Rush for glass installation during reconstruction period of Dec. 7 disasters 

An explosion of four containers of explosives at a quarrying company in the Providence Industrial estate caused massive damage to residential homes and commercial buildings. (Seychelles Nation)

In the aftermath of the explosion at the CCCL storage facility at the Providence Industrial Estate on December 7, many individuals and businesses that were affected are looking for glass to replace the ones damaged.

Seychelles suffered two major blows on December 7 when heavy rainfall caused severe damage to roads, flooding, and landslides, with damage to several properties and three people died.

The same day, an explosion of four containers of explosives at a quarrying company in the Providence Industrial estate caused massive damage to residential homes and commercial buildings, along the eastern coast.

Depending on the requests and the companies providing the glass, it will take on average one week to one month for an installation to be completed.

There are several windows and doors manufacturers and importers in Seychelles and many of them are located in Providence.  

SNA spoke to some of the businesses to see how they are handling the influx of new clients.

Wendy Jean, one of the owners of Sliding Aluminum Windows and Doors (SAWD), said that while their storefront was damaged in the blast, their stock was not, so they have been able to keep up with the demand.

"We've had to change our schedule to accommodate all the new clients. Usually, we don't do installations on Saturday, but we've had to do it on that day as well to catch up with demand. Now in January demand has reduced, so we've returned to our normal schedule," said Jean.

Depending on the requests and the companies providing the glass, it will take on average one week to one month for an installation to be completed. (Seychelles Nation) Photo License: CC-BY

She clarified that the company measures and cuts the glass and aluminum for windows and doors in Seychelles and that "everything is made to order. We go to the client's location to measure and then we cut it ourselves."

Jean explained that all clients are told that it will take around one month for completion although it might not take that long.

"Most of the time it takes around two weeks but we have to consider all factors as there could be delays. It's the installation that takes time because to manage our time properly we have a schedule, for example on Saturdays we normally do all the measuring and we schedule the installation on another date. For just the product, if the client says they will install themselves that can be ready in about two days."

Jean said that the fact that they cut the glass to measure here in Seychelles means that they are not able to use tempered glass but laminated glass instead.

Another manufacturer in the Providence Industrial Estate, Ma and Sun has also seen an influx in new clients.

The owner, Ma Juiyun told SNA, "It might take more time to keep up with demand when we are busy, but normally it takes two or three days up to one week or sometimes two weeks. If the client needs it urgently, we can accommodate it. Since the authorities have said that for the next three months, we won't have to pay tax, we've been offering reduced prices to the people who were affected by the explosion. We are not making a profit from it."

Ma said they are very busy and have some outstanding orders and have explained the situation to their clients and they also have some urgent work to complete on their workshop because it was also damaged.

He added that their stock was spared from the blast and they were able to get back up and running after a few repairs and they can cope with demand.

"We are prioritising the different jobs, to make sure we can cope," said Ma.

In terms of the quality of glass that they offer, like Jean, Ma also stated that tempered glass cannot be cut here in Seychelles, therefore they also use laminated glass.