Au Cap quarry slides back onto the agenda

Au Cap inhabitants have contacted this newspaper to voice their concerns upon discovering that a proposed quarry that had been put on hold after a public meeting two year ago, has again resurfaced.

“I cannot believe that after the last meeting which we had with representatives from the ministry of environment, the consultant for the project as well as the company concerned, stating our opposition to the upcoming project, it has reared its head again,” the inhabitant told this newspaper.

To recall, the United Concrete Products Seychelles (UCPS) had already put forward proposals to have the quarry at Au Cap over 20 years ago, which has not materialized to this day.

For the last gathering held late in 2018, a group of inhabitants had mobilized to attend the very little publicized meeting to raise their concerns as well as their displeasure at having such a project at their doorstep.

At the time, the devaluation of their properties as well as the fact that the quarry had received the official go-ahead at a time when the district was still scarcely populated were the main points of contention.

“All a person has to do is pay a visit to the present quarry and talk to homeowners there to know what kind of negative impact having a quarry in the identified location will have,” said an outraged lady.

The Au Cap homeowners this newspaper spoke to, alleged that a stream in the vicinity of the quarry has already been blocked using soil – an act which in itself goes against current environmental laws.

“You know that once you block a stream, that’s it, it is lost forever,” she added.

She went on to add that following the sad discovery of a stream being lost to make way for the development, she had taken it upon herself to call the environmental authorities to inform them of the facts – to this day she is yet to receive an answer as to what measures are being taken to rectify this issue.

In spite of the inhabitants’ strong objections, UCPS has been quoted in local media outlets as saying that the quarry is a necessity as there is now a shortage of rocks needed to produce the building materials the company supplies.

Meanwhile, a second Environmental Impact Assessment (E.I.A) has been produced at UCPS’ behest, and is available for inspection at the district administration’s office.

All those having an objection to having the quarry in the area will have the chance to voice their objections upon inspection.