Chinese Government provides SCR 18.9 million grant for Seychelles Business Studies Academy (SBSA) and Seychelles Institute of Art and Design (SIAD) Construction Project (Linked to Project ID#55811 and ID#55589)

On October 30, 2017, the Chinese Government and the Government of Seychelles signed an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA), which committed $7.3 million of grant funding for multiple projects (see Project ID#55811). It was originally announced that the proceeds from the ETCA would be used to facilitate the construction of a new post-secondary school for commerce and visual arts in Anse Royale district, which is located in the southern part of the island of Mahe. However, the Government of Seychelles subsequently earmarked SCR 18.9 million (about $1.4 million) of the ETCA proceeds for the establishment of a Seychelles Business Studies Academy (SBSA) and Seychelles Institute of Art and Design (SIAD) on Aurore Island, which is also known as Ile Aurore. Aurore Island is a man-made island 2 kilometers off the coast of Victoria that the Seychellois plan to turn into a well-off neighborhood; so they must provide schools for families to attend. This project was expected to go to tender in 2020.

Additional details

This project goes by a few different names, including School for Commerce and Visual Arts, School of Business Studies & Accounting and School of Visual Arts, and School for Business Studies and Arts & Design. The funding allocations for this project changed multiple times. According to a 2017 report published by the Central Bank of Seychelles and a Seychelles News Agency article, all of the proceeds from the ETCA were allocated for this project project. However, the Government of Seychelles seems to have reduced this allocation to SCR 16.7 million in it 2018 Budget. It subsequently allocated another SCR 2.2 million. The Government of Seychelles 2020 Budget allocates SCR 27.9 million for this project but does not specify how much of that amount will be finance with Chinese Government grant funding.

Number of official sources

6

Number of total sources

10