Seychelles' investment minister meets with banks to iron out issues for new development projects 

It was also revealed that the Victoria Waterfront development was also on track. (Seychelles News Agency) 

Top government projects in Seychelles, which include a multi-storey car park and a facelift of the Regatta site at Beau Vallon and a waterfront in the capital Victoria, are on track, said a top official.

The announcement was made by the Minister for Investment, Entrepreneurship and Industry, Devika Vidot, on Friday after meeting with representatives of local banks.

Among the projects discussed was the Regatta site project at Beau Vallon, of which request proposals will be launched on July 24, as well as the multi-storey car park.

The Kato Nwar tourism project on Prasin, Seychelles' second most populated island, was also discussed.

The chief executive of the Seychelles Investment Bureau (SIB), Anne Rosette, told reporters that "we have already met the interested businesses and we expect them to hand in the required documents in August. The process is expected to be completed by the end of September."

It was also revealed that the Victoria Waterfront development and the Cote D'Or Praslin tourism projects were also on the right track. Around 50 interested investors are being shown the Victoria Waterfront project, which is targetting mainly local investors.

The project's planning, launched last year, are expected to be completed on November 11 this year and the execution of the project should begin early in 2024.

Rosette said: "We also discussed future projects so that we could talk about availability and financing."

This meeting was the fifth session that the Ministry helds with the banks after the initial one in November last year.

"We have updated the banks on the status of the various projects, which we promised to do when we began these meetings," added Rosette.

Present at the meeting were representatives from the various commercial banks including the Development Bank of Seychelles (DBS).

Among the projects discussed was the Regatta site project at Beau Vallon. (Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

"The Ministry is aware that businesses face many challenges when trying to access financing. We want to bring the banks and businesses together so that we may find a way to address the problems," said Vidot.

The meeting gave all parties a chance to talk about their roles and the various means of support they can provide and also discussed was an investor map, due to be launched soon.

"This is to share information with the banks, so that they may align the priorities we have put forward to them to their existing projects," said Vidot.

She said that the subject of the cost of financing was also addressed.

"We talked about some examples of difficulties encountered in getting the required financing whether it was the interest rate or repayment terms. For their part, the banks have given us their positions as financial institutions the regulations they have to abide by and the regulations they have to abide by as companies," explained Vidot.

She added that they were informed that there is liquidity to finance these projects however there are problems to work on with potential bidders to make their projects bankable.

Bankable projects are those that can meet the financial demands of the banks such as deposits and securities as well as have their required documentation.

Vidot said one of the main reasons the authorities are engaging with the banks is to "find out what problems they face as financial institutions and we can see what problems we face with businesses that are in contact with us so that we can bring both together and solve the issues."

She said that in some instances, it all boiled down to a lack of information.

Following the meeting, the banks' representatives will take the points discussed to their respective management representatives and find ways through which to implement them.

"With focused discussions, we can work in partnership with the banks and work on programmes and others to tackle these issues," said Vidot.