(Seychelles News Agency) - Reconstruction work has resumed on Pirates Arms, one of the Seychelles' landmarks in the capital, Victoria, the Seychelles Pension Fund said.

The Pirates Arms building in the centre of Victoria on Independence Avenue is being redeveloped because of the high maintenance cost of repairs on the old building.

The construction site was visited by the management team of the Seychelles Pension Fund (SPF) last week for preliminary tests of the new piling method and on Tuesday to witness first-hand the actual first piling being done.  

The model of the Pirates Arms once reconstruction project is completed. (Salifa Karapetyan, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

The highlight of the visit was a symbolic gesture of filling concrete into the first hollow pipe in the ground, for the first pile, by the Pension Fund's chief executive, Lekha Nair.

The head of projects, Tommy Marie, said that going forward the Pension Fund "needed to find a solution to the displacement of soil caused by vibrations during the piling operations, hence the new system being implemented."

He added that this is the best solution for the piling works for this project and it is the first of its kind used in Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean.

The new system being employed by the piling contractor Franki Pile, uses the continuous Flight Auger pile system (CFA), which is different from the Auger Vibro Hammering piling system, used previously.  

The highlight of the visit was a symbolic gesture of filling concrete into the first hollow pipe in the ground, for the first pile, by the Pension Fund's chief executive, Lekha Nair. (Seychelles Nation) Photo License: CC-BY

For her part, Nair expressed satisfaction and confidence that after several setbacks that the project delayed by two years is picking up.

"It was important for SPF to ensure that this project is completed with no further delay as Pirates Arms is an iconic and historical landmark of Victoria," said Nair.

The next stage of the project will be the tendering for construction of the building itself.

For over 60 years, the building was the rendezvous point for many and a place to hang out with friends in the heart of the Seychelles' capital, Victoria. The Pirates Arms was well known among locals and visitors for its restaurant serving popular Creole dishes. It also had an array of shops and offices.

Once completed, the $30.8 million project will accommodate shops and restaurants on the ground floor, with offices and other businesses on the four other floors with a multi-storey car park at the back.