Balaga Bay Reconstruction Works In Savusavu On Hold, Improper EIA
The Department of Environment has sent out a stop notice to a contracting company that was building boulder retaining walls along Balaga Bay in Savusavu.
Tuesday 15 October 2019 | 11:56
From left: The Permanent Secretary for Environment Joshua Wycliffe during his routine inspection in the North on October 2, 2019 with environment officers based in Labasa, Kesaia Sovosi and Tevita Vuniwaqa at the site where a boulder wall was being built at Balaga Bay, Savusavu. Photo: Selita Bolanavanua
The Department of Environment has sent out a stop notice to a contracting company that was building boulder retaining walls along Balaga Bay in Savusavu.
The RPA Group Fiji Limited, was contracted by the Fiji Roads Authority to work on the project.
Permanent Secretary for Environment Joshua Wycliffe said they had a whistleblower who raised the concern that the contractor was removing rocks from the ocean to restore the area.
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He added that they appreciated the job done by the company in terms of protecting the bank where at one point the coastal waters were eroding the surface beneath the road, “so it’s critical that we protect it”.
However, he said the rocks had been removed without a proper Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) done.
“We need to know the impact it has and how it is going to disturb the marine environment,” she said.
A hole beneath the road caused by coastal waters. Photo: Selita Bolanavanua.
Feedback: selita.bolanavanua@fijisun.com.fj
