2013 - Mon Tresor Urban Master Plan , Mauritius

7/18/2019 2013 - Mon Tresor Urban Master Plan , Mauritius

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/2013-mon-tresor-urban-master-plan-mauritius 1/170

maart 2013

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Huisstijl

October 2013

Omnicane Urban Development

Master Plan: Mon Trésor Site



“The technical assistance operaon is nanced 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 acvies in the ACP Region,assisng promoters during dierent 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



5

The context

In November 2012 the Royal HaskoningDHV – Rebelgroup

– Mega Design consortium was contracted by the European

Investment Bank (EIB) to produce the ‘Omnicane Urban

development Master Plan: Mon Trésor Site’ in cooperation

with the land owner and local promoter Omnicane Ltd.

The project’s objective is to produce a master plan for the

400 hectare Omnicane property, called ‘Mon Trésor’. This

site is located to the south of the SSR International Airport

and borders at the sea and at the Blue Bay Marine Park.

Omnicane has obtained the right to convert this land from

agricultural use to urban functions: business, residential

and tourist development.

The project comprises of a long term development vision

for the Airport Region and a detailed Master Plan for the

first stages, to be developed on the Mon Trésor property.

Both the 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





7

The long Term Regional Development Vision (2065)Mauritius has a well organised and quickly emerging

economy with a stable political climate and a favourable

tax system.

An analysis of the spatial development shows a struggle

with problems connected with fast growth, such as dense

and outdated cities and road-congestion as a result of

growing car possession and urban sprawl.

Noteworthy is the presence of a fully equipped international

airport, well connected with Asia, Europe and t he Middle East,

with lots of space around it where economic development

lags behind comparable international examples.

Combining these two findings with the national ambitionsfor 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. Internationalmarketing 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.





9

The Mon Trésor Master Plan

The Mon Trésor Master Plan is a plan for the first period

until 2025 totalling 160 ha, comprising of 33 ha of business

development offering 4.800 new jobs, 63 ha residential for

2.700 inhabitants and 63 ha for services, green areas and

roads.

Business

The site along the new Airport Access Road, closest to the

airport is reserved for offices and headquarters, in relation

with the new Holiday Inn Airpor t Hotel. The multifunctional

business park for light industry, logistics and high-tech is

located just South-East of the hotel.

Residential and services

The former Mon Trèsor sugar factory and compound site

offers green and quiet locations for housing, with easy

access to the coast and the beach. This area is reserved

for suburban middle-class housing. The development

of services and schools in the heart of the project will

follow the business and residential growth. Locations

for affordable housing are available close to the existing

villages.

Transport

The existing road system around the airport has enough

capacity for this proposed development until 2025.

Following the request from the airport manager AML,

Omnicane actively supports the planning and building of a

new Airport Access Road, in cooperation with government

and AML, connecting the southern part of the airport and

the Mon Trésor area with the M1 highway. This new Access

Road will be a strong incentive for new companies to settle

around the airport. A point of attention is the reservation

for the future public transport / light rail connection.

Sustainable and green development

The plan offers working – living – leisure – services at

a short distance, to prevent unnecessary travel and

energy wastage. Walking and cycling are stimulated by

the provision of dedicated paths. Heritage elements,

topography, landscape and existing trees are integrated in

the plan. All roads will be planted with trees. A large part

of the plan area is reserved for greenery. The plan aims

to save energy and water and to produce (solar) energy.

The preservation of Blue Bay and the surrounding coastal

landscape will be actively supported. The plan is connected

with the Omnicane plan for the Dodo Theme Park.

High quality offer

The plan shows an, for Mauritius, unprecedented urban

quality combined with public accessibility. The developerwill manage the Mon Trésor Site during the entire life-cycle

using high quality standards for service, maintenance and

sustainability.

Phasing

The strategy is to start small with minimal investments,

to limit the risks, initially concentrating on business

development. As soon as the first companies are contracted

the construction of houses starts too. At the same time the

planning and building of the new Airport Access Road will

start. Learning from the start-up, following expansions will

be prepared. The pace of development can be increased

when the market reacts positively.

Long term development

The plan has the flexibility to expand further in the future

along the lines sketched in the Long Term Development

Vision, preferably formalised in a legal Regional Plan.

Future expansion should include infrastructure, business

and residential development to achieve a balanced urban

system. Possible projects for the near future are a new

function for the old Mon Trésor sugar factory in the field

of leisure, business or residential, a golf course and tourist

development along the coast. A survey of possibilities of

building a reef to improve recreational and tourist use of Le

Chaland bay and beach is advised.

Strategic Assessment

The 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.





11

EIB European Investment Bank

MTDC Mon Tresor Development Company

EIA Environmental Impact Assessment

SA Strategic Assessment

AML Airports of Mauritius CO LTD

GDP Gross Domestic Product

BPO Business Process Outsourcing

LRT Light Rail Transit

BPML Business Parks of Mauritius Ltd

MTMP Mon Tresor Master Plan

MUR Mauritian Rupee

USD United States Dollar

ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network

ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode

IRS Integrated resort scheme

RES Real Estate Scheme

IHS Invest Hotel Scheme

NDS National Development Strategy

OPS Outline Planning Scheme

AAP Area Action Plan

MID Maurice Ile Durable

SIDS Small Island Developing States

NEAP National Environment Action Plan

PPG Planning Policy Guidance

SD Strategic Development

ESA’s Environmentally Sensitive Areas

PPP People, Planet,Profit

GFA Ground Floor Area

CCTV

surveillance Closed Circuit television surveillance

LTRDV Long Term Regional Development

Vision

BREEAM BRE Environmental Assessment Method

CWA Central Water Authority

Ha Hectare

CEB Contract Electricity Board

List of abbreviations



Water front Mahébourg



Executive Summary 5

List of abbreviations 11

1 Introduction 15

1.1 Assignment and objectives 15

1.2 Deliverables 15

1.3 The process and methodology 15

1.4 The master plan team 17

1.5 Stakeholder engagement 19

1.6 Outline of subsequent chapters/ Reading guide 19

2 Location and context 21

2.1 The Island Mauritius 21

2.2 The Airport region 25

2.3 The SSR International Airport 29

2.4 The coastal zone 33

2.5 The Mon Trésor site 37

2.6 Omnicane Ltd 51

3 Analysis 55

3.1 Introduction 55

3.2 National policies 553.3 Regional policy: Outline Planning scheme (OPS) 60

3.4 Socio- economic situation and market analysis 61

3.5 Urban development in Mon Trésor ? 65

3.6 Improving accessibility in the Airport region 70

3.7 Urban development, Blue Bay Marine Park and coastal zone 70

3.8 Environmental and technical issues and constraints 71

3.9 Conclusion: Strengths and weaknesses in the present situation 72

4 Vision and Strategy 75

4.1 Principles for the Mon Trésor Master Plan 75

4.2 Other principles 76

4.3 Vision for the project 79

4.4 Strategy 79

5 Long term Regional Development Vision 2065 87

5.1 Introduction 87

5.2 Program 87

5.3 Transport and infrastructure 89

5.4 Land use and zoning 95

5.5 Technical issues and constraints 99

5.6 Phasing 99

6 First phase / 10-years / MT Masterplan 103

6.1 Master Plan for 10 year horizon 103

6.2 Outlines of Mon Trésor Master Plan 103

6.3 Description urban design 123

6.4 Designs for future expansions 145

7 Assessments 157

7.1 Explanation 157

7.2 The Assessment table 1577.3 Strategic assessment – Long term development vision /

regional perspective 158

7.4 Strategic assessment – Master Plan / 10-year plan for Mon Trésor 162

7.5 Strategic assessment – Possible future expansions Master Plan 164

7.6 Remarkable scores 167

7.7 Financial assessment 167

7.8 Conclusions and recommendations 167

Content

13



14 Integrated and iterative approach Royal HaskoningDHV



15

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 possibledevelopment 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 9 th 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 theavailability 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 b e 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 d ue 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 reservedfor 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 willbe 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

16



17

this concept report. The rationale for this choice is that solid

planning requires attention for relevant environmental,

ecological, economic, cultural, social and technical aspects,

exactly as required for an impact assessment. Possible

impacts were assessed continuously during the planning

process and designs were adjusted accordingly.

