Chinese Government provides SCR 240 million grant for Seychelles Radio and Broadcasting House Construction and Equipping Project (Linked to Record ID#55548)

Project narrative

On July 6, 2016, the Chinese Ambassador to Seychelles and the Seychellois Minister of Foreign Affairs signed letters of exchange related to the Seychelles Radio and Broadcasting House Construction and Equipping Project. Then, on August 14, 2017, the Chinese Government and the Government of Seychelles signed a grant agreement worth SCR 240 million (about $18 million) to support this project. China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) is the source of funding. At least some of this funding is sourced from an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) that the two governments signed in 2016 (see Umbrella Record ID#55548). The purpose of the project is to build and equip the Seychelles Radio and Broadcasting House (“SBC House”) on the outskirts of the capital city of Victoria (at the ex-Radyo Sesel site in Union Vale within the central district of English River). The radio and television center will be 5,600 square meters in size and include fully equipped and furnished technology rooms, offices, a shared kitchen, and other auxiliary rooms. Once completed, the SBC House will accommodate the administrative, radio and television broadcasting sections of the SBC all under one roof. Hunan Construction Engineering 6th Bureau was the contractor responsible for construction. It won a MOFCOM contract worth RMB 93.32 million (about $14 million USD) in February 2018. However, it is not clear if another contractor was given responsibility for the equipping of the Seychelles Radio and Broadcasting House. An official groundbreaking ceremony took place on December 18, 2018 and construction was originally expected to end in 2020. However, as of December 2020, the project was still not complete. It encountered a six-week delay following adverse weather and ground conditions towards the end of 2019. The project was then expected to reach completion in April 2021. However, according to the national website, the project was halted in 2020 due to COVID-19 and resumed in January 2022. Despite having a revised expected completion date in September 2022 after this point, the project remained incomplete in 2024. A batch of technical equipment for the new building was handed over in April 2024. The project itself was ultimately completed and handed over to the local authorities on March 18, 2025.