Daily traffic congestion is eating into work hours and undermining productivity along Fiji’s busiest economic routes.

This issue dominated discussions at a high-level meeting of business leaders, where growing delays and their cost to operations were laid bare.

Reserve Bank Governor Ariff Ali pointed out that some employees spend more than two hours each morning travelling to work and up to another two hours returning home.

He described  this as a major waste of resources especially for young families.

“We should move away from all the offices here on this side of government. We should decentralized some of it between Nasinu and Nakasi so that the traffic goes the other way also. And, you know, last couple of weeks,I think we need to start thinking about how each one of us can contribute to that.”

Ali highlighted that the central bank has introduced flexible hours and work-from-home arrangements to reduce pressure during peak periods.

He believes staggered start times can ease the morning surge.

He also suggests decentralising government offices so traffic is not concentrated in one direction.

Finance Minister Esrom Immanuel acknowledged the congestion concerns but said that substantial funding was already allocated for new roads and maintenance.

He states that investment plans exist for the Suva–Nausori corridor, as well as Nadi, Lautoka and Labasa.

“There are plans in their regards, apart from the government and also multilateral agencies with their assistance, there are plans for the roads. One of the areas that people talk about constantly is the traffic congestion, which then goes on to impact productivity obviously.”

In Labasa, Immanuel confirmed plans for works around Douglasan and a new bridge.

For Suva, discussions are underway on a possible new roadway to reduce congestion, though no final decision has been made.

Recent flood damage along the Queens Highway has added urgency to the debate. With traffic delays worsening, pressure is mounting for  infrastructure upgrades and planning reforms to keep the economy moving.

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