An illustration of the process followed is showed in the flow

chart above. The study of the region and the site, the socio-

economic context and the policies of government and

Omnicane lead to a vision and strategy for the Mon Trésor

site. The next steps were to develop sets of requirements

for the master plan, the master plan itself and designs for

the first stages. The steps in the process were accompanied

by meetings with EIB and Omnicane, and meetings with

government and stakeholders.

1.4 The master plan team

For the European Investment Bank:

Philippe Brown Senior Loan Officer

Barbara Lemke Senior Planning and

Development Specialist

Inga Bleiere Technical Assistance Unit

Specialist

For Omnicane Ltd:

Jacques d’Unienville Chief Executive Officer

Joël Bruneau Head of Property

DevelopmentPatrice Binet – Décamps Project Development

Executive

Emily Olivier Property Sales & Marketing

Manager

Olaf Olsen Project manager

The Royal HaskoningDHV – Rebel – Mega Design team:

Urban van Aar Team leader and urban

designer

Frans van der Beek Deputy team leader and

urban planner

Jacques van Dinteren Product Manager Markets,

Concepts & Strategies

Jan Nuesink Consultant environment &

sustainability

Hugo Woesthuis Consultant environment

impact assessment

Joep Coopmans Consultant transport &infrastructure

Frank Sutmuller Urban planner

Rolf Dauskardt MBA Financial strategy and

management

Koen van Baekel MSc Economic analyst and

consultant

Nand Sooredoo Civil engineer & Local

expertise

Daan van den Berg Urban designer



Blue Bay 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

18



19

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 thedevelopment 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 repor t.The requested deliverables can be found in subsequent

chapters as indicated below:

Inception report:

delivered separately January 2013

Market study:

paragraphs chapters 3 - 5 - 6, paragraphs 3.4 - 5.2 - 6.2

Long Term vision:

chapters 3 - 4 - 5, paragraphs 7.3

Transport Plan:

chapter 2, paragraphs 3.2 - 3.6 - 4.2 - 5.3 - 6.2 - 7.3 - 7.4 - 7.5

Environment Plan:

chapter 2 - 3 - 4 - 5, paragraphs 6.2, chapter 7

Technical issues:

chapter 2, paragraphs 3.8 - 4.4 - 5.5 - 6.2, chapter 5 - 6

Spatial designs:

chapter 5 - 6



The island Mauritius with in red the conurbation: Port Louis, Beau Bassin, Rose Hill, Quatre

Bornes, Vacoas, Phoenix and Curepipe, connected by the M1 Motorway. In the East, just south

of Mahébourg the airpor t and the Mon Trésor site.

Map Mauritius from 1910 with roads (red) and railroads (black)

20



21

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 streamsand rivers. The mountains are covered with tropical

rainforest, while the rest of the land is largely c ultivated.

Mauritius has a tropical climate; the a nnual average rainfall

is about 2100 mm, slightly higher in the mountains and

lower in the coastal areas. Even though the average rainfall

is sufficient, water shortages in the supply system can/

often arise in the period from September to December.

2.1.1 Nature and environment

The environment in Mauritius is typically tropical in

the coastal regions with (sub-) tropical forests in themountainous 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, isalready 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 haveelectricity, 95% or more of the houses have running water, a

bathroom, a flushing toilet and LPG for cooking. Most solid

waste is collected by authorised collectors.

Regarding the availability of ICT devices in households: 96

% have a TV set, 88% a mobile telephone, 38% a computer

and 32% an internet connection. (source: governmental

statistics).

2.1.3 Economy Mauritius

Mauritius has one of the most competitive economies

in Africa. The Global Trade Economic Report 2010 ranks

Mauritius 32nd in the world and first in Africa.

Since the independence of Mauritius in 1968 the economy

has experienced strong growth. The GDP and the average

household income have shown a strong increase compared

to other countries in Africa. The economy of Mauritius is

based on four pillars: sugarcane / sugar industry, textiles,

tourism and financial services. During the last two decades

the sugar industry has undergone major transformations

based upon centralisation of production facilities pavingthe 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

22



23

(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 theplanned 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 settlementshave 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 ero sion.

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 developmentclose 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 projec ts.

2.1.5 Transport in national perspective

The current transport system of Mauritius consists mainly

of a fairly reasonable road system, comprising of the M1-M2

Motorway, an additional system of main roads and lowerorder 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 occ urring on

a daily basis. Further growth of the pop ulation, an ongoing

growth of car ownership and the lack of competitive public

transport, tend to worsen the traffic situation on the island.

Programs have been set up and are being implemented to

cope with these problems: extension of the road network,

a traffic management program for Port Louis, a road

decongestion program and the provision of a Light Rail

Transit (LRT) public transport system should alleviate the

pressure towards the future.

2.1.6 Recent spatial developments

A very conspicuous feature in the Mauritian landscape

is the urban sprawl. Every road is lined with houses or

‘morcellements’ (see also 2.2.5) and only in the most remote

rural areas there are free vista’s over the landscape. This

sprawl has a strong presence along most coastal roads and

along roads leading from the conurbation to the coast in

Soutern, Northern and Eastern directions. The South-East is

still relatively free of sprawl.

A remarkable new development is the Cyber City

development in the heart of the island. This is a high-riseoffice 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

24



25

residential blocks are popping-up in the landscape.

New shopping centres are another new phenomenon;

many of them have been built in existing villages or outside

them, somewhere along the highway or the main roads. A

well-known example is the ‘Bagatelle’ shopping centre in

the islands centre, along the highway. These centres make

front to the road and the new ones have large parking lots.

They typically include shops, a supermarket, as well as

restaurants and small businesses.

2.2 The Airport region

2.2.1 General description

The Airport region is the region directly surrounding the

SSR International Airport. This region is located in the Grand

Port Savanne District and doesn’t have any administrative

status. This region is ‘invented’ in this master plan as the

area influenced directly or potentially by the airport. This

region stretches from Mahébourg in the North-East to

Rose-Belle in the West and Trois Boutiques and Mon Trésor

in the South. The region comprises mainly agricultural

land, some villages, a small town and the SSR International

Airport Area as defined in the Outline Planning Scheme( see also page 60) .

2.2.2 Demography and economy

In the Airport region live approximately 45.000 people.

The population growth in the last decade was moderate.

The expectations for population development in the next

decade show a tendency to a moderate growth.

Most people in the Grand Port Savanne District have

traditional jobs in sectors, such as agriculture, forestry,

fishing, manufacturing, construction, transport and

trade. However, the SSR International Airport employs

approximately 5.000 people (statement of the director of

AML, Mr. S. Petit, during one of the stakeholder meetings).

2.2.3 Landscape

The landscape in this region is relatively flat, slowly sloping

to the ocean in the East and mainly covered with sugar

cane. The topography shows the foot-hills of the Bambous

Mountains in the north, tree lined valleys eroded by riversand 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 ona daily basis. Such traffic volumes can be handled easily by

a two by two lane motorway. Traffic forecasts towards 2030

show substantial increases of traffic, building up towards

peaks of about 3,000 vehicles during peak hour, which falls

within the capacity limit of a 2 x 2 lane motorways.

Public Transport exists of bus lines between villages, cities

and schools mainly for the poorest part of the population.

The quality of the buses is mostly poor. The bus transport is

privatised. Buses often stop on the road, causing dangerous

situations when bikers, mopeds, cars and other buses try to

pass by.

Non-motorized transport, such as cycling and walking has

a reasonable coverage on local scale for shopping, going to

school and so on.

2.2.5 Settlements

Mahébourg

The largest settlement is Mahébourg with 15.200

inhabitants, close to the place where the first settlers, the

Dutch entered the island and built their camp. This town

is very densely build on a chess-board pattern, comprising

of mainly narrow residential streets (5 – 8 meter between

private properties, often bordered with walls) and also

narrow main streets ( 7 – 12 meter for all transport means)

which is also the main road connection to the North. The

town is a lively and in certain areas charming place, but at

the same time primitive and dated .

There is nice waterfront, with a magnificent view on thebay 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



Mahébourg

Trois Boutiques

26



Rose-Belle

Plaine Magnien

27



The Rose-Belle Business Park

The Rose-Belle business park (purple) and the planned new shopping centre

(orange) on 8,5 – 10 km distance of the airport.

28



29

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 b uildings are built directly

along the main road or along short alleys connected with

the main road. All local traffic, through traffic, buses, bikers,

mopeds and pedestrian traffic and parking is active within

the 10 to 12 meter cross section of the main road resulting

in delay and dangerous situations.

