Cover Story
New Caledonia
A country with many economic assets and promising development possibilities.
Shiny, four-wheel drives cruise the streets and expensive boats line the marinas of Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia. Over two thirds of the country¹s population of 210,000 live in and around Noumea. The city is a paradox of French sophistication and Pacific simplicity, where stylish women in the latest Paris fashions mingle with women in colourful, shapeless, lace-trimmed dresses, a remnant from the colonial past.
Civil servants, in their formal shirts and trousers, blend in with men in singlets and shorts. Noumea is a mix of expensive air-conditioned apartments fringing the sparkling lagoon and squatter shacks tucked away amongst the muddy mangroves.
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But outside the capital, it's a different story. The urban scenery gives way to a rural landscape of farmland and bush interspersed with small country towns and isolated villages.
Noumea lies at the southern end of the main island, a long, narrow 16,600 square kilometres strip of land, endowed with abundant mineral resources, in particular nickel (it has a quarter of the world's known nickel resources). In the rural areas, the west coast is largely farming area and the east coast is dotted with nickel mines and villages.
In the Loyalty Islands, a group of smaller islands to the east covering around 2000 square kilometres, tourism and fishing have the most economic potential. In the remote areas of the main island and in the Loyalty Islands people still live a traditional subsistence lifestyle of fishing, farming and hunting. In the Loyalty Islands many continue to live in cases (traditional grass huts), albeit with electricity and, usually, a television set.
New Caledonia's population is made up of Kanaks (45 percent), the indigenous Melanesians; Europeans (34 percent), mainly French settlers and recent French arrivals; Polynesians (12 percent) and Asians. Since the establishment in 1998 of a political agreement known as the Noumea Accord, which gives the country increased political autonomy, France and the government of New Caledonia share the administrative responsibilities of the country.
The country's many economic assets include large mineral reserves, fertile agricultural land coupled with exceptional sanitary conditions, and its 1.5 million square kilometres exclusive economic zone (EEZ) with an abundance of fishing resources. Its association with France has given it some of the best infrastructure in the Pacific Islands. Its stable political environment is an added incentive for investors. The combination of these factors points to promising development possibilities.
Its fisheries sector, until now largely undeveloped, is becoming more established although a shortage of qualified seamen will slow progress. The country¹s small population limits the economic potential of the local market. Fishing companies and agricultural producers are looking to the export market for growth.
Its unique tropical Pacific image laced with a touch of France is an attractive combination for tourists. But so far, the tourism sector has had trouble developing because of inadequate tourist infrastructure, insufficient airline services and limited promotion on the international market.
However, New Caledonia is now investing in new aircraft for its international airline. This will help reduce the isolation factor and ensure a reliable, and long lasting airline network. This should encourage tourism professionals to invest in infrastructure. Added to this, its beaches, lagoon, landscapes and cultural heritage, are ideal tourist attractions. The development of its nickel and metallurgy sector will bring about big social and economic changes in the near future. In the next two years, construction will begin on two nickel processing plants; a hydrometallurgic plant in the south, and a pyrometallurgic plant in the north. The jobs created by the processing activity will reduce the country's 20 percent unemployment rate.
The pyrometallurgic plant will be the catalyst for economic advancement in the largely undeveloped north and help achieve economic rebalancing outlined in the Noumea Accord. In addition to the creation of direct employment, the activity will initiate the establishment of infrastructure and services, which will create a financial centre to compete with Noumea and allow true economic development in the north. At the time of the last population census in 1996, Kone, the Northern Province capital, had 4000 inhabitants compared to Noumea's 76,000. The plant is a strategic tool which will help achieve sustainable development at national level, says Paul Néaoutyne, president of the Northern Province.
Photographs: V Talbot
