9 March 2024
The Grande Barbe Hotel project on Seychelles’ Silhouette Island being monitored by the Islands Development Company (IDC) is going well although it is taking longer than expected, according to a news report from Seychelles News Agency (SNA).
The chief executive of IDC, Glenny Savy, said it has taken quite some time to complete certain things. “Currently, the team conducting the EIA [environment impact assessment] along with representatives of the Ministry of Environment are on Silhouette and they are finalizing their work. And when the EIA is complete it will be submitted to the Planning Authority and the Ministry of Environment as well. But everything is going well,” said Savy.
He added that the Island Conservation Society (ICS) is the one completing the EIA as they have had a presence on Silhouette for many years already, so they know what the capacity and challenges are for Grand Barbe. He believes that ICS is well-suited to do this EIA.
The Island Conservation Society has a conservation programme on Silhouette since the opening of an island conservation centre in 2011. Grand Barbe is located on the northwest coast of Silhouette and is seen as one of the most captivating parts of the island, benefiting from the grandiose backdrop of Mount Dauban, the second-highest peak in Seychelles at 740m.
The area also has one of the largest wetlands in Seychelles, which includes a sprawling mangrove forest that provides an important refuge for an abundance of aquatic life. A 1km stretch of sand extends along the shore and provides the most important turtle-nesting beach on Silhouette.
The CEO said IDC has also advised the developers of the hotel project on Grand Barbe to reduce the number of rooms to less than 25 and that the project will focus mainly on eco-tourism.
When the expression of interest was opened for the development of a luxury eco-tourism establishment in September 2022, Savy said in an interview that the developer was not obliged to build 25 rooms.
In a recent interview he said “After we discussed it with them, and following analysis that they’ve done on site of the terrain and the area, they agreed with us. It is an eco-tourism project, and we need space for solar panels, so this project is completely sustainable.”
The CEO said the developers, an English company named McCorkle, have already several projects in Kenya, and “these are safari eco-lodges. The aim is to attract the visitors that go to Kenya for a land safari, instead of doing a complete week there, they can also visit Seychelles to discover a different type of environment.”
Since IDC wanted to introduce an eco-tourism development “this company fit our vision better, plus we wanted to also twin what they are doing in Kenya here in Seychelles.”
“In the next three months, we will probably have the final project plan. Then granted that all procedures are followed and completed we expect the completion of the hotel project around 18 months after.”
