Budget 2021-22

WAF gets increased budget of $194.9m

July 17, 2021 4:13 pm

The Water Authority of Fiji has been allocated an increased budget of $194.9m for the 2021-2022 financial year.

Of this, $72.1m is for operating expenditure and $122.9m is for capital investment to achieve 24/7 delivery of water to all Fijians and expand Fiji’s sewerage network.

To date, 31,026 households (value of total free water provided is $436,721.98) have benefited from Government’s free water initiative, which will continue to expand in this financial year.

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An investment of $13.7m has been made by the government to improve water distribution systems.

It is also providing $20.2m to further improve water treatment quality.

$0.5m is for the replacement of water meters.

$2.9m has been set aside for non-revenue water.

$6.8m is assigned for the upgrade of wastewater treatment plants.

$1.2m is for the upgrade of the wastewater distribution system to ensure that Fijians within urban centres are connected to the wastewater reticulation system.

An allocation of $4.5m is provided to the Rural Water Supply Programme in order to provide access to clean water in rural communities.

$8.7m is for electrical works at WAF’s water pump and wastewater stations, and $0.6m will be utilised to continue the improvement of catchment and water source areas.

An allocation of $1.5m is provided for rural water carting to communities in non-metered areas during periods of drought, water disruption and during the current recovery period from the COVID-19 pandemic.

An Urban Water Supply and Wastewater Management Project is designed to augment vital urban infrastructure and services, supporting sustainable growth and development in the Greater Suva Area by increasing water supply capacity by 26 percent and wastewater-treatment capacity by 164 percent.

As part of the project, a new 40 megalitre treatment plant is being constructed in Viria, Rewa.

Blended funding provided by the Asian Development Bank ($7m), European Investment Bank ($12m), the Green Climate Fund ($10m), and local sources ($26m) has made this immense project possible.

The 2021-2022 financial year will also see the construction of major components of the Rewa River Water Supply Scheme Project including the new Viria 40 megalitre treatment plant, intake pumping station, 10 megalitres Waitolu reservoir and bulk water mains.

The overall project progress (inclusive of design, procurement and construction) is approximately 41% complete for the Design-Build contract and 32% for the Gravity Mains contract.

The new treatment plant and the reservoir is expected to be commissioned by December 2022.