325. In 2017, the Mauritius Container Terminal berths to 800 metres has been extended thus strengthening the existing quay. In the Budget Plan 2019/2020, the Government announced that the navigational channel will be dredged further to a depth of 18 metres to make Port Louis the deepest port in the region capable to accommodate very large vessels. 326. Additional equipment, including seven cranes for loading and uploading of vessels, was also procured, thus improving port productivity. Backup facilities have been expanded to increase terminal capacity from 550,000 TEUs to 750,000 TEUs. All these measures will boost the economic activity in Mauritius and propel us closer to the high income status objective. These improvements have allowed Port Louis to handle more transshipment traffic. The number of vessels visiting Port Louis for bunkering purposes increased by almost 36 % from 404,837 tonnes in FY 16/17 to 550,241 tonnes in FY 17/18. AIRLINE 327. Currently, there are 20 scheduled airlines that serve more than 30 destinations through our sole national International Airport. The passenger terminal has a capacity of 4 million and it is operating at 92 % of its capacity passengers per year. In 2017, there has been an increase in air freight traffic by 18 % with a freight tonnage of 61,000. A series of measures to increase passenger handling capacity to 4.5 million by 2020 and to expand air freight traffic to 65,000 tonnes in 2020 are being implemented. 8 aircrafts have been purchased by the National Airline from Airbus with the delivery of two brand new A350s in 2017, two A330 neo in 2018, two A350 in 2019 and two more in 2023. CONSTRUCTION OF A SUPREME COURT 328. A new building costing Rs 1.1 billion to host the Supreme Court is under construction. RUNWAY IN RODRIGUES 329. In Rodrigues island, a new runway with estimated project cost Rs 3.2 billion, to accommodate bigger planes is being constructed. The project will no doubt further improve air connectivity, tourism development and the socio economic development of the island. In order to support the tourism industry of Rodrigues and prevent the airfare increase, Government continues to finance the Special Rodrigues Holiday Package and the Subsidy on Airfare from Rodrigues. Rs 92 million provided for 2019/2020. CONNECTIVITY 330. The Mauritius -Rodrigues Submarine (MARS) undersea fibre optic cable system costing Rs 1.6 Billion, which was completed and launched in February 2019, is the first project to focus on developing connectivity in our islands. The MARS cable connects Rodrigues to the rest of the 126