

Reference: Design ENL Property for business park

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Masterplan residential area: in the ‘Mon Trésor Park‘

Cross section residential road higher middle-class with green verges Cross section residential road affordable middle-class

Detail

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6.3.4 Residential areasThe Master Plan contains three types of housing, concentrated in two quarters:• Affordable middle-class housing in town-houses and

duplexes on small plots located at functional streets with parking and trees. Plot sizes range from 150 to 200 m2. Each plot gives space to one parking space. This type is found West of the ‘Mon Trésor Park;

• Middle-class and higher middle-class detached houses on medium sized plots located on spacious streets with green verges and trees. The plot sizes vary from 700 to 1000 m2. Each plot has enough space to park two cars. This type is located East of the Mon ‘Mon Trésor Park.

Apartment buildings at the borders of green areas.In the Mon Trésor park and in or close to these quarters parks are created for playing and sports.In both quarters with family houses density can be increased by making smaller plots or apartment buildings can be added depending on the market.The parcellation is composed of rectangular blocks with such a size that every year one block can be built, preventing large scale road construction and building works scattered in the landscape.

RegulationsThe regulations for building these residential quarters are showed on the following pages.All houses will be designed by two or three professional architects, giving buyers a choice. Adjustments to the design are limited, especially at the front side of the houses. MTDC will sell the houses from the drawing. When enough houses are sold the entire block will be built. In reaction to the Mauritian culture in which many people show ambition to build their own house, the regulations foresee in a zone for expansions of the house at the back. It is also possible to deliver the houses as a self-build package with roof, walls, windows and walls built by the professional contractor, to be finished internally by the buyer. This will make the houses more affordable and will add individuality to the houses.Walls around the houses are prohibited. The garden can be bordered with a fence or a hedge or a combination, up to a maximum height of 1.2 meter at the front side.

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Plot sizes middle-class housing138

Regulations middle-class housing139

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Residential streets will be wide green and planted with trees; bumps in the drivinglane slow down the car traffic (low density residential)

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High density residential

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Within the residential quarters is provided for green squares and playgrounds

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Campus concept: the factory site with new commercial funcitons on a green carpet144

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6.4 Designs for future expansions

When the market asks for other housing types than foreseen or when the Mon Trésor development grows faster than foreseen, expansion to the West or to the East are possible. The designs show a possible extension to the West of 15,5 ha for 355 units and to the East, measuring 21 ha for 120 units. Closer to the sea, plots can be increased to 2.000 or even 3.000 m2.

6.4.1 Old sugar factoryThe old Mon Trésor sugar factory has heritage value and will be given a new function appropriate for the size and the character. The location on a hill, giving views towards the sea is beautiful, but is also isolated, far away from the airport and busy roads. Even after the Master Plan period ending in 2025, the factory is still an isolated location. The buildings, especially the older ones, built from local stone, have charm and character and could host a diversity of functions:• Offices, services and/or a conference centre;• Commercial and tourist functions such as shopping,

restaurant and events;• Facilities for an apartment complex around the factory,

such as sports, sauna, garden, swimming pool and a restaurant;

• Sports, wellness and leisure.Two interns from the Netherlands are on Mauritius for 3 months and will make design sketches for these possible

functions. Some results from their study will be presented in this Master Plan. For all the functions mentioned no market is expected within the first 10 years. A conference centre and a commercial centre seem more in place along the Airport Avenue than at this isolated location. Therefore MTDC will use the building complex for a 10 year period for offices and storage of machines and materials during the building of the Master Plan. The building complex will be free from industrial machinery and waste. All adjacent buildings, the pond and the big trees around the factory will be preserved. After this period the chances for a new function will be reviewed. A function for industrial or agricultural purposes is out of the question.

For the future integration of the factory in the Mon Trésor area a ‘Campus concept’ is proposed. This means that independent buildings are placed on a green carpet leaving the central area free as a public park. In this central area the factory with its large trees and ponds will have a prominent place. From this centre several paths lead to the sea and to the city centre. This concept gives space to multifarious developments around the factory: from a sports centre, to a training centre, a school, and even apartment buildings. All buildings will be oriented towards the park as well as towards the road-side. Car parks will be located between the buildings.

