Public Infrastructure and Land Transport

Terre Rouge–Verdun: saving a strategic road

Restoring the M3 motorway, cut by a landslide in 2015, with the help of French technical expertise.

01Background

Built before 2014, the Terre Rouge–Verdun road was struck in 2015 by a deep-seated landslide. A strategic link between the north and the centre of the country, it was partly closed to traffic.

02Objectives

To establish the causes of the failure, stabilise the ground for the long term and safely reopen the road to traffic.

03Results

In 2016 the Minister had the design and management failings of the original project formally established. The Road Development Authority called on the expertise of Cerema and IFSTTAR, French public agencies; from April 2018, 180 piles, each 26 metres long, were installed along five kilometres. The Minister visited the site on 2 February 2019, and the road reopened in July 2019.

04Impact

An essential link was restored to road users, and Franco-Mauritian technical cooperation in road geotechnics was strengthened.

More achievements

18,8 Md Rs

phase 1 contract, including Rs 9.9 billion in Indian grant funding

Public Infrastructure and Land Transport · 2016–2019

Metro Express: rail returns to Mauritius

From project approval to the inauguration of the first phase: the country's first passenger rail service since 1956.

34 → 15 Md Rs

decongestion programme budget, revised downwards

Public Infrastructure and Land Transport · 2015–2019

The Road Decongestion Programme

A programme of new interchanges and link roads to relieve congestion in Port Louis and on the M1 motorway, launched and set in motion during his tenure.

50 000 Rs

minimum fine for driving while disqualified (2018 Act)

Public Infrastructure and Land Transport · 2015–2019

Road safety: a fairer, firmer framework

An overhaul of the penalty system in 2015, followed by the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 2018 targeting the most dangerous behaviour.