Madam Speaker, with regard to part (a) of the question, I am informed by the Managing Director of the Cargo Handling Corporation Ltd that presently, there are five quay cranes at the Mauritius Container Terminal and they are now fully operational. Previously, they were not; now they are. With regard to part (b) of the question, I am also informed that the quay at the Mauritius Container Terminal, which is operated by the Cargo Handling Corporation Ltd, is 800 metres long and as such, two large container vessels of a capacity of up to 16,000 twenty-foot equivalent units or a combination of three small container feeder vessels can be accommodated at any one time. The Multi-Purpose Terminal, on the other hand, has four quays to handle inter-island cargo, pure car carriers, livestock carriers, bulk coal, maize and soya bean meal vessels as well as container vessels as and when required. Each of them can accommodate one cargo vessel at a time.

33 Madam Speaker, modernisation and transformation of the Port Louis Harbour into an efficient port is a priority of this Government. To that effect, in line with the Government Programme 2025-2029, Government recognises that a modern and efficient seaport will be of critical importance to boost the competitiveness of our economy as a destination for foreign investment. There will therefore be a total revamping of the port and other infrastructure to support maritime economic activities. At the heart of this transformation is effective management. To that end, a new Managing Director of the Cargo Handling Corporation Ltd was appointed on 12 December 2024 and since then, the port situation has witnessed substantial improvement. The level of absenteeism has dropped from 30% to 10% and daily sick leaves from 120 to just 10; which means the management is doing the job properly. There is discipline. There is no ship waiting time, which was previously six days, thus ensuring quicker turnaround now. Weekly container moves have increased from 7,500 to 11,000. Bulk vessels are now being serviced within 3.5 to 4.5 days as compared to six to seven days. As a testament to this progress, the Mediterranean Shipping Company has launched in March of this year, a direct Beira (Mozambique) route. This has significantly enhanced connectivity, reducing transit time for containers to five to six days, compared to 40 days, Madam Speaker. As regards part (c) of the question, I am informed that measures are being taken by both the Mauritius Ports Authority and the Cargo Handling Corporation Ltd to enhance efficiency and competitiveness of the Port. These include the implementation of a Business Plan of the Cargo Handling Corporation Ltd which has been approved by its Board on 02 May of this year. This Plan aims to modernise operations, expand capacity, and strengthen competitiveness of the Cargo Handling Corporation Ltd. To that effect, the Cargo Handling Corporation Ltd is planning to invest over the next five years, an amount of Rs5.3 billion in the acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment, implementation of green initiatives, capacity building and digitalisation of operations. As an interim measure, procedures have been initiated by the Cargo Handling Corporation Ltd for the leasing of two mobile harbour cranes to address the demand of additional transhipment volumes from shipping lines. In addition, as recommended in the Port Master Plan, the Mauritius Ports Authority will proceed with the expansion of the container yard at the Mauritius Container Terminal over an

34 area of about five hectares. This project will increase the storage capacity of the Terminal and would thus improve operational efficiency.

I have got only one minute left. Are you okay? Unfortunately, we will not have time for the next question.

Next time.

Yes. Okay. Please bear with me. The Table has been advised that the following PQs have been withdrawn B/473, B/476, B/479 and B/481. Now, we have questions addressed to hon. Ministers. The hon. Second Member for Grand’Baie and Poudre d'Or, hon. Beejan! 2024 WRIT OF ELECTIONS – PUBLIC OFFICERS APPOINTMENT/PROMOTION