6.4.2 Blue BayBeach Club / Mangrove ClubLocal experts consider a beach club where guests can enjoy the sea and the beach in a safe and tasteful environment as a sine qua non for higher middle-class and top-class residential development. Since the La Combuse coast line is attacked by the wind and the waves (there is no protecting reef ) a beach club is not feasible here. The only possible location for such a club on the Mon Trésor property would be at the well protected southern shore of Blue Bay, where Omnicane leases the Pas Geometrique from the government. The construction of a beach area close to or in a mangrove area is assumed to be unfeasible.As an alternative a sketch has been made for a ‘Mangrove Club’; a main buildings with restaurant and bar at the legal distance from the high water line (30 m) via a narrow bridge attached to decks, floating on Blue Bay, where guests can rest in the sun and swim enjoying a drink and a bite to eat.Some suggestions to enhance the tourist value of the borders of Blue Bay are:

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View on the front of the old sugar factory green campus amidst schools and other services

Bercy Paris Shopping mall in old industrial building

Vivia Business park Saint Pierre Mauritius; offices in old sugar factory147

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Sketch designs for the old sugar factory, model residential, made by interns Bo Bruseker and Tijme Scholten

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Bungalows at the Blue BayThe idea has risen to build a cluster of small ‘eco-bungalows’ at the border of Blue Bay for people who want to enjoy the island’s nature for an affordable price. The cluster has a service building with a restaurant and a reception. The one room bungalows measure about 40 m2 with a bathroom and a kitchenette.

Hiking paths along the borders of Blue BayStarting from the Dodo Theme Park, hiking paths could lead around Blue Bay to the northern shore and the Blue Bay beach. These paths offer guests a scenic walk of about 3 kilometres.

The feasibility of floating structures, bungalows and recreational paths will have to be tested in a permitting process considering nature protection regulations.

6.4.3 Coastal areaTwo alternativesThe coastal area within the Mon Tréso site is considered a very valuable location for tourists and leisure development. In contrast to the public beaches with minimal facilities and to most other hotels and resorts on the island the objective for the Mon Trésor site is to aim at middle-class, good quality beach development that is publicly accessible. In the planning process two different approaches were studied:• A boardwalk for pedestrians only, with high quality

adjacent hotels, apartments, tourism and leisure facilities combined with a beach with safe and pleasant swimming facilities;

• A quiet green area with villas, some family-hotels and restaurants, a quiet coastal road and a green coastal park.

Boarders Blue Bay with man grove planting at the sore line bungalow cluster and ‘mangrove club’

Sketch mangrove club

Sketch mangrove club149

References for hotels / leisure / apartments, boardwalk and pavillions at the sea side150

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6.4.4 Intensive tourist, leisure boardwalk variantThis option adopts some features from famous American sea-side tourist towns. Along the beach lies a boardwalk for pedestrians only with at the one side nice views over the beach and the sea, pavilions and at the other side hotels, restaurants, bars, shops, leisure, and so on. The boardwalk lies at least 100 m from the high water line on Omnicane property. The access road and the parking facilities are localised at the back of the boardwalk plots as a tree lined ‘Parking Avenue’.To achieve this type of development, a nice beach with safe swimming conditions are essential and this means that an artificial reef has to beach at some distance in sea to block the waves and the currents. The existing beach has to be enlarged by adding sand. Such a construction will demand a separate feasibility study concentrating on:• Environmental issues concerning the consequences

for the marine nature, for the adjacent Blue Bay Marine Park , for the Fishery Reserve and for the adjacent Scenic Landscape Area;

• The availability of materials for building these constructions and the costs;

• Alternatives for the length, the distance to the coast, the height of the reef et cetera.

