Architectural masterpiece: Heritage City ready by 2019

Heritage-City

The Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance, Roshi Bhadain, revealed the master plan of the Heritage City project on Thursday. This project will cover 145 hectares in Ebene and cost an estimated US dollars 880 million. The master plan was presented by Saeed Ahmed Saeed, design promoter from Dubai. According to Saeed Ahmed Saeed, who designed the Palm Island and World Island of Dubai, the Heritage City Project is unique and special. “We adopted a strategic approach to design the project. We decided to understand the macro-aspect of the site. The Heritage Site concept is thus tailored to the specific area by integrating in the local conditions and specificities. The site is an architectural masterpiece. It will be the most prominent thing soon to be seen and will be the most popular place of the country. It will become one of the must visit places,” he said. The Heritage City Project is built on the nine themes, integrates a grand government centre, convention facility and hotels, a mixed-use public destination and several residential neighbourhoods into a cohesive whole. As explained by Saeed Ahmed Saeed, the new district will be a symbol of social, economic and environmental commitments of Mauritius.

The Ellipse is a Symbol of Two Centres Integrated: Public and Private
Parliament is Located at Formal Entry and is Visually Enhanced by Office Wings
A Grand Public Space is Defined by Public and Private Buildings
The Convention Facility is the Fulcrum of Public and Commercial Spaces
Heritage Square is Framed by Mixed-Use Buildings, Hotels, Conventions and Shops
A pedestrian Spine Leads to the Public Park and Lake
Green Creek Edges Fronted by Housing which Surrounds the Ellipse
Vary Architecture with Climate Responsive Design Throughout
Deploy State of the Art Green Community Infrastructure

The office of the Ministry of Good Governance, the Prime Minister’s office and other seven ministries will move to the Heritage City. These administrative buildings will cost US dollars 375 million (over Rs 13 billion). “We opted for a method of financing which offers a 6% return to investors through redeemable preference shares,” explained Roshi Bhadain. The request was made to the Saudi government and two proposals have been submitted. “They can either accept or reject it because we have other options that are more appropriate and acceptable. Banks in Mauritius have expressed their interest. If the National Pension Fund decided to invest US dollars 50 million in the project, it will get returns of 6%,” explained Minister Bhadain. He also pointed out that Heritage City will be completed within three years.