Labasa Town [File Photo]

The veteran business owners of Labasa have refuted the nickname given to the town by many over the years.

These businesses say Labasa is not a ‘ghost town’ as there are many opportunities in the area.

Businessman, Satish Kumar says the town is flourishing and people are taking advantage of the new opportunities.

“Labasa Town is growing and definitely it will grow. It is not a ghost town. If somebody is saying that Labasa is a ghost town, I think they better stop saying that.”

Kumar says Labasa is the Friendly North Town and they aim to one day transform it into a city.

Minister for Sugar, Charan Jeath Singh who has also done a number of investments in Labasa over the years, agrees the town has a lot of potential.

He also highlights that new projects will be undertaken soon through funding from the World Bank.

“As you know $200m will be spent on tourism itself in Vanua Levu. So it is giving us encouragement and gearing us up to go ahead and do a lot of things for Vanua Levu.”

With the appointment of Town Council administrators, a number of infrastructure projects will be undertaken soon to beautify the town.