Trois Boutiques and Plaine Magnien

The villages of Trois Boutique (7.300 inh) and Plaine

Magnien (10.400 inh) also started as road villages, buthave now a more concentrated lay-out. Plaine Magnien

is intersected by the existing Airport Access Road, a dual

carriage highway, causing hindrance and danger for the

inhabitants. All settlements include (mostly small) shops

and business along the main roads. Mahébourg, Rose Belle

and Plaine Magnien have one or more super markets. Most

houses in these settlements are detached, surrounded

by walls and self-built and owned by the inhabitant. The

original garden in the older parts is often filled with all

kinds of small out-houses and sheds.

2.2.6 New developments in the region

Attached to the existing settlements, but in the middle

of sugar cane fields, many new residential developments

are constructed in a typical manner. These ‘morcellements’

are stretches of land in various sizes equipped with roads,

utilities and plots to build houses. The plots are sold to build

a house by the owner or for speculative purposes, a very

popular nest egg on Mauritius. Most houses are built by the

owner himself, taking many years. Plots sold for speculation

purposes stay empty and become overgrown with weeds

and bushes. There is no other public space than the narrow

roads. The brutal way these ‘morcellements’ are established

and managed, the often half built houses standing alone in

the derelict space mark these new developments as scars

in the landscape.

Remarkable is the absence up to now of any business

development around the airport. The first example of which is

the Holiday Inn Airport Hotel, due to open in December 2013.There is one business park, just outside the airport-region

close to Rose-Belle along the highway located about 8,5 km

distance from the airport. This 24 hectare park, equipped

with roads and facilities and 30 plots, was opened in 2005

but remained unused until now. The manager BPML has

recently restarted marketing and has announced that one

or two buildings will be delivered shortly. The objective

is to develop a ‘small Cybercity’ in the South of the Island,

bringing several thousands of jobs to the region. Selling

prices are approximately 50 euro / m2.

Another new development in the central area of Rose Belle isthe 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 development

The airport Plaine Magnien near Mahébourg started in

1942, to import products from the United Kingdom and

its colonies, as well as for export. In 1986, infrastructural

works were undertaken to accommodate larger aircraft.

Now, 17 scheduled airlines serve more than 35 destinations

through the SSR International Airport. In 2011 more than

2.67 million passengers transited through the airport, and

over 19,800 aircraft movements were recorded.

A new passenger terminal will be opened in 2013, with a

capacity of 4 million passengers. The new parallel taxiway

is of strategic importance, as it will ensure that the airport

operations can continue in case the main runway is closed.

In 2011 more than 2.67 million passengers transited

through the airport, and over 19,800 aircraft movements

were recorded. The Outline Planning Scheme Grand

Port Savanne from 2004 indicates a growth in passenger

transfers up to 5.3 million passengers in 2022.

The airport is planning a new Freeport Logistic Centre at

the Sout-Eastern side of their teritory, totalling 71 hectare,which will stimulate the air cargo handling, estimated at

115 000 tons in 2015 and 200 000 tons in 2025.

The owner and operator of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam

(SSR) International Airport is ‘Airports of Mauritius Co. Ltd’

(AML), a public company incorporated in May 1998. The

Government of Mauritius is the major shareholder of AML.



Pictures of morcellements and self-built houses on Mauritius

30



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

31



Ai rp or t site present siuation Present connectivity Maritius / International Airport; note the lacking

connections with Eastern Africa32

Suggestion for New Access RoadI

I



33

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 airpo rt 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 orientedto 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 thecountry 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 ofseveral 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 airportregion 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 w ith the Mon Trésor Site at the background.



35

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



The Mon Trésor Site: In blue the land for which conversion rights are available. In green the Omnicane property within the project boundary, not covered by conversion rights and in orange the

land leased from government by Omnicane. Source: Omnicane Ltd.

36



37

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 landowned by Omnicane Ltd. The site is located just south of

the SSR International Airport. It’s a remote area, ver y 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 proper ty, the

Shandrani hotel and land owned by developer Currimjee.

Next to this is the location of the Le Chaland public beach,

which is now poorly accessible, but nevertheless on bank

holidays and in the weekends very busy with mainly local

visitors.

2.5.2 Topography and present landscape

The topography of the area south of the Airport shows

a rather flat landscape, sloping down to the coast. The

western tip of the site is located ab out 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 naturalretention basin, a depression where the water sinks in.

Special features in the landscape are the old sugar factory

including a charming compound with full-grown trees, the

forest close to the sea and an old tree lane, leading from the

factory to Blue Bay.

The borders of Blue Bay (2.2 km in lease Omnicane) are

densely clad with trees and bushes. The beach at La

Chaland is wide, white and lies at calm bay, protected by a

reef. The shore at La Combuse (1.3 km in lease Omnicane)

has a narrow beach and is not protected by a reef, leaving

the shore open to the waves and heavy currents.

Between the beaches and the agricultural land lies a zone

of varying width withsandy soil, and park-like vegetation.

2.5.3 Heritage

The landscape shows the history of centuries of human

exploitation: there are some heritage sites, such as the

former sugar factory, (first mentioned in the archives in

the 18th century) and also the former factory compound

(20th century) with full grown trees and plot walls made of

volcanic rock.

The factory which is owned by Omnicane, no longer runs

as a sugar refinery since it was closed in 2007. However,

the whole factory is still in place, with its attached offices

and drainage systems. Part of the site is presently used to

weigh sugarcane to be sent to the Savannah sugar factory.

Another historic element, connected with the sugar factory

is the old railroad, which track is still recognisable in the

landscape. In the 19th and early 20th century Mauritiuswas 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 o f the sugar factory.

2.5.4 Roads and transport

The Mon Trésor site is connected in the current transport

system mainly via de M1 Motorway and a number of

Classified A and B roads in the region, such as the A10 trunk

road. These roads provide the main access of the area,towards the airport, the surrounding area (Mahébourg,

Plaine Magnien) and the further hinterland of the island,

such as the Curepipe – Port Louis corridor. In the area itself

additional rural roads take care of the local access.



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



39

Borders of Blue Bay

Mare aux SongesShandrani Hotel

Le Chaland

Christian Vallet Forest

La Combuse

Ruisseau des Mares du Tabac

Le Bouchon

Factory Compound ‘Mon Trésor park’

Old sugar factory

Holiday Inn Airport Hotel

SSR International Airport

L’Escalier



The old railroad on an embankment just north of the Mon Trésor compound and and a preserved locomotive on the factory site.

The front of the Mon Trésor Sugar Facory

40



41

2.5.5 Agricultural use

The 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 Site68 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

42



43

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 formerfactory 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 aspects

Mahébourg and the three villages are made up of streets

and alleys lined with houses, often mixed in function size

and class. Sometimes shacks are built on unused plots or

on yards. The bigger houses, shops, bars, temples are often

situated along the high street which invariably also serves

as the inter-village road connection. All the villages have

grown up along a road, usually a major road and therefore

the villages are divided by a busy and dangerous road.

Pavements are very rare; sometimes the gutter functions as

such. 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 theofficials are not allowed to hand this over to the Mon Trésor

Master Plan (statement representatives of the Ministry

of Environment). Some information is available from the

Outline Planning Scheme for Grand Port Savanne and from

EIA’s for the Currimjee Hotel and the Holiday Inn Airport

Hotel.

Blue Bay Marine Park

The Blue Bay Marine Park, located East of the master plan

area, was proclaimed a National Park under the Wildlife

and National Parks Act 1993 in October 1997. The BlueBay 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



45

activities such as boating, swimming and diving. Another

source of problems is the run-off of contaminated rain

water from adjacent land during rains storms.

For these reasons government is studying improvement

management and enhanced regulations for the use of the

water as well as for the use of the adjacent land. In addition,

there is a Steering Committee for the management of

the park drawn from most of the environment-related

ministries ( Environment, Tourism, Housing and Lands, etc.)

and daily patrols are conducted to enforce the regulations.

Western boards of Blue Bay

Area with dense forest and bushes. The main value for the

Blue Bay Marine Park is the local presence of mangroves

and the function as a green buffer.

Coastal green area

Specific low vegetation on sandy soils, locally forming sand

dunes. No specific ecological value for insects, reptiles,

mammals and birds. No endemic plant species, mainly

introduced plant species.

Valley of The Ruisseau des Mares du Tabac and the Mare aux

Songes Valley

The Mares du Tabac valley is narrow and lined with trees.

