New dam at Bagatelle: Rs2.6 billion

The contract for the construction has been allocated to the China Three Gorges Corp (CTGPC), which is the operator of China’s largest water control programme. The project will be undertaken by the China International Water and Electric Corporation (CIWEC), a wholly owned subsidiary of the CTGPC.

According to an official of the Ministry of Energy and Public Utilities, construction will start in December and is expected to end in 2014. The Bagatelle Dam is a major project to address water shortages in the regions of Port Louis and lower Plaines Wilhems, including Quatre Bornes, Rose Hill and Beau Bassin.

The dam will form a reservoir of 14.2 million cubic metres. It will generate an output of around 60,000 cubic metres of water everyday until 2050. The dam will also help increase water reserves for irrigation purposes. The tender for the construction was launched in July 2010. In addition, an Environment Impact Assessment has already been conducted for the construction of the dam

A feasibility study was submitted in August 2003 identifying the site for the construction of a dam. However, in April 2004, the government decided that the dam site should be reviewed as the proposed site was partly on private land.

In June 2004, the feasibility study was undertaken solely by State Land Development Co Ltd and was completed in April 2006.

In June 2006, the government’s approval was obtained to proceed with the detailed design of the dam on the new revisited site.

The project became a reality following Prime Minister Dr Navin Ramgoolam’s visit to China in November 2006. The seventh session of the Sino Mauritian Joint Commission agreed in May 2007 to consider funding the Bagatelle Dam project.