Better City Developments Plans to be Put in Place

Ad hoc developments will be a thing of the past as the Lands ministry works with stakeholders to put in place better planning.

Lands and Mineral Resources minister Filimoni Vosarogo said industrial zones located right next to residential areas presented hazards and reflected on poor monitoring.

“In some quarters, this shows that city plans did not anticipate population growth and aggressive economic drivers and the huge rural to urban drifts like we have had for the past two decades,” Mr Vosarogo said in Lautoka yesterday.

“The Lautoka Foreshore can be a legacy development and will be admired by your visitors.

“It may warrant them to come again and again.

“Your job is to get together, pull in your designs, ambitions and plan that observes environmental thresholds and overlay it with a futuristic perspective to attract people and businesses to your city.”

Mr Vosarogo said Lautoka’s waterfront development could host lots for business process outsource agencies, integrated tourism, shopping malls, fish and diving outlets, and eateries.

“The development advancing rapidly from Nadi towards your city is growing,” he said.

“Tourists want to come to your city, but they need to be attracted here. Give them something to come to.

“Things must move toward something tangible.”

He said Suva and Lautoka cities needed to become new tourist destinations.

“Both cities must remodel themselves and offer something on the cutting edge of business and integrated development that would entice multinationals to come to Fiji and set up business,” Mr Vosarogo said.

“That way, our employment strategy will benefit from a redesign of Suva and Lautoka city philosophies.”

“I feel tourists are coming to see the same things in the usual hotspots.

“We want to provide something new in these two cities that will make tourists visit Suva and Lautoka.”

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