The Mare aux Songes Valley contains several swamp areas

in which remains and fossils of the dodo bird, other birds

and tortoises have been found.

Christian Vallet Forest

Forest 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.

48



49

EIA was approved in 2009 and building is planned to start

in 2014. Government demanded a setback from the highwater 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 significantlyimpact 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 M ahébourg.

Soil and geomorphology

The site shows poor Latosolic soils and sandy soils on

volcanic bedrock. In this subsoil it is possible that tunnels

and holes are present which could restrict building. A

survey of these types of restrictions is required prior to

building.

Potable water

The Mon Trésor site is connected to the national potable water

supply system, manage d 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.

Sewerage

The site currently has no connection to the public sewerage

connector network. Most houses have sceptic tanks or

absorption pits.

Energy

The site is connected to the electricity network managed

by the governmentally owned Central Electricity Board

(CEB). At present the CEB seeks to diversify its resource mixto 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.

50



51

energy the CEB is setting up several hydro and wind farm

projects on Mauritius as well as it promotes larger scaleprivate 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 initiativesby 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 waste

Collection is undertaken by solid waste operators who

dispose of it directly at the nearby Mare Chicose Landfill.

2.6 Omnicane Ltd

2.6.1 Omnicane organization and activities

Historically principally a sugar cane grower, Omnicane

today focuses on growing, milling and energy.

The Group currently comprises of a number of companies

in the following main areas of operation:

• Cane Growing;

• Sugar Milling;

• Energy Production;

• Ethanol Production;

• Haulage;

• Hospitality.2011 saw Omnicane management initiate the development

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 strategy

The historical socio cultural and economic backdrop of thesugar 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 p rominent company within

the Mauritian economy, and the company consistently

demonstrates a broader national and social responsibility

within Mauritius. Omnicane has a mature approach to

ensure value creation via a balanced, integrated and long

term approach to development of its property holdings. In

all the company’s activities it’s the ambition of Omnicane to

place economic, social and environmental sustainability at

the centre of activities and development projects.

This will be reflected in the Master Planning of the Mon



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

52



53

Trésor development. With new activities the company aims

on creating new chances and new jobs for the country.

2.6.3 Previous plans for the Mon Trésor Site

In August 2006, the predecessor of Omnicane assigned

a South African consultant, Espral & Iyer Rothaug

Collaborative for a master plan for the Mon Trésor area. This

plan is based on a program with a boutique hotel, a beach

hotel and spa, a small marina with adjacent apartments

and retail, golf course, villa-park, Dodo-centre, business

park, beach club and country club.

This plan focuses on tourism and leisure, mainly for rich

foreigners, following the IRS scheme (legal scheme whichgives 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 b ecause of unfavourable

market conditions.

2.6.4 Program for the site

In January 2013 Omnicane summarised their ideas and

initiatives for development of the Mon Trésor Area in a

program called ‘Panorama January 2013’, together with

a map with proposed locations (see below) The program

shows the following elements:

• Holiday Inn Airport Hôtel;

• Mare aux songes = DODO PARK Opening January

2015;

• Plaisance Golf Course = At the end of the runway a

championship 18 hole golf course; Opening 2016

• Marina = Apartments adjacent to the club house of the

golf course. Opening 2015;

• Airport city = Around 130 companies are planned tosettle and create the airport city. Starting 2014;

• Five senior residences = Units of 80 apartments of

different origins: French, German, Italian, Asian and

British. Planned first opening 2015;

• Villas = The Airport city will create a demand for

residential properties. Around 300 villas are planned;

• Anti-Aging centre + Thalassotherapy center (9) =

together with the 2 resorts on the beach;

• Resorts = To target mainly the medical destination

new trend;

• Aesthetic clinics;• Sports space;

• Le Village Outlet shopping = Model : “Chic outlet

shopping villages”;

• The old factory building = to be renovated to

administrative building and animation & recreation

centre;

• Universities and learning centres = A strong demand

arises for service to Africa mainly;

• Beach club and facilities = Along the beach access for

all.

Omnicane sees a Beach Club and a golf course as

indispensable conditions for top end and middle class

development on the Mon Trésor Site. As the best location

for these facilities, Omnicane has chosen for the borders

of the Blue Bay lagoon because of the beauty of the site,

the accessibility for small boats (Marina) and because the

land under the take-off route cannot be used for housing or

hotels. These plans have the status of a preliminary design.

No permits have been applied for yet.

2.6.5 The Airport Hotel

The first project to be realised is the 4 star Holiday inn

Airport Hotel, 1.3 km distance from the terminal building,

comprising of: 140 rooms, a restaurant, meeting facilities,

a sport centre, wellness centre and a swimming pool. The

hotel aims at the tourist and b usiness market. This hotel will

employ approximately 140 people, more than are working

now on the entire Mon Trésor site.

2.6.6 The Dodo Theme Park Omnicane Co. Ltd in close collaboration with Government

authorities are committed to preserving the region of Mare

aux Songes by establishing an eco-friendly environment

park, comprising of:

• Scientific centre connected with the preservation of

the heritage site;

• An Interactive Museum;

• A Theme Park with gardens which show original

vegetation, a pond;

• Family attractions.

Visitors will therefore familiarize themselves with the

history of the Dodo and the ecosystem in the time of the

dodo. This park will be realised on Omnicane property

by a consortium of private organisations. It will have the

character of a natural park of 16 hectares, including a car

park. The plan is made by a team of French consultants,

independent of the Mon Trésor Master Plan.



Design Dodo Theme Park by French design team contracted by Omnicane

54



55

3 Analysis

3.1 Introduction

An analysis of the current situation of the area, ambitions,

trends, developments and policies, provides a starting

point for the elaboration of the Mon Trésor Master Plan and

also for the strategic assessment.

In this chapter relevant trends and developments are

described and analysed.

3.2 National policies

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.

Comment The Mon Trésor site is, according the NDS and the OPS

(see also paragraph 3.3) considered as a greenfield site.

So, there is no basis for mixed use urban development

according the national policies. However, Omnicane has

acquired the right to convert 400 ha agricultural land

into residential, tourist and business functions. During

the workshops, the government representatives advised

to make an Area Action Plan (see also paragraph 3.2.5)

for this converted land, which will have to be approved

by government after which the OPS will be changed

accordingly by government.

3.2.2 Budget Speech 2013

The budget speech from November 2012 identifies

the challenges faced by the Mauritian economy, whilst

outlining measures aimed at protecting the economy from

the negative impacts of the current global economic c risis.

The budget is focused around the following objectives:

• Supporting economic growth and employment

creation (for example in the financial services,

manufacturing , ICT-BPO and logistics and distribution

sectors);

• Reinforcing the African strategy;

• Ensuring a sound macroeconomic environment;

• Sustainable development;

• Accelerating technological transition;

• Strengthening public services.



56

Comment The Mon Trésor site has the potential to fit very well in

these objectives when it supports the settlement of new

companies from abroad in the preferred sectors, bringing

new employment and wealth to the region. A point of

concern for the Mon Trésor Master Plan is the supply of

good quality public services.

3.2.3 Maurice Ile Durable (MID)

The main objective of the Maurice Ile Durable concept is to

make Mauritius a world model of sustainable development,

particularly in the context of SIDS (Small Island DevelopingStates). While the initial thrust was to minimize the

dependency on fossil fuels through increased utilization

of renewable energy and a more efficient use of energy

in general, the MID concept soon broadened to include

all aspects of development, i.e. economic, social and the

environmental aspects as these are considered pivotal

in the quest for a sustainable Mauritius. The MID project

rests on five designated Es, namely Energy, Environment,

Education, Employment and Equity. It now embraces

the concept of becoming self-sustaining and promoting

sustainable development in the 5Es.

(Source: quotation from the official MID website www.etc).

Comment

This policy is closely connected with the assignment for

the Mon Trésor Master Plan, in which lo ng term sustainable

development is one of the key objectives.

Attention for Energy and Environment is obvious for theMon 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 planning

The transport policy and strategy focus on integratedplanning for land use and transport, providing safe and

convenient travel options, the reduction of dependency on

the private car for journeys to work and the improvement

of social and environmental conditions. Sustainable and

environmentally friendly means of transport should

be considered explicitly. The provision of bicycle and

pedestrian facilities and well-thought parking facilities

requires special attention.

