The Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs and External Communications, Minister for Rodrigues, Outer Islands and Territorial Integrity, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, chaired, yesterday, at the New Treasury Building in Port Louis, the sixth High Level Committee on Private Investment Project.
The meeting examined 52 private sector investment projects, to be implemented over three years, with investment value of around MUR 80 billion, with the objective of facilitating and streamlining the various investment processes, and removing the bottlenecks impeding the projects’ realisation.
The High Level Committee comprised the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Housing and Land Use Planning, Minister of Tourism, Mr Louis Steven Obeegadoo; the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Local Government and Disaster Risk Management, Dr Mohammad Anwar Husnoo; the Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Alan Ganoo; the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Dr Renganaden Padayachy; the Minister of Energy and Public Utilities, Mr Georges Pierre Lesjongard; the Minister of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, Mr Kavydass Ramano; the Attorney General, Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Mr Maneesh Gobin; and the Minister of National Infrastructure and Community Development, Mr Mahendranuth Sharma Hurreeram. Various Permanent Secretaries of concerned Ministries were also in attendance.
In a statement following the meeting, the Chief Executive Officer of the Economic Development Board, Mr Ken Poonoosamy, stated that out of the 52 projects examined, 45 pertained to hospitality, pharmaceutical, smart city, and manufacturing sectors, and smart city activities. These projects were being facilitated and were aligned with the economic recovery strategy, he said.
Highlighting the importance of foreign direct investment and private investment for the economy, Mr Poonoosamy stated that it was imperative for the Committee, at the start of a new year, to review each project so as to track the progress in the application for licence, permit, authorisation or clearance, as well as raise the awareness of the relevant authorities on the need to accelerate these licensing processes.
