Part of the Côte D’Or national sports complex was launched by Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth on Monday, as the first Indian Ocean Islands Game (IOIG) competitions start today.

Jugnauth officially inaugurated the gymnasium and the Olympic swimming pool of the complex, where the judo and swimming events will take place. However, the football stadium and the athletics track are still under construction. Before a crowd of 2,000 people consisting of ministers, government MPs, mayors and councillors, foreign diplomats, sportspeople and supporters, Jugnauth expressed his “happiness to see this project completed in such a short time [construction works started in October last year – ed.] despite its magnitude [the complex is set over 65 acres – ed.]”. For Jugnauth, this sports complex is a “feat” and “the first gold medal of Mauritius” even before the start of the IOIGs “for its quality and beauty”. Tribute was also paid to the three foreign workers who died on the construction site and to the 1,000 workers who have worked on the site day and night.

Initially estimated to cost Rs3.1 billion, the Côte D’Or complex has eventually cost Rs4.7 billion, the prime minister disclosed in his speech. The Mauritian government has invested Rs2 billion, with China granting a financial “assistance” of Rs1.8 billion and Saudi Arabia loaning Rs875 million to Mauritius according to Jugnauth. The aquatic centre can host up to 1,100 spectators, the gymnasium 2,000 people, while the football stadium can welcome 15,000 fans. The track and field competitions will be held before 3,600 spectators. At the end of the construction works, besides the sports facilities, the complex will also comprise an administration block and a medical unit.

Although the opening ceremony of the IOIGs will take place on Friday at the Anjalay Stadium, Belle-Vue, the competition starts today with three football matches scheduled. Reunion face Maldives in the opening match, before Mauritius clash with the Seychelles and Mayotte play Comoros. Two-thousand athletes from seven Indian Ocean islands will compete across 14 sports and 16 venues over the next 10 days in the most prominent sports championship of the Indian Ocean. Also, 14 fan zones across the island with giant screens have been set up.

Popular fervour has been mounting over the recent days as the start of the Games becomes imminent. The republic-wide tour of the IOIG flame has contributed to this national wave of support and patriotism.