Planned Transport Improvements

Road congestion is a daily and still growing problem

especially in the Port Louis region. Programs and

investments in infrastructure have been set up to alleviate

the pressure on the existing road system and to aid a freer

traffic circulation:

• New road connections, increase of road capacity

• A traffic management and road decongestion program

for Port Louis,• A plan for the construction of a new public transport

system between Port Louis and Curepipe, the Light

Rail Transit (LRT). The National Government decided

recently to implement a first section of the LRT,

between Curepipe and Port Louis, starting in 2014.

Road improvements in and around the Airport region are

planned, but not formalized yet. Governmental maps show

new extensions of some B-roads, connecting the A1 (Mare

d’Albert) with the South Coast (Souillac). It’s unclear what

the actual status of these plans is.

3.2.5 Action Area Plans (AAP’s)

An Action Area Plan is a development plan in terms of

the Planning and Development Act 2004. This type of

plan applies to sites for major development in designated

growth zones (identified within the NDS) and in other

suitable areas of significance for environmental, social

or economic planning. If these major developments are

acceptable on planning grounds, scheme promoters and

private sector developers are encouraged to bring forward

Action Area Plans. In preparing such Action Area Plans

consideration should also be given to the requirements for

future support activities including public transport, traffic

management and new highways and housing, education

and health facilities. In these cases planning for future

adequate water, sanitation and solid waste facilities are

important considerations. Based on the OPS the process of

Action Area planning will involve:



57

• An area-wide approach to integrated developmentplanning and design;

• Targeted public and private sector investments;

• In appropriate circumstances, the use of planning

obligations/agreements, and improved and simplified

mechanisms, including financial incentives for project

implementation.

Comment

During the workshops and meetings with government

representatives, it became clear that no Area Action plan

has been submitted until now on Mauritius. There is nodescription 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 expec ts

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 asbasis 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 exp lanationof the Area Action Plan. The plan should give a level of detail

and enough information to estimate the consequences for

the environment, traffic et cetera.

3.2.6 IRS, RES and IHS

Until recently foreigners were not permitted to purchase

property in Mauritius. In 2002 the Mauritian Government

took the decision to open the market to foreign buyers

on a restricted basis through a project named IRS. The

Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS) is specifically designed to

facilitate the acquisition of resort and residential propertyby 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 resortsare making considerable losses. Another example for the

declining high end tourist market is that the construction

of the Le Chaland hotel could have started a few years

ago, but this start has been postponed. This hotel is to be

developed by Currimjee.

Respondents stated several times that the island is

confronted with an over capacity of hotel facilities.

3.2.7 Land property and conversion rights

When the prices for sugar on the international markets

fall, sugar companies moved into new fields of enterprise.The most obvious move was into property development

(residential, commercial, business parks, and IRS/RES) given

the vast areas belonging to the estates. The second was

to increase energy production from bagasse-only power

generators to bagasse-coal generators able to produce

additional on and off-season electricity. The third and

less obvious move has been into tourism either by way of

tourist attractions or hotels.

Sugar companies were the first to build Integrated Resort

Schemes (IRS), for example designated gated communities

where wealthy foreigners could purchase freehold

property.

Omnicane is one of the sugar companies which has moved

into property development. In this regard an area of 400 ha,

owned by Omnicane, adjacent to the country’s airport has

been converted from agricultural land to non-agricultural

purposes to be zoned for mixed-use urban development.



The Grand Port Savanne Outline Planning Scheme (revised 2011)

58



59

3.2.8 Land conversion 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 NationalParks and Reserves Regulations 1996, the Wildlife

Regulations of 1998;

• The National Environmental Action Plan for the next

decade (NEAP, 1999).

Comment These laws and attached regulations will restrain the

possibilities for the developments of the coastal zone,

especially close to Blue Bay. The laws are not always very

specific and regulations may change during the planning

process. Governmental officials are not entitled to give

advice on the feasibility in preliminary consultations; they

advise to “make a plan and an EIA and send it to us, then

we will give you an answer”. There are no formal standards

showing the criteria on which a plan will be judged. The

fact that government is provided with information from

surveys which are not publically accessible makes the taskeven 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 distanceof 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 formulatingambitious plans for sensitive areas along the coast and Blue

Bay. These plans should not be conditional for other parts

in the master plan or for the master plan as a whole.

3.2.10 Design quality

New development should conserve and enhance the

character and attractiveness of the district. Proposed

development should be expected to conform to the

national Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) on the design

quality of:

• Residential Development;• Industrial Development;

• Commercial Development;

• Hotels and Integrated Resorts Development and

• Any future nationally-adopted Design Guidance

matter.

Comment

Some of the rules in this guidance are approved by law and

are mandatory. Most of them have no formal status but are

used as rules in the process of permitting.



60

3.3 Regional policy: Outline Planning scheme(OPS)

The 1954 Town and Country Planning Act provides for

approved Schemes to be used as the main reference

against which building and land use permit applications

are judged. The Mon Trésor area is part of the Grand Port

District. For the Grand Port Savanne District an Outline

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 genericto 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 andamenity and the natural and built environment.

Comment Most remarkable feature is that the OPS, which has been

revised in 2011, doesn’t contain any reference to the

conversion rights, acquired by Omnicare for 400 ha mixed

use development South of the airport.

3.3.1 Environmentally Sensitive Areas

The Outline Planning Scheme (OPS) for Grand Port Savanne

also deals with the protection and conservation of the

natural environment. The natural environment is protected

by the designation of Environmentally Sensitive Areas

(ESAs). ESAs are regulated by the working of several nationalActs (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 o f outstandingnatural 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 sustainingand improving the amenity of settlements in urban and

rural areas, attracting new investment, employment

opportunities and improving the quality o f life of residents

and workers.

Comment

The OPS shows several Environmentally Sensitive Areas

and Scenic Landscape Areas within the Mon Trésor Master

Plan site:

• Blue Bay;

• The fishery reserve before the Mon Trésor coast line;

• Mangroves at the borders of Blue Bay;• Wetland at Mares aux Songes;

• The entire coastal strip.

Noteworthy is that the neither the Christian Vallet forest or

the Ruisseau des Mares du Tabac are indicated as locations

of special interest and that neither the old factory or the



61

adjacent compound or the old lane are mentioned as

having a specific landscape or heritage value.

3.3.2 Fishing Reserve (Marine Protected Area)

Bordering on the Blue Bay Marine Park is the Grand Port

Fishing Reserves, Zones A and B. It was proclaimed a

Fishing Reserve under the Fisheries and Marine Resources

Act 1998. The reserve has been set up to protect and

conserve habitats that are nursery grounds for juvenile fish.

The Fisheries and Marine Resources Act (Marine Protected

Areas) Regulations 2001 provide for the conservation andprotection of the reserves. It stipulates the allowed and

permitted fishing methods.

Recently surveys have been carried out in some reserves

prior to the release of juveniles. The Fishing Reserves

surveyed were characterized by extensive sea grass and

macro-algal beds and were found to be excellent breeding

and nursery ground since large schools of juvenile fish of

different species were recorded.

Comment

It’s not yet clear which limitations this fishery reserve will

bring for developments on the adjacent land. It is to beexpected 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 o f 100 m is be app lied.Omnicane has in store some progressive plans related to

the development and enhancement of the coastal zone of

La Cambuse.

Experience elsewhere on Mauritius shows that after the

lease period for the Pas Geometrique, government might

decide to allow all kinds of settlements in these coastal

zones: small businesses, bars, temples and so on. The

Mon Trésor Master Plan should endeavour to find a fitting

solution for this problem.

3.4 Socio-economic situation and market analysis

3.4.1 Summary of the socio economic survey

In order to prepare a well-founded development plan for

the 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 MonTrésor.

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 makeany quantitative forecasts for the Master Plan site.

For the international market and potential foreign

investments in the fields of tourism, industrial and

commercial activities, there are no databases available

which can help forecasting. This potential market for

foreign investment is so diverse and dispersed over the



62

world that a survey of these opportunities is not possiblewithin 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 availablemarket 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 institutionsand 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 Trésorarea 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 Freepor t 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 clearlyvisible location close to airport. The economic zone can

consist of three types of development:

• A manufacturing park; aiming at light / clean

manufacturing in a functional, relatively low spatial

quality environment;

• A high tech park; aiming at high-tech, light industrial

activities and a part of the office sector (which will

be able to find the right conditions here) such as

call centres and ICT. Office(like) activities should be

situated near the main infrastructure;

• A logistics park; aiming at distributional activities in a

functional, relatively low spatial quality environment.The logistic park needs to be reserved for logistic firms and

sustaining services exclusively. The manufacturing park and

the high tech park can be realised on the same location,

where they will choose for different levels of quality, which

can be facilitated with a zoning in plot size, quality and



63

pricing. The dividing line between these two zones will bedetermined by the market.

