Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum

The Nadi River Flood Alleviation Project is expected to cost over $400 million.

Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says Nadi is a gateway to the country and such a project is vital to the entire economy.

He adds that rivers around the country have the potential to generate income which has largely been untapped.

” What we are trying to do in this particular instance is that to create an economic base around that river, we do not have any of those rivers, any for example boat rides, dinner by candle light up the rivers, you go to most major cities in the world you’ll have that. It’s an economic activity and Fiji is a tourism country, thirty-eight percent of our GDP depends on tourism, so the idea is to have ancillary services available. Rivers are perfect example of how we can make use of the system to create economic activity.”

The Minister says Nadi should be declared a City because of it is fast developing urban center.