‘PROJECT TOUCHES OUR HEARTS’
Tamavua villagers thank Minister for Economy over help to start multi-million dollar business venture
Tamavua landowners have expressed their gratitude to the Government for helping them to develop a multimillion dollar apartment/hotel and housing complex on their land in Suva. Speaking on their behalf, Ro Lusiana Vaniqi said the hotel/apartment and housing project “has touched our hearts.” She said this was especially so because Government was helping them with this development project. She said it had taken them 10 years to reach this point. This was a momentous and historic occasion, a realisation of a dream. And thanks to the Government, she added. Government has provided the start-up funds, coming from a $10 million allocation for iTaukei landowners in the new Budget, to help them commercially develop their land. Ro Lusiana is the younger sister of former SDL president Ratu Kalokalo Loki. She is a director of El Shaddai Unity Investment Company Limited. The company is the development vehicle for the landowners. She said this was a great moment for the iTaukei landowners to be given the opportunity by this Government to be directly involved in the development of their land and resources.
This is the first project of this type of direct involvement by iTaukei land owners in the Central Division after similar projects in the West.
Dozens of applications for assistance are currently being processed. Ro Lusiana said: “This is a great initiative, to take up this project as it will help us as landowners to grow.
“With this project, it will be a source of income for the community and boost the economy of Fiji. “We want to build a 10 storey hotel/apartment with a revolving restaurant on the very top so we can generate more jobs and income for our community and the nation. “We will have our engineers from Rod Jepson work with the Scope Pacific Limited as they are the experienced engineers in Fiji for a proper and professional development of the complex. “I believe our youths in communities will have good job opportunities with this development espe-