The Fiji Roads Authority has been allocated a sum of $376.7 million for the effective management and development of Fiji’s road network in the 2022-23 financial year.

Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum highlighted this in his budget address, saying that we need more roads and this needs to be maintained to the highest possible standards – especially as rain, storms and sea-level rise are intensifying.

“$13.8 million will cater for FRA’s operational costs and $369.2 million to carry out a comprehensive capital works programme to keep up with Fiji’s growing need for new infrastructure and to maintain our existing road network.”

Sayed-Khaiyum says $145,000 will enable FRA to commence a pre-feasibility investigation into the construction of the Viti Levu cross-country highway.

“Such a highway will significantly reduce travel times, for one. It will also unlock serious opportunities for our interior communities who have been constrained by the set-up of our national infrastructure network. The highway will be built section by section, creating jobs all along the way.”

Sayed-Khaiyum says the highway will become one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the history of the South Pacific.

He adds the FRA will be undertaking a capital works programme valued at $2.5 billion over the next five years.