MAURITIUS AIRPORT UPGRADE: MADE IN CHINA

UNCLAS PORT LOUIS 000044

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR MICHELLE URBANCIC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EAIR ICAO MP
SUBJECT: MAURITIUS AIRPORT UPGRADE: MADE IN CHINA

REF: 08 PORT LOUIS 142


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. A planned overhaul of the passenger terminal of
Mauritius' international airport is moving ahead, with French design
assistance and Chinese funding. When work is completed, the airport
should be able to handle four million passengers annually. The
Chinese funding is part of a recent, significant increase in Chinese
economic interest in Mauritius. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) A planned passenger terminal overhaul is moving forward at
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Airport (SSR),Mauritius' international
airport, with Chinese funds and French designs. A new terminal
building will be built as an extension of the existing terminal,
most of which will then be demolished, and the remainder upgraded.
The work is being overseen by the newly created company Airport
Terminal Operations Ltd. (ATOL),a subsidiary of Airports of
Mauritius Ltd. (AML). ATOL was set up to handle all aspects of the
design, construction, and operations of the new facility. ATOL, 90
percent owned by AML with the other ten percent held by Aeroports de
Paris (ADP),received a loan of 195 million Euros from the Export
and Import Bank of China (EXIM China) to finance the project.


3. (U) First built in 1945 as Plaisance Airport, SSR came under the
ownership and management of AML in 1999, coinciding with the last
major project undertaken at the airport. In a conversation with
Conoff, AML Director of Operations Romesh Bhoyroo mentioned that the
current project to upgrade the passenger terminal has been "in the
works for a long time." He stated that ADP currently has a team in
Mauritius working on the design plans, and construction is planned
to start by August 2009 and conclude by August 2011. Bhoyroo also
mentioned that ADP would be involved in the operation of the new
terminal building and would remain for two years after construction
is completed to help get the terminal up and running.


4. (U) According to press reports, the renovated and extended
terminal will have a handling capacity of around four million
passengers annually (the number for 2008 is 2.6 million) and will
include state of the art technology, new aircraft parking stands,
and additional passenger parking. Bhoyroo said the new building
would have five jet-ways, which, added to the three in the currently
existing terminal building, would make a total of eight gates.


5. (SBU) According to Bhoyroo, EXIM China's entry into the project
as financial backing came about after the Prime Minister's visit to
China in 2007 (reftel),where he may have mentioned the airport as a
possible way for China to provide help to Mauritius. He commented
that "that's how these things work."

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COMMENT
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6. (SBU) Chinese investment in Mauritius' international airport, a
crucial gateway for this heavily tourism-dependent country, must be
seen against the backdrop not only of the deep roots of the
Sino-Mauritian population here, but also of a significant recent
jump in Chinese economic interest. The Chinese firm Shanxi Tianli
Enterprise Group has recently made the largest foreign direct
investment in Mauritius to date, in the "Mauritius Tianli Economic
and Trade Cooperation Zone." The Zone is expected to attract
Chinese investors in a number of sectors, with total investment
estimated at over half a billion USD (reftel). Chinese president Hu
Jintao's upcoming visit in February will further strengthen these
new economic ties, and help ensure continued growth of Chinese
investment in Mauritius. Mauritius is taking unprecedented measures
to prepare for the visit. Police Commissioner Rampersad told POLOFF
"we are even closing our roads for him. We never close our roads."

WHITE