VZCZCXRO1488
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHPL #0044 0340915
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 030915Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY PORT LOUIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4415
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0253
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0604
RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE

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