Estate Living Magazine Investment - Issue 34 October 2018 | Page 60
Smart cities
Further impetus in store for the Mauritius
property development landscape
Introduced in 2015 by the Mauritius government under the so-
called Smart City Scheme, a major development is under way that
could profoundly change the property landscape on the island
of Mauritius: smart cities. The scheme put in place to promote
these smart cities follows an ambitious economic development
agenda aiming to consolidate the country’s position as a fully
fledged international business and financial hub.
What is a smart city?
Revolving around the ‘work, live and play’ concept, smart
cities incorporate mixed-use developments in cosmopolitan
conurbations with smart technology and pioneering innovation
at their core. Created as an enhancement to an existing town
or as an intelligently designed new town, these smart cities will
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be built using the latest advancements in urban planning and
digitalised technologies to promote quality of life within an eco-
friendly and sustainable environment. With the prerequisite that
it should be built on an extent of land of at least 21 hectares, a
smart city should develop a mix of compatible land use allowing
the majority of its residents to live and work in the same place.
Office, business, residential and leisure components of the
smart city will all need to be integrated within a coherent master
plan focusing on efficiency, sustainability and quality of life. The
residential component of a smart city should not exceed 50% of
the project’s total land area. Residential properties developed
under a smart city scheme may comprise villas, houses,
townhouses, apartments and duplexes.