From experience we know that location, visibility and

quality of the site are the most important criteria for

companies in choosing their location. When a business

park complies with these criteria and is managed well, a

broad spectrum of economic activities will be able to find

a suitable space.

3.4.5 Tourism, leisure and shopping

Tourism is an important growth sector. There is a strong

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 b uilt

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 MonTrésor 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 theleading developers in this field is interested. To profit from

the flows of tourists going to or travelling from the airport,

a (fashion) outlet centre can best be situated as near to the

airport entrance and the highway as possible.

Finally, local experts do not believe that a park with the

Dodo as the main theme will become a tourist attraction.

The number of visitors is estimated to be too low to attract

other investments.

3.4.6 A mixed housing development

In the Program Based Budget for 2012 – 2014 the

government has set the targets for the next ten years. The

construction of over 30,000 houses is needed. It is expected

that 27% of the houses should be affordable for low income

households; the remainder is for serviced lots for the lower-

middle and middle income households. Notwithstanding

the fact that social /affordable housing is among the top

priorities, all the interviewed local experts see op portunities

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 nextarea 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 increaseof 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 /

percentageTotal 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 housingunits

11.0%

Building crudely sub dived into smallerhousing units

2.1%

Housing units in partly residentialbuildings

5.6%

Public 0.1%

Table: General housing figures of Grand Port Source: CSO

Mauritius

Example: Eindhoven Airport



64

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 mil lion

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 3million 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 liesthe residential area and new town Meerhoven,

offering good quality housing .

For more information:

www.eindhovenairport.nl

or search on ‘Flight Forum Eindhoven’ and ‘Park

Forum Eindhoven A irport’.

64



65

Households in Mauritius clearly favour detached andsemidetached 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

decades

Although 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 influencethe 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 roadfor 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 p ossession

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 urbanlife 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.

Les Allés d’Helvetia



66

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 bedroom 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 marketis 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.

66



67

Source/more information:

www.enl.mu www.espral.com 67



68

When taking the Maurice Ile Durable ambitions to becomea world-class example for sustainability seriously and when

elaborating on the task to d iversify 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 ac tive

planning for long term infrastructure reser vations, 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 theSSR 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’ andwould 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 andfreight, 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 thebenefits 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 showna 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.



69

Omnicane has focused until recently on high end touristdevelopment 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 airpor t.

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 airpor t 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 plans

Some respondents mentioned the typical attitude of the

Mauritian people to wait patiently until the golden chancecomes 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 d evelopers and

investors tend to wait until others discover the market and

imitate each other in choosing projects which are expectedto 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 be

Cyber 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 oppositeposition, 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 itconcerns 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 Mauritius

The 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 arescarce. 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:



70

nice housing for the happy few, but not publicly accessible

and outside the urb an 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 M on 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 remark able

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 fora 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 tothe 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



71

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 andconstraints

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 shouldbe 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.



72

3.9 Conclusion: Strengths and weaknesses in thepresent situation

The present situation in the airport region and on theMon 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 demographicgrowth

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 lineSettlements / Urbandevelopment

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 asp ec ts No majo r constraints for mixed use ur ban development Utilities on insufficient level fo r ur ban develo pment



73

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 touris t f acili ties / 2 hotels and 1 planned hotel Limited public accessibi li ty along t he whole length of the

coast.

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

Urban development Exist ing compound / park landscape suitable for starting residential development

Roads and infrastructure Existing road system suitable for access to first phase development

Landscape Existing trees and landsc ape features as valleys, forest, tree lanes add flavo ur to the

landscape

Heritage Existing building(s) of the old factory in the centre of the site

Technical 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



75

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 development

In 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 co ncept 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’ Economy

Government 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 flexibility

These two starting points fit together: a realistic plan for the

longer term should be flexible in order to cop e 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 transparency

For 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.

4 Vision and Strategy





77

be complementary to them and it will help to alleviatethe 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 inhabitantswho 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 thefuture city. In following stages the density will b e 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 locationsfor 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.

78



79

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 wi th 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 government

As 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 itwill form the foundation for architectural designs and

permission requests. When new opportunities arise, the

master plan / Area Action Plan will be adj usted / expanded/

updated, discussed with government and hence elaborated

in designs and permit requests.

A very careful and well-organised plan for communicationwith 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

developer

The 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 tothe residents and companies on a non-p rofit 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

Kings Hill Estate in Kent, UK



80

Types of business buildings Maintenance and surveyance Residential and services

80



81

Kings Hill estate in Kent, UK

A sustainable business and residential community

Liberty 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 – l ocal.”

The original masterplan for Kings Hill was set out in1989. One of the major reasons for Kings Hill’s success isthat those plans have evolved and have been adaptedover the years in response to the ever-changingeconomic and social climate. In 2012 the managementstarted a masterplan review process to consider futuredevelopment proposals for Kings Hill.

Business type and services

Headquarter offices, regional offices, start-ups, disasterrecovery, back office, research and development, callcentres and clean, hi-tech manufacturing are all cateredfor. Three main styles of building with three levels ofspecification provide tenants with a range of propertysolutions that can be tailored to meet their changingbusiness needs. Each building differs slightly accordingto the standard of finish.Site-based companies Kings Hill Property Managementand Kings Hill Estate Management maintain thebuildings, car parks and landscaping and providesecurity on a not for profit basis.Facilities management is offered from a “shopping list”of services from which tenants may tailor a package tosuit their needs. Two thirds of tenants have contractedwith Liberty for this service.Liberty Property Trust UK’s head office is situated atKings Hill. Commercial property tenants are reassuredthat their landlord/asset manager is site based andaccessible, with a proactive policy of welcomingfeedback.

Business and residential Security

The estate has two access points into and out of thepark, both benefiting from CCTV surveillance. KingsHill Guarding provide a 24 hour, mobile patrol ofthe commercial property areas. A Police CommunitySupport Officer, financed jointly by the Parish Counciland Kings Hill Residential Estate Management, patrols

the residential elements of the park.For businesses the estate offers the following servicesand facilities:Security, Refuse collection, Utilities ( Elec tricity, heating,lighting, water, internet), cleaning, insurance, repairsand maintenance, signage and office Services.

Residential

The homes are arranged in distinctive residentialneighbourhoods around focal points such as a villagegreen, cricket ground and golf course and have beenbuilt using a mix of traditional and contemporarydesigns.

Events, such as music and theatre are organisedregularly.Source: www.kings-hill.com

81



82

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 touristfacilities;

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.

82



83

safety officers. These tasks of maintenance and surveillanceconnect with the experience of Omnicane as agricultural

landowner and manager of secured sites.

For the start-up of the projec t, 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 development

For the coastal area, with Blue Bay in its core, it is absolutely

crucial to find the balance between private interestand 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 tooffer 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 ChristianVallet 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 developmentand 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 bordersof 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 Mo n Trésor.

4.4.4 Active marketing to survey the marketMarket 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



85

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 risks

Real 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 evendoing 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 co mpany 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 spatialstrategy 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 deliver y of utilities, such as

potable water and power. When this shortage occurs, the

realisation of the Master Plan can be delayed o r obstructed.

However, there are several years to address this potentialproblem 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.



86



87

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 p lan 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 1195Existing 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 310Commercial 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





89

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 transportand 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 Roads

The road system exists of an elongated M1 highway, with

three highway connectors (2x2 / 2x3 lanes) into the newcity. 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

description

One of the three highway connectors, mentioned in theprevious 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

New Airport Access Road



90

New Airport Access Road

Alternative Routing

Long Term Regional Development Vision (2065)



91


Public Transport



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

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

92



93

• 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 routing

The preferred route for this new road is illustrated in theLong 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 andis 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 spacefor 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 whichpurpose 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 sucha 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



Business sites Residential areas

Service and shopping centers Densities

94



95

city, such as the airpor t, 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 paidto 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 residentialareas 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 p edestrians. In dense

areas as the city center parking garages are required forlarge 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 functions

Locations 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 Roadare 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 Housing

For 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 concentratedaround 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




96


Green Framework

96



97

mountains in the north.

