The idea of making of Mauritius a duty free paradise is gaining ground. When the minister of Finance, Pravind Jugnauth, announced the project, it may have looked like a ?sweet dream? ? how could Mauritius ever compete with places like Dubai or Singapore? It is however looking more and more feasible. South African group Katavi has already expressed its intention of opening a shopping mall with 150 duty-free shops at Caudan Waterfront. Nak Enterprises, belonging to the Kathrada Group, also intends to invest Rs 400 million in the same niche.

The latter has already started working on its project. It has bought a plot of land (850 square meters) at St Georges Street in Port-Louis to build a three-storey building where a wide range of products will be sold duty-free: household appliances, jewellery, cosmetics, building materials? All these items will be housed in one same ?department store?. If the project of making Mauritius a duty-free paradise is realised, then work should start towards the middle of this year to end in 2006.

No mushrooming

The company manager, Aslam Kathrada, said he would be in a joint venture with a Singaporean group with a lot of experience in the field. Shops of this group are open 24 hours everyday and the group possesses many such shops all around the world.

The manager gives the guarantee that many foreigners are waiting for Mauritius to become a duty-free paradise to come and invest in the country. But he highlights that the reform should be done gradually to avoid mushrooming.

The interest of Katavi, which has recently submitted its project of 150 shops in Caudan to the government, is another proof that the field is promising. Mauritius should bene- fit from such a development.

Tourists will not only come to enjoy the beauty of the country but will have other interests as well. In fact, this project could attract a new type of visitor. Moreover, there should be a lot of jobs created with this new niche.

But the government is not decided yet. Because duty revenue constitutes a large part of the country?s global revenue and they are not sure yet whether the loss of earnings will be compensated by the sales of duty-free products. But Kathrada?s manager gives the assurance that corporate taxes would easily fill the gap.