Negotiations with China to Revive Jinfei 500-Acre Smart City Project

A government delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Paul Bérenger visited the Jinfei Smart City site in Riche-Terre and Yihai Smart City at Domaine les Pailles on Saturday 17th May morning. The visit left a mixed impression.

Bérenger noted that Jinfei has seen significant decline. “Many structures are damaged, even the community hall needs repairs, which will require big investments from the developers,” he said.

At Yihai, he pointed out mistakes in the project’s design but praised how the industrial park is managed by Landscope.

Originally, Jinfei Smart City was planned on 500 acres. Due to slow progress, the government took back the entire land and later returned 175 acres to Jinfei Ltd.

The remaining 325 acres were handed over to Landscope (Mauritius) for industrial park development.

Bérenger said discussions with China’s new ambassador covered Jinfei’s future. Talks involving the government, China, and Jinfei Ltd are planned to revive the project.

Jinfei is Special

“Jinfei is special because we are working with an entity supported by a friendly government,” he explained.

He added, “We are open to all options and not imposing anything. I don’t know exactly why the government abruptly canceled the project in 2015 and later returned 175 acres to the developers.

If negotiations don’t succeed, we will need to discuss the project’s future with the owners. The government will decide.”

Regarding Yihai Smart City, the group owns 51% of the company, while the State Investment Corporation holds 49%.

Bérenger acknowledged mistakes, citing unsold apartments and four luxury villas built near the Swami Vivekananda conference center where music events are hosted.

“We need to reflect on this. I’m not a businessman, but these issues are clear. The apartments and villas haven’t been sold yet, and some tenders didn’t attract expected results.

Some delegation members think the villa prices are too high,” he said.

He added that the government will decide the future of the apartments and Yihai after reviewing the report prepared by the team.

Overall, Bérenger sees strong development potential in the Jinfei project at Riche-Terre, Yihai, and the industrial park.

At the end of the press conference, Bérenger explained that the layoffs of contract workers by LGSC were due to illegal recruitment just before the last general elections.

He confirmed that soon, there will be announcements about the regular recruitment of about 3,000 workers.

The delegation also included ministers Shakeel Mohamed (Housing), Ajay Gunness (Infrastructure), Reza Uteem (Labor), Osman Mahomed (Transport), Aadil Ameer Meea (Industry, SMEs, Cooperatives), Dhaneshwar Damry (Finance), Karen Foo Kune-Bacha (Youth and Sports), and Mahen Kundassamy from the Economic Development Board.

Source: Le Mauricien