Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama will open the $228-million Dreketi/Nabouwalu highway on January 4 to kick off the New Year.

On the same tour, he was supposed to travel to Taveuni to open the $15-million Somosomo Hydro electricity scheme. But it is now expected to be ready for commissioning later in the first-quarter of next year.

The tour

January 4 – Briefing at provincial Administrator’s (PA) office at Nabouwalu, Bua. Mr Bainimarama will be opening the Namuavoivoi Crossing, at Nabouwalu at 12.30pm. He then travels to Dreketi in Macuata to open the highway at 3pm.

Reviewed

January 5 – He opens new building facilities for Duavata Secondary School in Labasa at 10.30am. He then goes to Vunivutu Primary School to open a new classroom block at 3.30pm. He spends the night in Labasa.

January 6 –  He will commission the new Labasa Market and Branch mall at 9.00am. At 3pm He then goes to Vunisalusalu Central Primary School to open a new classroom block at 3pm.

The postponement of the Taveuni hydro opening has forced organisers of his tour to revise his itinerary. The Savusavu Marine Park opening has been put off because of the change.

The opening of new classroom blocks and facilities for three schools, and a market development is under review. A new amended itinerary is expected soon.

The highway will benefit everyone who relies on this route for their day to day activities. It will open new opportunities that will stimulate economic development and growth. The highway is important because it is the main route connecting Labasa to Viti Levu through Nabouwalu which provides the shortest ferry route for the public.

The hydro scheme will generate 700 kilowatts of electricity to power homes and businesses from Wairiki to Welagi.

Vadna Naidu, whose family runs a shop in Naqara said Taveuni was looking to Mr Bainimarama’s arrival to open the hydro station. She said at the moment they were paying $3.09 a unit to a private supplier but when the hydro station opened power would be a lot cheaper.

“Most of the villagers here in Naqara do not have power,” she said. But, she said, the new power would be more affordable and it would affect more than 2000 people.

The highway and hydro scheme are a milestone for the people of the North. They highlight Government’s relentless push in infrastructure development as an essential pillar of economic development. They also underscore Government’s commitment to Northern people’s welfare. They are a cornerstone of the Government’s Look North Policy. The policy is central to the Bainimarama Government’s vision to transform the North, to extend to the people of Taveuni and Vanua Levu the same level of services Fijians enjoyed on Viti Levu.