Dispute over the Maharepa shopping center project
The Tahei Auti Ia Moorea Federation fully supports SODIMA and the two local residents who have filed an appeal to revoke the building permit issued on September 6, 2023, to SOGIL, headed by Mr. Louis Wane, for the construction of a large shopping center in Maharepa (Moorea).
The federation wishes to reiterate:
• Its resolute opposition to this excessive commercial project
The project involves the construction of approximately 13,800 m² of buildings (supermarket, shopping mall, offices, parking lots) on a previously entirely wooded 51,000 m² site, resulting in massive artificialization of the site.
• That this operation has nevertheless been prohibited by the Polynesian Competition Authority
The Wane Group has undertaken this project in direct violation of the PCA’s decision of June 23, 2022, which prohibited this commercial development due to a serious risk of harm to competition.
• The existence of major irregularities in the permit application process
The federation, the company SODIMA, and local residents denounce in particular:
- an incomplete and inaccurate permit application (summary description, misleading landscape description);
- the absence of a serious traffic analysis;
- an insufficient environmental impact study, despite the area being classified as red risk for submersion and flooding;
- a review of the application that lacked impartiality, suggesting preferential treatment for the Wane group.
• The serious dangers this project would pose to residents
By replacing a green area with large concrete surfaces, the project would create a dam effect, diverting rainwater or seawater towards homes. It would directly endanger the residents of Maharepa in the event of heavy rain, cyclonic swells, or submersion.
• That the administrative court has already recognized irregularities
The court noted a major irregularity related to the insufficient impact study and gave SOGIL four months to complete the file, failing which the permit could be canceled.
The federation and the applicants welcome this initial decision and reaffirm that:
- the project remains dangerous for local residents,
- it poses a serious threat to competition in Moorea,
- and it contravenes an explicit prohibition by the Polynesian Competition Authority.
Furthermore, during the Environmental Impact Assessment carried out for this commercial project, a significant public mobilization was officially recorded. A total of 520 statements of concern were submitted, along with 85 signatures collected through several petitions.
These contributions are broken down as follows:
- 17 statements and a petition with 23 signatures gathered by the DCA;
- 168 statements and a petition with 9 signatures from the Vaiare Technical Services;
- 335 statements and a petition with 53 signatures submitted to the Moorea-Maiao Town Hall.
This exceptional level of participation reflects the strong opposition of the local population to a project widely viewed as unsuitable, dangerous, and contrary to the public interest.
