Five Local Technicians Depart for Switzerland for Rock Stabilisation Training
VICTORIA, Seychelles — Five members of the St Louis Hill 3 Stabilisation Project technical group have left for Switzerland for a two-week training programme focused on rock stabilisation techniques for granitic terrains. The five are Mikael Evenor and Dean Morel from the Seychelles Infrastructure Agency (SIA), Jean-Luc Mondon from PetroSeychelles, Kevin Sophola from the Seychelles Planning Authority (SPA) and Simon Dugasse from the Disaster Risk Management Division (DRMD).
The technicians received their air tickets from the DRMD in a short ceremony yesterday afternoon at the Harbour Lighthouse Restaurant, Espace building. Internal Affairs Minister Errol Fonseka, who was among the guests, said the training programme is a major investment in capacity-building that will help the technicians in years to come. He advised the technicians to gather as much information as they can during the lifetime opportunity. Their training is facilitated by the Swiss-based company Gasser Technik AG.
This is the first time Seychellois technicians will be engaging with experts with a proven track record on stabilisation of granite rocks, according to chief risk management officer Daniel Cetoupe. ‘Once they reach there, they will be visiting a few sites where the company is presently operating, understand and study their working methods and technologies being used,’ he explained. The exchange will help the country tackle various challenges in the area, particularly the stabilisation of dangerous rock formations in the mountain area, and the team will be actively implementing the techniques acquired in their daily tasks upon return at the end of the month.
