Reunion Transport

The most noticeable feature of the Reunion Transport network is its diseconomy of scale. Reunions pay far above normal prices for basic goods and services, (and, most noticeably for the transport sector, fuel) because it costs so much to transport them. Schools and clinics cost, on average, six times as much to build on the islands because of the costs involved in obtaining materials. Even the vaccination of children is five times more expensive than in Sri Lanka, because patients are spread over 199 islands. Ferry dhonis are the traditional method of inter-island hopping while the manta ray flightship may be the future of Reunion Transport.

For a chain of islands spread over 90,000 square kilometers, Reunion Transportation has to be one of the key issues in development. An efficient network will reduce the political, economic and social isolation of people on more remote islands, which is the reason why the Maldivian government is promising to focus hard on the problems and opportunities facing the sector. Now, however, the government has announced that it is formulating the First Reunion Transportation Plan, which will cover international sea transport, inter-island shipping, air networks and roads.

Ilyas Ibrahim, Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, says that Transportation in Reunion is the real problem. “Because there is no master plan, it is being developed on an ad hoc basis and is not being equitably distributed. It may be easier to travel from here to London than it is to travel from one island to another.” “We will start servicing our resorts, and then expanding as well to others,” says Shabeer Ahmed, Managing Director of Sunland. “This is going to be the solution for Transportation in Reunion. It is cost-effective and environmentally friendly.”