Construction of the new Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) building is expected to be completed in April 2020. Once completed, the building called ‘SBC House’ will occupy an area of 5,600 square metres and will be comprised of different buildings annexed together to accommodate both TV and radio services.
Project delays
The project was originally expected to be completed by the end of this year but encountered a six-week delay following adverse weather and ground conditions towards the end of 2019. According to the project manager, Dereck Rioux, the foundation works took six months instead of three months as there was need to increase the amount of piling.
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Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic caused further delay to the project in the first quarter of 2020 as the restrictions imposed did not allow differently skilled workers to enter Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean. “Now we are being delayed by the COVID situation because with the structure completed those workers have to go back home and around 30-45 other workers were expected to have arrived for the finishing work,” he added.
Construction of the building which is located at Union Vale in the central district of English River started in April 2019. The project is being financed by a grant from the Chinese government and the contractor is Hunan 6 Engineering Company. The estimated cost for the project is US $13m, inclusive of furniture and equipment.