The expectation is that, although the study might give positive and feasible results, it will be a major and long-lasting task to get an approved EIA for such a development, because government’s policies are opposed to structures in sea. Therefore the advice is, when this option is considered, to start with the feasibility study and to plan the realisation on the mid to long term.

Intensive tourist, leisure boardwalk variant

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Forrest villas

Forrest lane leading from the coastal area to the dodo park

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6.4.5 Extensive green villa variant The second option for the coastal development aims at a villa park, a quiet road along the costal park, green landscape connections and no constructions in sea or at the beach. The coastal road is located on Omnicare property, just outside the Pas Geometrique.In this design all the villas are oriented towards avenues which give direct access to the coastal road, the beach park and the sea. This approach is opposed to the villa development south of Mahébourg, where one row of villas claims and conceals effectively the entire shore line over kilometres distance. Part of this design is the landscape connections between the residential areas, the Christian Vallet Forest, which will be preserved as a forest park, the Dodo Theme Park (see also paragraph 6.4.6), the old factory and further away the borders of Blue Bay. This network of paths invites walking, cycling and enjoying nature. The green zone between the Dodo Theme Park and the Christian Valle Forest will be planted as forest (with original species) in which recreation and tourist facilities can be integrated. Between the villas, some plots could be reserved for more or less traditional good quality ‘family hotels’ with a restaurant and a shaded and sheltered terrace.

Extensive green villa variant

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Masterplan Mon Trésor

Possible location golf course

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6.4.6 Integration Dodo Theme ParkCoordination between the Mon Trésor Master Plan and the design for the Dodo Theme Park, which was separately commissioned by Omnicare, will be required. Some suggestions for adjustment are presented in the drawing. The Dodo Theme Park will be made accessible via the Mon Trésor Avenue, which will be more attractive for the visitors and will expose the Mon Trésor site in the same time. A fluent connection with the new road to Le Chaland demands for adjustment and possibly the replacement of the parking which is now located between the Mare aux Songes and the Christian Vallet Forest. The car park could be moved to a site West of the main entrance. This main entrance could be designed as an inviting avenue with the entrance building on a square at the end. The avenue, planted with one or more original Mauritian tree species, for example Arbre à huile (Hornea Mauritiana), Bois d’olive (Cassine orientalis) or Natte Legentil (Labourdonaisia revoluta) leads to the Christian Vallet Forest and further to the coastal Park, bringing these natural elements together. The Dodo Theme Park could be the starting point of hiking paths along the borders of Blue Bay and to the beach.

6.4.7 Golf courseJust as the beach club, a 18-hole golf course, measuring approximately 70 ha, at close distance is considered a vital condition and trigger for higher middle-class housing development. Several options for this golf course have been studied. The main problem is not the costs of realisation and neither the costs of a profitable exploitation, which will be very awkward because of the fierce competition between the many existing golf courses on the island, but the loss of 70 ha valuable building land. This was one of the reasons to look to other locations outside the Mon Trésor site. There are two possible locations close by on less valuable land: • Just north of Blue Bay under the take-off route of

the air planes on agricultural land (not Omnicane’s property) where residential functions are prohibited and where the land will be less valuable;

• South of Le Bouchon at about 3 km distance from the old factory on Omnicane sugar cane land, where a combination with beach facilities could be realised.

Since there is no market at present for such a large scale facility, the realisation of a golf course is considered to be a project for the mid to long term.

An option for the longer term is, developing a golf course on Omnicane land close to the Mon Trésor Master Plan site just South of the old factory. Advantages are:• Close to the residential development;• Adds a green landscape element of scale to the other

green areas in the coastal area and adds to the green structure when connected with the green valley of the Ruisseau des Mares du Tabac;

• Generates a new function for the old factory as the main building with facilities as a country club, a golf shop, a sports centre and so on.

The entrance area could be designed as a park area with connected buildings at the borders.