Housing should be mixed with other functions to make

the residential areas livelier; small offices, medical ser vices,

schools, sport areas, parks and playgrounds, local shopping

centres, small workshops, home offices and so on.

5.4.3 Service centres

A concentration of daily services such as shopping centres

and schools is advisable, also beca use 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 Density

The 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 centrewill 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 Environment

The Long Term Vision is based o n 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




g g p ( )

Hindrance and Acoustics

98



99

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 areoutside 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 andpower 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 Mo n 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.





Master Plan Mon Trésor



102102



103

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 impor tant

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 governmentwill 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 urba n 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 avilla-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

Business

The 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

6 First phase / 10-years / MT Masterplan

Masterplan Mon Trésor



Phasing in time and space

104



105

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.

Residential

For 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 these4.100 households 25 - 50% (this percentage is based on

international examples) is assumed to be interested in

buying or renting a house in Mo n 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 housein 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




Fixed points

106



107

Types of housing

Initially 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 ap artments 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 apar tments is kept to

a minumum.

The excellent spatial quality of the ‘Mon Trésor Park’, theformer 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 ex tensions 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 groups

In 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 ser vices,

for example a service unit for elderly people (medical,

household support, catering).

Services

Services 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 Airpor t

Avenue near the future city centre especially when the New

Airport Access Road is opened and 15.000 people a day willpass 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.




Landscape plan

108



109

Green areas

The ambition is to offer a high quality, green and spaciousbusiness 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 theintegrated green areas is to be seen as an investment for

future expansion.

6.2.2 Ownership, management and quality: Mon

Trésor Estate

The 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


Year 7 – 10


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 postoffice)

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 m2Secondary 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

Gates

110



111

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 b uilding 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 signswhich 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 spring

Persian Lilac lilac late spring

Pink trumpet pink spring

Bottle brush red early

summer

Flamboyant orange summer

Golden flamboyant yellow summer

Niaouli white from spring

to autumn

6.2.3 Landscape and heritage; Mon Trésor estate

Estate landscape

The 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 complexwill 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).




Road hierarchy

Paths for pedestrians and bicycles

112

A-Roads

B-Roads

Local Roads

Pedestrian paths

Pedestrian and bicycle paths

Mon Trésor Avenue



113

6.2.4 Road system and transport

Roads

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 speedbumps 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 Mo n Trésor traffic until 2025. When business

and residential development continues as expected after

2025, the New Airport Access Road b ecomes indispensable.

Airport Avenue

The 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 o f this Airport Avenuewill 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 Avenue

The 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 overthe 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 RegionalDevelopment 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.



Solar panels above parking places real generate a considerable percentage of the required power

114



115

6.2.5 Sustainable water management planning

Next to the environmental policies and measures mentionedin 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 willserve 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 freshwater 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 water

The 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 usesis 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. Sufficientwater 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

116



117

Sewerage

No water borne sewerage exists in this region andwastewater 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 ofthe 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 aq uifer);

• 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 dripirrigation 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 meansea 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 Requirement

In 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 willsupply 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.



118

Strategies for decreasing the use of fossil fuels

The acquired decrease in the use of fossil fuels will inpractice 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 energyproduction 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 saving

With 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, livingand 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 po llutant 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 combustionengines 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 production

It 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 M on 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:



119

• 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 c an 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 isin 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-suppor ting energy

production should always be backed up with a central netconnection 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 properdesign 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 conflic ts arise with

other interests, for example esthetical considerations.

utility

2020 2025

Estimationbased onaverage useMauritius

Estimationfeasiblesavings onpower andwater useby efficiencymeasures

Estimationfeasible savingson powersupply by localand renewableenergyproduction

Estimationbased onaverageMauritius

Estimationfeasiblesavings onpower andwater useby efficiencymeasures

Estimationfeasible savingson powersupply by localand renewableenergyproduction

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

Potablewater

400m3 /day

20% 1,000m3 / day 25 %

Irrigation

water

400m3 /

day

900m3 / day

Capacitysewageplant

50m3 /hour

100m3 / hour



Masterplan phase 1, Western part, the office p ark around the hotel

Masterplan phase 1, Eastern part, residential and services

Masterplan phase 2

120



121

6.2.7 Technical issues / constraints

Existing 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 Connectivity

DSL (Digital Subscriber line) connection (ADSL and SDSL)

is present almost everywhere on the island through

the copper wire telephone network or through wirelessbroadband 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 beincorporated. 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 ro ad 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 andsales 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 onan evaluation and update of the Long Term Regional

Development Vision, in consultation with government and

stakeholders.

Cross section Airport Avenue



Regulations Airport Avenue

The plot lay-out

• Minimum of 40% green space• Maximum of 40% pavement• Shared access road

Parking• 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 16mintersected 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

122



123123

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 plansfor the longer term.

6.3.1 Airport Avenue

The Airport Avenue will connect the airport with thehighway 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 strip

The 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 bic ycles and pedestrians.At the Western border a reservation for public transport is

added to the design.

Regulations

The regulations for this business area prescribe greensetbacks 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 c apacity. 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 meansea 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.



124

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



125

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



Mon Trésor Avenue

Cross section Mont Trésor Avenue

126



127127

6.3.2 Business park and the Mon Trésor Avenue

The Mon Trésor AvenueThis 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 Park

The business park will accommodate several types of

businesses: logistics, light industry, high tech, services and

offices. The lay-out is zoned with the more representativefunctions, 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.

Regulations

Buildings will stay beneath the tree-top line; the maximumbuilding 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 designrefer to traditional villas. All office buildings will be clad

with sloping roofs.



128

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



129

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


B i k



Business park

Airport Avenue

Mon Trésor Avenue

A’- A’’

B’- B’’

130


C ti d M T é B i P k



Cross sections roads Mon Trésor Business Park

A’

B’

A’’

B’’

131

For location see map page 130

Regulations Business Park

(for logistics, light industry, high tech, services and

offices)



offices)

The plot lay-out

• Shared access road• Building entrances at the sideParking

• 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 awater retention basin

Setbacks


building

• 4m setback from rear boundary for parking andbuilding

Architecture

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

132

Regulations Business Park – Offices

The plot lay out Setbacks



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 16mintersected by green and trees at least 2m

The building

• Maximum of height 15 m

Setbacks


building• 4m setback from rear boundary for parking and

building

Architecture• Matrials fitting in estate atmosphere: painted

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

133


First phase office park



134

First phase office park

134



135

6.3.3 The area around the Holiday Inn Airport Hotel

This location will show the first phase business developmenton 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 fromthe 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

135



Masterplan residential area: in the ‘Mon Trésor Park‘

Cross section residential road hi gher mid dle- class w ith green verges Cross sec ti on resi dential road affordabl e mi ddl e- cl ass

Detail

136



137

6.3.4 Residential areas

The 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 b uilding works scattered

in the landscape.

Regulations

The regulations for building these residential quarters areshowed 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 b ack. It

is also possible to deliver the houses as a self-build pac kage

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.

137



Plot sizes middle-class housing

138



Regulations middle-class housing

139



140

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



141

High density residential



142

Within the residential quarters is provided for green squares and playgrounds



143



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

144



145

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 factory

The 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 arestaurant;

• 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 nomarket 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 po nds 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 betweenthe buildings.

6.4.2 Blue Bay

Beach 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 d rink and a bite to eat.

Some suggestions to enhance the tourist value of the

borders of Blue Bay are:

145



146

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 factory

147



148

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



149

Bungalows at the Blue Bay

The idea has risen to build a cluster of small ‘eco-bungalows’

at the border of Blue Bay for people who want to enjoy theisland’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 Bay

Starting 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 area

Two alternatives

The coastal area within the Mon Tréso site is considered avery 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 club

149



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

150



151

6.4.4 Intensive tourist, leisure boardwalk variant

This option adopts some features from famous Americansea-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-lastingtask 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



152

Forrest villas

Forrest lane leading from the coastal area to the dodo park

152



153

6.4.5 Extensive green villa variant

The second option for the coastal development aimsat 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 willbe 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


Possible location golf course



154

g



155155

6.4.6 Integration Dodo Theme Park Coordination 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 couldbe 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 valuableland:

• 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 courseon 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.



