Africa-Press – Mauritius. At present, we are offering to the population a modern, comfortable, swift and reliable transport system, and, especially one that is enhancing the lives of Metro Express’ commuters.
We are writing in golden letters another major page of our country’s history’, said the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, today, at the inauguration of Phase 2C of the Metro Express project at Curepipe Central Station.
Phase 2C connects Phoenix to Curepipe over a 6.8 km alignment comprising seven new stations namely: Curepipe Central – Curepipe North – Floreal – Sadally – Vacoas Central – Palmerson – Phoenix. The commercial operation launch for passengers is scheduled from 6 am to 7 pm as from Monday 10 October 2022.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Housing and Land Use Planning, Minister of Tourism, Mr Louis Steven Obeegadoo; the Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Alan Ganoo; the High Commissioner of India to Mauritius, Mrs.
K. Nandini Singla; Members of Parliament; Senior Officials, the CEO of Metro Express Ltd, Dr Das Mootanah, and other dignitaries, were present at the ceremony.
The Prime Minister accompanied by the different personalities boarded the light rail for the inaugural trip from Curepipe Central Station to Phoenix. The light rail made a first stop at Vacoas whereby Mr Jugnauth interacted with citizens present to witness this inaugural trip.
Subsequently, the light rail stopped at the Phoenix Mall Station whereby the Prime Minister carried out a visit. This Station, constructed and financed by Ascensia Ltd, is directly integrated with the Phoenix Mall.
Thereafter, different personalities effected the return trip back to Curepipe Central Station. In a statement at Curepipe Central Station, the Prime Minister expressed immense satisfaction and great pride that the Metro Express project has become a reality by connecting Port-Louis to Curepipe.
There is no doubt that all towns on the light rail’s alignment are being transformed and their landscapes are drastically changing, he said. There will be developments around the Stations starting with Central Stations whereby Urban Terminals will be set up and there remains a lot of work to be effected, he indicated.
Speaking about the Curepipe-Phoenix alignment, he recalled that a lot of work was required including the construction of a drain network and involved the support of partners such as the CWA, the CEB, Mauritius Telecom and the Waste Water Authority.
The construction of access roads was also undertaken and some residences had to be relocated, he underlined. The Prime Minister thus expressed gratitude to all stakeholders, and in particular thanked those people who had to be relocated for their collaboration and understanding.
As regards the setting up of the Phoenix Mall Station by Ascensia Ltd, he rejoiced of the strong partnership that exists between the public and private sectors.
On the integration of the Metro Express with buses and taxis, Mr Jugnauth emphasised the need for a road reengineering process for the public transport to allow for a proper and risk-free service delivery to citizens.
In addition, the Prime Minister recalled that the Port Louis-Rose Hill alignment was inaugurated first, followed by Rose Hill-Quatre Bornes, then Quatre Bornes-Phoenix and then the present Phoenix-Curepipe. There will now be an extension which was not planned initially, to connect Rose Hill to Réduit, he stated.
The Réduit Station has been named Mahatma Gandhi Station to honour Mahatma Gandhi who had visited Mauritius and, likewise, because we share a special relationship with India and to express gratitude to India, he underscored. He observed that the Metro Express project is being further extended from Réduit to Côte d’Or owing to funding from India.
‘It is for me an opportunity once again to thank Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, the Indian Government and the people of India for the support without which we would not have been able to realise our dream to make the Metro Express come true’, he emphasised. This is of course another milestone in the relationship between Mauritius and India, he said.
The Prime Minister similarly thanked the Indian High-Commissioner for being proactive and supportive in extending Metro Express network as well as Deputy Prime Minister Obeegadoo, Minister Ganoo, Parliamentary Private Secretaries, Larsen & Troubo and all other stakeholders for their contribution and teamwork.
We have an objective and that is to bring about development and progress for the country and each stakeholder is making a lot of effort to reach this goal, he added. As for the Indian High-Commissioner, she emphasised that for India also it is a very proud and happy moment.
India does a lot of development projects and partnerships with many countries but this is probably one of the rare occasions when a project has been executed with such kind of excellence and before schedule, she shared.
She congratulated the Mauritian Government by thanking Prime Minister Jugnauth for his leadership in achieving the project. Deputy Prime Minister Obeegadoo stated that today is a historic and important day for Curepipe and its inhabitants with the advent of the light rail in that town.
He thanked all contributors leading to the project and paid tribute to late Sir Anerood Jugnauth for his vision and to Prime Minister Jugnauth for his determination with regards to the implementation of the Metro Express project.
Minister Ganoo, for his part, said that the Metro Express is an iconic and visionary project which has brought in its wake economic development. For him, this development will continue with the setting up of Urban Terminals and mini commercial hubs.
He announced the elaboration of a master plan to decide for the extension of the light rail network across the country. As for Dr Das Mootanah, he expressed pride that the Metro Express project is being launched in the town of Curepipe despite the numerous challenges faced for its implementation on this alignment.
For More News And Analysis About Mauritius Follow Africa-Press