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Mon Trésor plan area and Master Plan projected on Long Term Regional Development Vision 2065

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7.1 Explanation

The ambition of this plan is to make our future as sustainable as possible for the sake of Planet, People and Profit. The input of all experts working on this project focused on this goal, thinking together as to how to operationalize sustainability objectives in Mon Trésor. All available information and expertise was brought together (see chapters 2 and 3), discussed internally and externally with stakeholders, analysed (see chapters 3 and 4) and merged in models for the future. The best model is described in this report (see chapters 5 and 6). This assessment is not simply an environmentalist’s judgement ex post. The environmentalists have shaped the plan together with the planners from the very start.The objective of this assessment is to judge the level at which the plan meets the original goals:• Sustainability with realism and flexibility as

components;• In line with governments ambition, regulations and

standards;• Mixed urban development.This appraisal can be used to evaluate the plan and to improve it in the next planning rounds.

7.2 The Assessment tableThe assessment tables give answers on the following questions:• Column 3: Is the plan in line with

policies / regulations ?• Column 4: Is the plan adding to a sustainable future

for Mauritius, the region and the site when compared with the current situation ?

• Column 5: When the plan doesn’t score well, how can it be improved ? And how should it be judged when these improvements are integrated ?

The assessment is made separately for the long term vision, for the master plan and for the possible longer term expansions. Principles and measures which have been assessed for the Long Term Regional Vision are not repeated in the assessment for the Master Plan and the expansions.The individual assessments are based on experts judgement.In paragraph 7.5 the notable scores will be discussed.

Meaning of assessment scores

Impact score

Magnitude Conclusion

Highly positiveImpact

Principles / measures in line with policy / regulationsPrinciples / measures highly positive impact on long term sustainability.

Moderately positive impact

Principles / measures moderate positive impact on long term sustainability

Neutral: No significant impact

Neutral impact compared with existing situation

Moderate negative impact

Principles / measures moderate adverse Impact on long term sustainability

Highly negativeImpact

Principles / measures in conflict with policy / regulationsImpact very negative impact on long term sustainability.

7 Assessments

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158

7.3 Strategic assessment – Long term development vision / regional perspective

topic Principle / measureIn line withPolicy / regulation ? Assessment of impact Mitigation / score when mitigated

Urban development

Concentration of urban activities in confined areas as opposed to urban sprawl

Yes Positive compared with present random urban sprawl on Mauritius

None

New regional full serviced urban core offering employment, services and facilities to the region

No, opposed to OPS Grand Port Savanne and opposed to principle of adding major spatial investments to existing cities

Positive incentive for regional development of the South East

None

New concentrated urban development outside conurbation

No, opposed to National Development Strategy

Positive: possibility to alleviate pressure on traffic bottlenecks in existing Curepipe – Port Loius corridor

None

Working – living - recreating close by and complete set of urban services on close range

Yes Positive; limited transport distances with good opportunities for environmental friendly transport modes discouraging private car useNegative; a risk of hindrance in residential areas

Solid long term planning and regulations to keep hindrance away from residential functions

Urbanisation close to Blue Bay No, opposed to OPS Grand Port Savanne

Negative for nature because of higher risks for emissions and disturbance from intensified recreational use.

Develop enough alternative locations for coastal recreation, creating buffer zones around Blue Bay, measures for nature development, improved regulations / management / surveillance Blue Bay, organise education. The sum of which results in at least preserving biodiversity at the present level.

159

Urban development

Urbanisation in present agricultural area

No, opposed to OPS Grand Port Savanne Yes, conversion rights acquired

Neutral: “red” for “green” but the agricultural value of the land is low and urbanisation will always consume areas of agricultural land.

None

High density urban development at best accessible locations, lowest densities at the fringes and close to sea / natural areas

Yes Positive, efficient use of infrastructure None

Elongating the highway in northern direction

No, opposed to OPS Grand Port Savanne

Positive: leading through traffic outside the new city and connecting Mahébourg with region.