156

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

156

7 Assessments



157

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 theplanners 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 table

The assessment tables give answers on the followingquestions:

• 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 havebeen 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 / measuresin line with policy /regulationsPrinciples / measureshighly positiveimpact on long termsustainability.

Moderately

positive impact

Principles / measures

moderate positiveimpact on long termsustainability

Neutral: Nosignificantimpact

Neutral impactcompared with existingsituation

Moderatenegativeimpact

Principles / measuresmoderate adverseImpact on long termsustainability

Highly

negativeImpact

Principles / measures

in conflict with policy /regulationsImpact very negativeimpact on long termsustainability.

7 Assessments

157



158

7.3 Strategic assessment – Long term development vision / regional perspective

topic Principle / measure

In line with

Policy / regulation ? Assessment of impact Mitigation / score when mitigated

Urbandevelopment

Concentration of urbanactivities in confined areas asopposed to urban sprawl

Yes Positive compared with presentrandom urban sprawl on Mauritius

None

New regional full servicedurban core offeringemployment, services andfacilities to the region

No, opposed to OPS GrandPort Savanne and opposedto principle of adding majorspatial investments to existingcities

Positive incentive for regionaldevelopment of the South East

None

New concentrated urbandevelopment outsideconurbation

No, opposed to NationalDevelopment Strategy

Positive: possibility to alleviatepressure on traffic bottlenecks inexisting Curepipe – Port Loius corridor

None

Working – living - recreatingclose by and complete set ofurban services on close range

Yes Positive; limited transport distanceswith good opportunities forenvironmental friendly transportmodes discouraging private car useNegative; a risk of hindrance inresidential areas

Solid long term planning and regulationsto keep hindrance away from residentialfunctions

Urbanisation close to Blue Bay No, opposed to OPS Grand PortSavanne

Negative for nature because of higherrisks for emissions and disturbance

from intensified recreational use.

Develop enough alternative locations forcoastal recreation, creating buffer zones

around Blue Bay, measures for naturedevelopment, improved regulations /management / surveillance Blue Bay, organiseeducation. The sum of which results in at leastpreserving biodiversity at the present level.



159

Urban

development

Urbanisation in present

agricultural area

No, opposed to OPS Grand Port

SavanneYes, conversion rights acquired

Neutral: “red” for “green” but the

agricultural value of the land is lowand urbanisation will always consumeareas of agricultural land.

None

High density urbandevelopment at best accessiblelocations, lowest densities atthe fringes and close to sea /natural areas

Yes Positive, efficient use of infrastructure None

Elongating the highway innorthern direction

No, opposed to OPS Grand PortSavanne

Positive: leading through trafficoutside the new city and connectingMahébourg with region.

None

Infrastructureand transport

Three major highway accessesto the new city


Positive: less risk of traffic congestionin the area, distribution of traffic

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

Hierarchic road system withspace reservations for futureexpansion

Yes Positive: clear structure of transportto road users; road design fits todesired travel behaviour

Space reservation for highquality public transport in thecity and from / to airport

Yes Positive: incentive for usemaximisation of environmentalfriendly transport modes, lessprivate car use

Space reservation for highquality public transport fromthe airport to the conurbationand vice versa




160

Infrastructure

and transport

Combination of modern

sophisticated light rail systemwith ‘usual’ bus transport,

Yes, national and regional

transport policy encouragespublic transport.

Positive: stimulates people to use

other means of transport then privatecar; negative is the low quality ofthe buses: uncomfortable, noisy andsmoke emitting

Improve quality bus transport in the new city

System of long distance bicyclepaths in green areas + bicyclepaths along main roads andfootpaths along all residentialroads


Application national parkingregulations

Yes Too low for expected future growth incar possession

Increase standards for residential and businessareas

Local community Two major highway accessesfor the airport with theSouthern access as mainconnection


Positive: less hindrance and danger inPlaine Magnien

None

New routes to the north andsouth outside Trois Boutiquesand Mahébourg


Positive; less hindrance in existingvillages / town and better flow of interlocal / inter regional traffic

None

Add a green structure withfacilities for recreation andsports as buffers betweenexisting villages and new

developments

Yes Positive for nature and inhabitants ofvillages

None

Improvement of service levelin 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 goodquality affordable housing

Yes Positive as it supports the level ofservices, gives inhabitants a chance tomove into a new house and chancesfor village renewal

None

Nature andlandscape

Make use of natural featuresof topography and physicalresources of the MT terrain

Yes Positive to allocate the plots accordingto the terrain’s features, respectecosystem services

Yes

Integrate the existing tree

structures and forested areas

Yes Positive for having a jump-start with

greenery in parks and trees alongroads.

No

Stay clear from (internationally)protected nature sites

Yes Positive since the perceiveddisturbance will be minimal

Yes



162

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 andlandscape

Developer takes co-responsibilityfor the management of Blue Bayand its buffer zones / borders asone of the interested parties

Yes Positive: Recreational use willbe consequently regulated anddisturbance of species lowernd

None

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

None

Environment Saving energy use by building to

top BREEAM levels

yes Positive

Individual and combined solarenergy installations for housesand commercial property

yes Positive None

Water saving measures suchas water cisterns for gardenirrigation, swimming pools

yes Positive None

Drainage; measures for retentionof water on the location: retentionbasins, green design depressions,infiltrating pavements

yes Positive impact , reduce risk forflash flooding

Yes

Sewerage; new sewerage systemand new gradually expandingsewerage 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 byMTDC

Yes Positive for quality public space None

Technical issues Location sewerage treatmentplant South of old factory

yes Possitive but possible stenchhindrance

Distance to residential quarters

Potable water supply; onmid-term added capacity innegotiation with authority

yes NA

Power; on mid-term addedcapacity in negotiation withauthority

yes NA

Telecom; network in negotiationwith authority yes NA

Internet in negotiation withauthority

yes NA

Check geomorphology (holes andtunnels in underground) prior tobuilding activities

yes NA



164

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, noboats, at the land side 30 meters from thehigh water line, intersection mangroves notmore than 3 meter

Green and small nature oriented

bungalow park at the border of

Blue Bay

No Negative: activities will act asa disturbance, incentive forrecreational use vulnerable areaBlue 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 consultationwith manager Blue Bay, exclusive connectionwith 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 apaved road


Savanne

Positive as community connector

Negative because very close toBlue Bay

Road of 2 lanes, speed reducing measures,

fences at the Blue Bay side to prevent access, rainwater 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 GrandPort 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 andpotentially harming Blue Bay

Potential negative impact on Blue

Bay and fishery reserve becauseof changed currents and sand

transport along the coast

Reef closer to the shore, ending at distance

from Blue Bay, limitation of sand transportalong the coast, careful study and modellingof currents and appliance of results in designreef 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 onsheltered location

Using Christian Vallet Forest as an

park area for leisure development+ buildings and access roads



Positive for leisure and tourism

but damaging the landscape andnature value

No buildings inside forest border and no

roads in the Forest, park management forvegetation and recreation



166

Model 1: Boardwalk for pedestrians only

along the strip; parking at theback



Positive; no cars close to the

park and the beach

Model 2: Villas and road along coastal

nature park La Combuse,

extensive use,


Savanne

Yes, conversion rights acquired

Costal park will be narrowed,

more intensive use than in present

situation

Leaving the green coastal zone at the actualsize, add facilities for recreation, carefulmanagement 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 andmanagement

Green connector between coastalpark, Christian Vallet Forest and

Dodo Theme Park

yes Positive as a link in the greenstructure and for stimulating

walking

None

Villas with gardens to preserve

the lush and green atmosphere of

the coastal area


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) onlocations 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 OutlinePlanning 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 makersto 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 p reserving biodiversity at the present level’. This

obligation applies the same for the M aster 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 todiscussion 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 chargedto 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 thepresent 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 rathernarrow 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.





Barbarossastraat 35

Postbus 151

6500 AD Nijmegen

+31 (0)24 328 47 60

[email protected]

www.rhdhv.com

TELEPHONE

E-MAIL

INTERNET

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

NAME

FUNCTION

TELEPHONE

E-MAIL

CLIENT

Urban van Aar

Team Leader

+31 629732721

[email protected]

European Investment Bank

NAME

DATE

NAME

DATE

Approved by

Urban van Aar

October 18th, 2013

Checked by

Frans van der Beek October 18th, 2013

NUMBER

STATE

DATE

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 wi ll be asserted.



Documents

2013 - Mon Tresor Urban Master Plan , Mauritius