A major challenge now faces the massive road construction project on Reunion Island. This is likely to delay the completion of the Nouvelle Route du littoral coastline road project.
A quarry that was opened to supply the project with materials has now been forced to stop working following a successful legal challenge. The Bois-Blanc quarry in Saint-Leu, Reunion was being run by Société de concassage et de préfabrication de la Réunion.
Together with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Reunion region, the quarry operator appealed to cancel a 2019 administrative court ruling to halt work at the quarry site. But the Council of State has rejected this appeal.
Work was stopped at the site over concerns from the environmental impact caused by the operations as well as over the disturbance to local inhabitants. The project will now have to rely on the importation of materials for the construction work, which will be likely to increase the costs.
The project is worth €2 billion, with much of the necessary funding being provided by the Grench Government. Construction work is being carried out for the project by a partnership comprising Vinci Construction and Bouygues Travaux Publics.