None

Infrastructure and transport

Three major highway accesses to the new city

No, opposed to OPS Grand Port Savanne

Positive: less risk of traffic congestion in the area, distribution of traffic

No residential closer than 200 m to the highway accesses and speed limits to 80 km / hr

Hierarchic road system with space reservations for future expansion

Yes Positive: clear structure of transport to road users; road design fits to desired travel behaviour

Space reservation for high quality public transport in the city and from / to airport

Yes Positive: incentive for use maximisation of environmental friendly transport modes, less private car use

Space reservation for high quality public transport from the airport to the conurbation and vice versa

Yes Positive: incentive for use maximisation of environmental friendly transport modes, less private car use

160

Infrastructure and transport

Combination of modern sophisticated light rail system with ‘usual’ bus transport,

Yes, national and regional transport policy encourages public transport.

Positive: stimulates people to use other means of transport then private car; negative is the low quality of the buses: uncomfortable, noisy and smoke emitting

Improve quality bus transport in the new city

System of long distance bicycle paths in green areas + bicycle paths along main roads and footpaths along all residential roads

Yes Positive: incentive for use maximisation of environmental friendly transport modes, less private car use

Application national parking regulations

Yes Too low for expected future growth in car possession

Increase standards for residential and business areas

Local community Two major highway accesses for the airport with the Southern access as main connection

No, opposed to OPS Grand Port Savanne

Positive: less hindrance and danger in Plaine Magnien

None

New routes to the north and south outside Trois Boutiques and Mahébourg

No, opposed to OPS Grand Port Savanne

Positive; less hindrance in existing villages / town and better flow of inter local / inter regional traffic

None

Add a green structure with facilities for recreation and sports as buffers between existing villages and new developments

Yes Positive for nature and inhabitants of villages

None

Improvement of service level in region

Yes Positive for all future inhabitants None

161

Local community New employment in various sectors: offices, logistics, light industry, building, maintenance, services

Yes Positive for the region and its inhabitants

Expansion of villages with good quality affordable housing

Yes Positive as it supports the level of services, gives inhabitants a chance to move into a new house and chances for village renewal

None

Nature and landscape

Make use of natural features of topography and physical resources of the MT terrain

Yes Positive to allocate the plots according to the terrain’s features, respect ecosystem services

Yes

Integrate the existing tree structures and forested areas

Yes Positive for having a jump-start with greenery in parks and trees along roads.

No

Stay clear from (internationally) protected nature sites

Yes Positive since the perceived disturbance will be minimal

Yes

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7.4 Strategic assessment – Master Plan / 10-year plan for Mon Trésor

topic Principle / measureIn line withPolicy / regulation ? Assessment of impact Mitigation / score when mitigated

Nature and landscape

Developer takes co-responsibility for the management of Blue Bay and its buffer zones / borders as one of the interested parties

Yes Positive: Recreational use will be consequently regulated and disturbance of species lowernd

None

Trees in all streets Yes Positive; adds nature to the city, gives shade and adds to living quality

None

Environment Saving energy use by building to top BREEAM levels

yes Positive

Individual and combined solar energy installations for houses and commercial property

yes Positive None

Water saving measures such as water cisterns for garden irrigation, swimming pools

yes Positive None

Drainage; measures for retention of water on the location: retention basins, green design depressions, infiltrating pavements

yes Positive impact , reduce risk for flash flooding

Yes

Sewerage; new sewerage system and new gradually expanding sewerage treatment plant

yes Positive, high efficiency treatment, better quality of effluent

Yes

163

Long term management

All roads and public space freely accessible but in management by MTDC

Yes Positive for quality public space None

Technical issues Location sewerage treatment plant South of old factory

yes Possitive but possible stench hindrance

Distance to residential quarters

Potable water supply; on mid-term added capacity in negotiation with authority

yes NA

Power; on mid-term added capacity in negotiation with authority

yes NA

Telecom; network in negotiation with authority

yes NA

Internet in negotiation with authority

yes NA

Check geomorphology (holes and tunnels in underground) prior to building activities

yes NA

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7.5 Strategic assessment – Possible future expansions Master Plan

topic Principle / measureIn line withPolicy / regulation ? Assessment of impact Mitigation / score when mitigated

