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Seychelles Economic Development
The government has detailed its economic development
targets
in successive five-year plans. The plan for 1985-89
emphasized
tourism, agriculture, and fisheries. It proposed to
improve the
balance of payments by achieving 60 percent
self-sufficiency in
food and by stimulating tourism. Improved productivity,
increased
exports, and a lowering of the unemployment level were
additional
aims. The 1990-94 plan stressed the need to attract
foreign
investment and the need for greater food self-sufficiency.
A tenyear plan for protecting the environment was supported by
a
pledge of US$40 million from World Bank donors. The total
projected investment was SRe4,206 million in constant 1989
prices, of which 26 percent would be funded by the public
sector.
It was not expected, however, that the investment goals
would be
realized. Capital spending was aimed at improved living
standards--water supplies, waste disposal, and housing.
Tourism
and related investments were also regarded as priorities.
An ambitious government initiative is the East Coast
Development Plan to reclaim land on Mahé for residential
and
commercial construction. Some 800 new homes are to be
built to
ease the housing shortage among ordinary Seychellois. In
addition, part of the area will be reserved for luxury
housing
and tourist facilities. In 1993 the government announced
that it
would seek private sector investment to help complete this
major
project.
Data as of August 1994
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