The Lautoka City Council has embarked on a mission to address the escalating issue of traffic congestion, particularly at the bustling bus stand and market areas.

CEO Mohammed Khan says this is part of its commitment to enhance the overall urban experience for residents and visitors alike.

According to Khan, Sugar City witnesses a surge of approximately 7,000 pedestrians converging into the market and bus stand areas, usually on a busy Saturday.

“In order to have the city grow, We need to create more spaces to stretch our services so that we’re able to have people freely come in and go out.”

Recognizing the urgency of the matter, Khan says the council has laid out comprehensive plans to try and alleviate the congestion and ensure the city’s infrastructure is resilient enough to accommodate larger crowds in the future.

“So we have got a project to decentralize the bus station into three portions to have an Nadi outbound somewhere near the wharf and the BA outbound at the opposite the Anupam Theatre. We had some consultations with the PSV public service owners; they were not buying into that concept, but we’re still pursuing it.”

He stresses that for the city to grow, these changes must be implemented.

Khan adds that they will also be working with the private sector and the chamber in regard to these issues.