Nationwide, every ambitious and business-conscious Seychellois is enthusiastic about the new submarine cable, which presents a pivotal turning point for the country’s future growth and is considered as important as the airport’s debut 40 years ago. Air links and the port are also evolving and increasingly adding value.

The SEAS

The SEAS (Seychelles East Africa System) is the first fibre-optic telecommunication cable linking Seychelles with the rest of the world. Landing in Tanzania, the cable will be launched by next summer, with a capacity of up to 320 Gigabits per second.

The Investment

The African Development Bank and the European Investment Bank with a 40 per cent equity finance split between C&W, Airtel and the government.

The Players

Seychelles Cable Systems, the government, C&W and Airtel are overseeing the project. Alcatel-Lucent is installing the Seychelles East Africa System (SEAS).

The Advantages

Promising a fast and reliable internet service at one-seventh of the current cost, the cable will transform the ICT sector resulting in enhanced job opportunities and benefits for the banking, tourism and education sectors.

AIR LINKS

Last summer marked the 40th anniversary of the arrival of the first aircraft at Seychelles Airport from London. Such air links are essential to expanding the islands’ tourism and business sectors.

However, due to reduced demand and higher operating costs, Air Seychelles, the state airline, terminated all direct European flight services in January. The airline now operates as a strategic regional carrier to Mauritius and Johannesburg, making the islands a hub for connecting flights. Eliminating costly routes, such as Singapore, allowed the carrier to consolidate its finances, but it was still a difficult blow. “Air Seychelles is not a doomsday scenario, although there may be a slump initially,” says CAA chief, Gilbert Faure.

Now other airlines are slowly filling the void. In mid February, Blue Panorama will offer direct flights from Rome and Air Austral’s Paris connection starts at the end of March. In addition, Emirates, Etihad and Qatar are providing feeder routes via Gulf hubs, but the UK remains an underserved market.

There are plans to upgrade the 24-hour Seychelles Airport Terminal and later, to build a new runway on reclaimed land, helping to generate income from Seychelles’ airspace. The handling of private aircraft is also seeing ever better returns.

PORTS

The Port of Victoria, on the north-eastern side of Mahé Island, is one of the deepest in the Indian Ocean, with two deep berths, two smaller ones and a reputation for efficient ship handling. Unlike Mauritius, Seychelles’ port lies outside of the cyclone belt, offering a safe haven for passing vessels.

Essential for the country’s expanding tuna fishing industry, the commercial port was first opened in 1975. Now there are plans for it to become the most favoured port of call for vessels operating within the region. A 200-metre long quay built on reclaimed land will increase berthing capacity and turnaround times, while providing modern onshore cargo handling. New repair facilities are also envisaged, although they most likely won’t feature drydock capabilities.

Traditionally, cruise ships and private yachts would contribute towards the total of around 1,000 port calls each year. However, few are now doing so given concerns over Indian Ocean piracy, which has adversely affected port income from dues, berthing and handling. In contrast, navy vessel and cargo container activity has increased – 90 percent of the islands’ needs are imported, mostly by sea. The port also handles almost all Seychellois exports, from vanilla and coconuts to soap.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Seychelles’ world telecommunications network opened in 1893 when British-owned Cable & Wireless (C&W) built a cable link to Zanzibar capable of transmitting 15 words a minute.

Beginning locally in 1998, Airtel offers stateof-the-art 3G services and has captured 55 per cent of the mobile phone market. Boosting competition this year, South African firm Intelvision is Seychelles’ third telecoms operator.

Internet connections currently rely on the slow satellite technology first introduced by C&W in 1996. Today, the country is on the brink of a communications revolution in the shape of a new submarine cable to Tanzania which is set to provide huge bandwidth at hitherto unseen speeds. Airtel is extending its network into Seychelles’ most remote areas, where signal quality is a challenge. With technology from IBM and Ericsson, it is also expanding its fibre-optic network to benefit from the submarine cable.

Tsiresy Randriamampionona, Airtel Seychelles managing director, says 25 per cent of his 60,000 subscribers are post-paid, half of which are corporate accounts “which is very high compared to Africa.”

Airtel supplies secure data centres and its wire line core network offers ISDN/DSL and other services to provide end-to-end data and enterprise services for corporates.