Peceli Naviticoko 
[File Photo]
The Water Authority of Fiji has announced that water cuts and intermittent water supply in the Lami-Suva-Nausori corridor will persist until July.
Chief Executive Amit Chanan cited a daily gap of 300 million liters per day as the reason for the ongoing water supply challenges, which have necessitated intermittent supply in various areas.
However, he states that the situation will improve once the $300 million water project in Viria, Naitasiri is completed, which is expected to add 40 million liters of water per day to the supply.
“So that certainly will negate the need or any intermittent water supply but with that will come the challenge to also still fix the leaking pipe network the gap between supply and demand will be bridged once Viria come online.”
Chanan also raised concerns about the increasing number of leaks in the water infrastructure, stating that new leaks are appearing at a faster rate than the Authority can fix.
To address this issue, Chanan revealed that WAF is considering awarding performance-based contracts for a period of three to four years to expedite the repair and renewal of the aging water infrastructure.
He adds that WAF is planning to advertise this and ensure it is a performance-based contract to address the issue of leaking pipes and infrastructure.
Chanan noted that the Asian Development Bank is providing support in this project, as similar models have been successful in other parts of the world.
