R Basant Roi: Bank of Mauritius' new headquarters
Address by Mr R Basant Roi, Governor of the Bank of Mauritius, at the inauguration of the New
Headquarters Building of the Bank of Mauritius, Port Louis, 18 December 2006.
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Dr. The Hon. Navinchandra Ramgoolam, Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius
Honourable Ramakrishna Sithanen, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Economic
Development
His Lordship Mayor of Port Louis
Hon. Judges
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Fellow Bankers
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good Afternoon
I am pleased to welcome you all to the inauguration of the New Headquarters Building of the Bank of
Mauritius. I am privileged and honoured to perform this inaugural ceremony in your distinguished
presence, Prime Minister, Sir - a ceremony that is similar to the one performed by the first Governor of
the Bank, Mr. Aunauth Beejadhur, for the existing building in the presence of His Excellency, Sir John
Shaw Rennie, Governor of Mauritius and late Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, then Premier and
Minister of Finance on 31st May 1967.
One of the major constraints in the operation of the Bank when it was established way back in 1967
was insufficient office space. The offices of the Bank were located at various places in Port Louis.
Security vault for notes and coins was located at the back of the Treasury building, Exchange Control
at the entrance of the present Government Centre and Main Office at the Anglo Mauritius Building. In
August 1968, a banking office was opened at the Treasury Building to accommodate the increasing
volume of banking business.
The existing Bank of Mauritius building at the corner of Sir William Newton St and Royal Road was
designed by Messrs Victor Heal and Partners of London. Construction, which began in 1969, was
completed in 1972. The building was designed for about 150 employees. The vault was designed to
store a limited amount of notes and coins. In about ten years the Bank started facing a severe space
constraint once again.
One of the former Governors of the Bank, Sir Indur Ramphul, initiated the building project of the Bank
in the 1980s. The land for the project was acquired in the 1980s. The Senior Building Advisers from
the Bank of England recommended that the acquired piece of land was too small for the construction
of a Central Bank building. My immediate predecessor initiated the building project in 1996. In the year
1999 the new management of the Bank reviewed the entire building project with a view to cutting
down costs and to making more space available.
The Cost Controller of this building project is Widnell Ong Seng Goburdhun; Architect, Lampotang &
Loebl Schlossman Hackl (Chicago); Structural Engineer, Servansing Jadav/Thales; Building Services
Engineer, WSP (Mauritius); Interior Designer; Lampotang & Siew/Loebl Schlossman & Hackl. The
Main Contractor is General Construction/Group Five of U.K.
Construction started in the year 2000. This building comprises a lower basement for mechanical
equipment, a basement for the vault and a basement for mezzanine linking to the existing vault. There
is a podium consisting of ground, mezzanine, first floor car park, second floor car park and banking
hall, third floor currency department. The third floor provides access to the garden. Above the podium,
the tower comprises 12 floors and two plant room floors.
The height of the building is 98 metres above ground level. The floor area is 16,834 square metres
based on future staff of 445. The building is designed to last 100 years. The lower basement is 6
metres below ground level with foundation on 36 large diameter piles that go 14 metres deep down
into blue basalt. Volume of concrete used has amounted to 11,000 cubic meters and 1,300 tons of
reinforcement. In fact the volume of concrete used in the construction of this building is twice the
amount ordinarily used.
A particular feature of the building is the wide range of special security provisions, which I am
prohibited from disclosing in details. Suffice it to say that once you get inside the building your picture
is taken without your knowledge. Your body weight is automatically recorded at both, entry and exit
points. Sensitive areas of the building are resistant to explosives, guns and thermic lances. Mantraps
and proximity card access form part of the security system. Cameras shower the ins and outs of the
building. Movements of individuals and objects are monitored closely at a Control Room.
In the initial stage we were given to understand by the Mauritius Port Authority that the Bank's tower
would have fallen within the four degrees sight band that is generally kept free from any visual
interference. To free air space for the construction of the building to proceed, a new navigation sector
light system was installed for the Mauritius Port Authority. The Bank spent a total amount of about Rs8
million on a state-of-the-art navigational light system. It was donated to the Port Authority. The air
space is now free and anybody planning to erect a high-rise building in the formerly restricted four
degrees sight band should have no problem to obtain permit from the Port Authority.
Wind tunnel tests were carried out in France to test the building against wind forces with a speed of
275 km/hr. This required that the stone cladding and the curtain wall with glass, aluminium members
and fixings thereto constructed in stainless brackets resist pressure and suction forces in the order of
2/3 of ton per square metre. This means moving weight of 8 average bodied persons standing on an
area of 1m x 1m.
Total cost of the building, inclusive of fit outs and furniture, is expected to reach Rs1,890,700,000 of
which Rs234 million went to the Exchequer in the form of VAT. At constant 1980 prices, the year when
one of the first high rise buildings appeared in the Port Louis skyline, the cost of this building excluding
VAT works out to Rs395 million. At constant 1994 prices, the year when yet another high rise building
appeared in the Port Louis skyline, the cost of this building excluding VAT works out to just over
Rs1,010 million. This building, taking into consideration that it is an intelligent building, is indeed the
least expensive high rise building in Port Louis.
Before concluding, let me, on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Mauritius and on my own
behalf, thank the Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd. for having allowed us to use the MCB building for
the installation of the sector navigational lights.
Thank you.