Fiji needs $2b for bridges, millions more for upgrades

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Fiji will need to find $500m to repair and upgrade the run down Colonial War Memorial Hospital, says Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad. Picture: ELENA VUCUKULA

Fiji will need to find $2 billion to replace bridges in the next decade, spend $800 million in the next five years to keep water systems going, $500m to repair and upgrade the Colonial War Memorial Hospital and $200m to bring sewage systems up to par.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad said this in Parliament yesterday and said questions needed to be asked of the previous administration.

“So again, where did the money go in the past? How was it spent?” he said.

Prof Prasad said the urgent upgrade of deteriorating infrastructure across the country could not be done in four years — let alone 100 days.

He said thousands of Fijians knew about and suffered from water cuts on an almost daily basis, which affected not just family lives, but economic productivity.

“We have just heard from WAF that about half of the water that it carefully treats and prepares for us leaks through old pipes and into the ground, it never reaches our taps,” he said.

“In the next five years, we need to spend $800million on our water systems to keep them going. So again, where did the money go in the past? How was it spent?

“None – I repeat none – of Water Authority’s 38 sewerage treatment plants are up to the required standards for the safe discharge of wastewater.

“That means threats to the environment and the health of people who depend on rivers and streams close to populated areas. This is quite alarming.

“Why were we kept in the dark? The cost to bring these up to standard will be around $200m.” Prof Prasad also said about 100 bridges in the country would need replacement in the next decade and 10 of the bridges were already at the point of critical failure.

“This means that any day, at any time, we may need to close them because they will become unsafe. This will create huge inconvenience to our people. It will drive up costs of transportation and it is us, as consumers, who will bear those costs.

“I am told that the cost for bridges alone in the next 10 years will exceed $2 billion. Forget about the roads, that is a different budget. I am talking $2 billion just for bridges.

“The Lautoka rubbish dump is a serious threat to the environment.

“Our intention is to ask the private sector to create a proper waste disposal facility in Lautoka, as has been done in Naboro.

“But, of course government, or local government, will have to pay the private provider for the services it provides. These costs could be upwards of $20m per year.”

Regarding the health sector, Prof Prasad reiterated that health facilities and services were not up to standard and “costing us lives – on a daily basis”.

“CWM Hospital is no longer fit for purpose. It is in a state of decay. It needs to be completely renewed, an investment that will probably exceed $500m.

“The Lautoka and Ba Hospital public-private partnership between FNPF and Aspen Medical will also involve costs of about $300m.

“This project is currently suffering some serious delays. But even when a PPP rebuilds a hospital, it must earn an economic return. And that means Government must pay.

“This will be up to $30m in new spending every year. And do not forget that all the other services, the health centres, the drugs we now supply and so on, are not included in that. We will have to continue paying for these.

“It is now too late to avoid some critical failures. Even if we had the money now and were ready to go, all this new infrastructure takes time to design and build. It cannot be done overnight. It cannot be done in 100 days. And it cannot be done in four years.

“It will take many years. And of course, now that we are burdened by serious government debt, we do not have the money to spend. Somehow, we have to find it.”

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