Nature and landscape

Developer invests in adding mangroves to the shores of Blue Bay

No Positive: More robust mangrove stands, increased biodiversity

None

Beach Club / Mangrove club / recreational facility at the border of / in Blue Bay

No Negative: disturbing mangroves, water, soil and landscape, emissions to be expected, precedent for other facilities

Floating decks, limited swimming area, no boats, at the land side 30 meters from the high water line, intersection mangroves not more than 3 meter

Green and small nature oriented bungalow park at the border of Blue Bay

No Negative: activities will act as a disturbance, incentive for recreational use vulnerable area Blue Bay

At least 100 m distance from high water line with own recreation facilities / swimming facilities

Walking trails and biking paths along the borders of Blue Bay

No Impact depends heavily on the type of track, the route, the distance to the shore and the connections with other paths.

Careful routing and design in consultation with manager Blue Bay, exclusive connection with Dodo Theme Park preferred

Public accessibility Coastal Zone La Combuse for visitors and residents of adjacent city

Yes Positive impact on Blue Bay because of less pressure from recreation

none

165

Nature and landscape

Converting existing unpaved road between airport and Blue Bay in a paved road

No, opposed to OPS Grand Port Savanne

Positive as community connector Negative because very close to Blue Bay

Road of 2 lanes, speed reducing measures, fences at the Blue Bay side to prevent access, rain water drainage to airport side, partly constructed on piles close to the water, resulting in no emissions to Blue Bay

Model 1: Strip with hotels / leisure and other intensive use functions along boardwalk at 100 m distance from the high water line

No, opposed to OPS Grand Port Savanne

Negative impact on the landscape and natural value of the coastal area beause of very intensive use

Setback at least 150 m, special design and management measures to regulate use

Building of reef and sand supply for beach La Combuse

No, opposed to general policy not to build in the sea and potentially harming Blue Bay

Potential negative impact on Blue Bay and fishery reserve because of changed currents and sand transport along the coast

Reef closer to the shore, ending at distance from Blue Bay, limitation of sand transport along the coast, careful study and modelling of currents and appliance of results in design reef and beach

Digging small bays connecting the boardwalk with the sea, to give access for small boats

No, opposed to general policy not to build in or close the sea and not in line with status of scenic landscape area

Conflicts with policy of no solid structures within 30 m from high water line, potential negative impact on fishery reserve and Blue Bay (intensive boat traffic)

Floating landings place for small vessels on sheltered location

Using Christian Vallet Forest as an park area for leisure development + buildings and access roads

No, opposed to OPS Grand Port Savanne Yes, conversion rights acquired

Positive for leisure and tourism but damaging the landscape and nature value

No buildings inside forest border and no roads in the Forest, park management for vegetation and recreation

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Model 1: Boardwalk for pedestrians only along the strip; parking at the back

No, opposed to OPS Grand Port Savanne Yes, conversion rights acquired

Positive; no cars close to the park and the beach

Model 2: Villas and road along coastal nature park La Combuse, extensive use,

No, opposed to OPS Grand Port Savanne Yes, conversion rights acquired

Costal park will be narrowed, more intensive use than in present situation

Leaving the green coastal zone at the actual size, add facilities for recreation, careful management park

Conservation of Christian Vallet Forest and use as a nature and recreation park with footpaths

yes Positive, but attention for routing of paths and management vegetation

Careful design routing footpaths and management

Green connector between coastal park, Christian Vallet Forest and Dodo Theme Park

yes Positive as a link in the green structure and for stimulating walking

None

Villas with gardens to preserve the lush and green atmosphere of the coastal area

No, opposed to OPS Grand Port Savanne Yes, conversion rights acquired

Positive, but plots from 700 – 1000 m2 not big enough for preserving large share of trees and regulations for preserving existing trees required

Larger villa plots (2000 – 5000 m2) on locations with many existing trees

167

7.6 Remarkable scores

The tables show at a first glance that for many principles / measures the colour is very different for the comparison with policies regulations and for the level of sustainability. The reason for this is that many policies do not have a sustainability objective or are based on disputable assumptions. During the planning process the planners came across this phenomenon many times and wherever possible they consequently chose for sustainable design solutions. This Master Plan can serve as a basis for policy makers to consider revisions and updates of existing documents such as the National Development Strategy and the Outline Planning Scheme to bring them in the line with up to date sustainability objectives and principles.

