đź“· Photo: NorbertNagel via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Fourteen Seychellois families received the keys to their new homes yesterday at two developments unveiled by President Patrick Herminie: the Mount Josephine Residence 25 mid range condominium project in Brilliant and the redeveloped affordable housing units at Les Mamelles.
President Herminie was accompanied by Vice President Sebastien Pillay and the member of the National Assembly for Les Mamelles, Hon. Bernard Georges. The two projects form part of the government’s ongoing push to expand access to quality, affordable housing on Mahé, where land scarcity continues to drive up costs.
The Mount Josephine Residence 25 development comprises six two bedroom mid range condominium units. Undertaken by Reliance Engineering Services Limited, construction began in July 2025 and was completed in June 2026. It is the first government designed and government constructed mid range condominium project in which costs were shared between the state and homeowners, with the government subsidising roughly 37 per cent of the overall project cost by financing external works and supporting infrastructure.
Speaking at the handover, President Herminie said the project demonstrated what could be achieved through careful planning and efficient use of limited land.
“Mount Josephine Residence 25 demonstrates what can be achieved through careful planning and efficient use of our limited land,” he said.
He noted that the project represented an investment of more than R9 million, with each beneficiary acquiring their home for around R900,000 instead of the original R1.5 million.
“These homes are not simply places to live; they are part of our vision of building stronger families, stronger communities, and a better future for Seychellois,” he said.
The Les Mamelles redevelopment project delivered eight two bedroom affordable housing units. Also carried out by Reliance Engineering Services Limited, work began in September 2025 and finished in June 2026.
Vice President Pillay explained that the project cost R8.3 million, with R3 million spent on preparing the terrace and constructing the wall and yard. To keep the price affordable, the government subsidised more than 40 per cent of the selling price, with the final price for each tenant varying depending on how long they had previously occupied the colonial units on the site, in line with government policy.
Hon. Bernard Georges, the National Assembly member for the constituency, said the event marked the beginning of the redevelopment of lower Les Mamelles.
New tenant Nelisha Hoareau expressed her joy at returning to the area where she once lived. “The only thing I wished was that my grandmother was here with us since she passed away last week,” she said, noting that she had waited approximately two years for the new home.
Following the official handover ceremonies, guests toured the newly completed units and viewed the facilities provided within both developments.
Government housing policy in Seychelles has historically been shaped by land constraints on the inner islands, with state subsidised construction used to keep ownership within reach of working families. The Seychelles Population and Housing Census 2022, published by the National Bureau of Statistics in March 2024, provided the baseline data for the current housing drive, mapping both demand and existing stock across Mahé, Praslin and La Digue.
By pairing mid range condominiums in Brilliant with affordable units in Les Mamelles, the government has signalled that it intends to address both ends of the market at once. Mid range units target working families who can contribute meaningfully to the cost of their home, while affordable units absorb lower income tenants displaced from older colonial housing stock, a pattern that has shaped Mahé’s residential landscape since the 1970s.
The Reliance Engineering Services contract for both projects reflects a wider push to use local contractors on government builds, a move that the administration argues keeps construction skills and supply chain capacity inside the country.
Sources cited: 1. National Bureau of Statistics Seychelles, “Census and Survey”, .
