Il fut un temps où l’objectif no 1 de la famille mauricienne était de se doter d’un toit. Se mettre à l’abri était un réflexe naturel dans une île assaillie par les cyclones. C’était même un symbole de réussite sociale.

With the forthcoming amendments to the Building Act, coupled with a global real estate sector slowdown due to the international financial crisis and the need to build 10,000 low-cost housing units, as promised by the government to meet the needs of the population, it is perhaps time to completely rethink the construction industry in Mauritius.

When the construction industry blooms, every other sector follows suit, runs the old economic saying. Operators in this sector can rub their hands in the light of budgetary measures announced on November 4. The Capital Gains Tax on real estate transactions has been abolished while the Land Transfer Tax has been removed in some cases, including the construction and sale of apartments not exceeding Rs 2.5 million a unit.