The second remarkable feature is that in the fifth column of the assessment of the possible expansions (paragraph 7.5), some principles / measures still score orange. Such negative appraisal is unacceptable from an environmental point of view and therefore these measures should be considered as not implementable and should consequently be removed out of the plan.Nevertheless, since this assessment has an advisory character, it is the authority of the decision makers to decide if there are other vital interests and arguments to keep these measures in the plan after all.

The third remarkable fact is that both the Long Term Regional Development Vision and the Mon Trésor Master

Plan (paragraph 7.3 and 7.4) score well in this assessment but with two points of attention. The first point is the obligation for an active involvement of MTDC in the preservation of Blue Bay Marine Park. The mitigating measures imply to ‘Develop enough alternative locations for coastal recreation, creating buffer zones around Blue Bay, measures for nature development, improved regulations / management / surveillance Blue Bay, organise education’ up to such a level that ‘the sum of which results in at least preserving biodiversity at the present level’. This obligation applies the same for the Master Plan. The second point of attentions for both the Long Term Vision and the Master Plan is that the conflicts between these plans and the governmental policies oblige to discussion with government.

7.7 Financial assessment

The Master Plan team has made a financial assessment of the Mon Trésor Master Plan in which estimations of costst and sales / rental prices are based on local experience. The scan is based on the assumption that the entire site will be owned and long term managed by the developer, except for the plots sold to businesses and house owners. The costs of maintenance and management will be charged to tenants and owners on a non for profit basis. The New Airport Access Road is considered to be a publically financed and managed facility supported by MTDC / Omnicane. Financial feasibility of the Mon Trésor Master Plan is confirmed under the condition that the level of quality as

described in Master Plan will be realised. The impact of the Mon Trésor Master Plan on the value of adjacent land, outside the Master Plan area is not incorporated in the financial scan.

7.8 Conclusions and recommendations

The Long Term Regional Development Vision and the The Mon Trésor Master Plan both are assessed as sustainable on a regional level with two important recommendations:• The conflict with governmental policies obliges to

discussion with government;• MTDC will have to play an active role in the preservation

of Blue Bay, up to a level at least comparable with the present situation.

The designs for the possible expansions should be reconsidered, especially the ‘Beach Club / Mangrove Club’ and the ‘Hotel and leisure strip’ and the ‘Reef and beach supply’ at La Combuse.

In order to find a suitable place for the inhabitants of Mon Trésor to swim and recreate, a study is recommended to the possibilities of the ‘Le Bouchon’ area, at 2 km distance from the heart of the Mon Tresor area. This beach of about 1.3 km coast line, lies in a quiet and protected bay but is rather narrow and rocky. According to the Outline Planning Scheme there are no special nature or landscape values which demand protection except the status of Fishery Reserve for the bay. The adjacent land is owned by small land-owners.

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teamFrans van der Beek, Jacques van Dinteren,

Pepijn Bos, Joep Coopmans, Jan Nuesink,

Hugo Woesthuis, Frank Sutmuller,

Daan van den Berg, Jolanda van den Tillart,

Edwin Vonk, Daniël Brorens, Bouke Vellinga

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Urban van Aar

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Approved by

Urban van Aar

October 18th, 2013

Checked by

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October 18th, 2013

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9x4689. A0

Report

October 18th, 2013

This report and all connected base data is for internal use only by the client and the promoter. Some of the pictures in this report are copied from internet. Royal HaskoningDHV will reconsider the use of these pictures if any copyright will be asserted.