Government shifts focus from $5.35b Valelevu hospital to CWM

Government will pursue a staged redevelopment of the Colonial War Memorial (CWM) Hospital after the proposed new National Tertiary Hospital at Valelevu was estimated to cost about $5.35 billion.

Cabinet endorsed the new pathway after considering the Preliminary Master Plan for the proposed Valelevu hospital.

The plan estimated that building the new hospital would cost approximately AUD$3.5 billion (FJ$5.35 billion), with about FJ$1.4 billion required for the first stage alone.

Given the significant upfront investment and limited financing commitments, Cabinet agreed that the next stages of planning would instead focus on redeveloping the existing CWM Hospital site.

The staged approach would allow critical hospital infrastructure to be progressively upgraded while health services continue.

It would also spread investment across multiple budget cycles and allow Government to pursue financing from development partners.

The redevelopment would support integration with other planned health investments at the CWM campus, including oncology and radiotherapy infrastructure.

The decision means the Feasibility Study and Business Case will now proceed on the basis of a staged redevelopment of CWM Hospital as the pathway for strengthening Fiji’s national tertiary health infrastructure.