Piecing together slowly Government's masterplan for Assumption Island

Assumption Island

Little by little, piece by piece, the Seychellois people are beginning to piece together a picture of what the Government has in mind for Assumption Island.

There is of course at the top of the list, a luxury hotel, named a seven-star, for which interest is being solicited right now, and an EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) is being commissioned.

We understand that this super star hotel will exist alongside a more rustic set of accommodation designated for Seychellois residents, much in the style of what exists today on Desroches Island – a more humble abode at a much more affordable price.

For the average Seychellois, it will need to be at a much more affordable price, because the flight ticket itself will be considerable.

The presence of both high yield tourists and Seychellois on the island will mean that both groups will be able to visit Aldabra atoll much more easily, so accommodation on Aldabra will have to be beefed up, but the island can take it.

From my two visits there, I recall that It has in fact an charming and abandoned  old settlement which could be ideal to be developed for island-style accommodation for short-stay visitors on the island.

But the Government has plans to kill many birds with one stone with the Assomption development, as President Ramkalawan put it himself.

The island, once life is breathed back into it, will be perfect as a base for the Seychelles coastguard, to keep watch on undesirables snooping around the southern islands for fish, such as the Comorians and the Malagasies.

It will be a perfect refueling station for the Coastguard vessels carrying out patrols in this part of the Seychelles archipelago.

Will the proximity of a redeveloped Assumption Island be a threat to Aldabra?, asked a journalist.

No, replied Ramkalawan, more serious threats already exist. As Aldabra sits on the edge of the Seychelles group close to the ‘high seas’ the passing of huge oil tankers pose a bigger threat if ever they were to ever to run aground and spill oil.

All above options of course will have to be accompanied by the respective bio-diversity studies and environmental impact assessments.