In Madagascar, mystery hovers around a project to build a luxury hotel in Nosy Mitsio, in the northwest of the country. Since an official call launched by the State to investors in June 2022, the 1,500 inhabitants of this isolated island fear having to leave their land once this project gets underway. Little information is filtered on the progress of the file, but according to a press release from civil society published on October 18, everything suggests that the project is continuing its course in total opacity.
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With our correspondent in Antananarivo, Pauline Le Troquier
The flight over the island twice by unidentified helicopters did not allay the fears of the population on Nosy Mitsio island, northwest of Madagascaruntil now still preserved from mass tourism. The last episode dates from August, the first dates back to the end of March 2024.
“ At the end of March, a helicopter landed on the island for a few minutes, on one of the beaches where locals suspected the hotel would be built. One person came out and when the residents approached this helicopter which had not warned of its arrival, the helicopter left », recalls Mamy Rakotondrainibe, president of the Tany Collective for the Defense of Malagasy Lands.
For the collective, “ these helicopters coming to check or learn things that have remained secret » only confirm the threat that hangs over the inhabitants: grabbing 2000 hectares of ancestral lands, invested by a five-star hotel and associated infrastructure, such as an aerodrome, a port and roads.
Develop the luxury tourist offer in Nosy Mitsio
“ This type of tourism only gives interest to investors and brings nothing to the population, but what’s more, expels them from their land! », exclaims Mamy Rakotondrainibe.
This hotel project reflects the ambition of the Malagasy government to develop the potential of a tourist offer luxury on the island. Asked by RFI, the spokesperson for the presidency, Lova Ranoromaro, nevertheless assures that any future investor “ must have a project that integrates the needs of local communities “.
In Nosy Mitsio, since the project was publicly launched in 2022, the population has never been informed or consulted on the future of their island. If no candidate has yet been officially selected by the State, assures the Ministry of Tourism, several foreign investors have already expressed their interest.
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