Rural water, road works top discussions

Ra provincial administrator Elimi Rokoduru says the Tuvavatu Settlement, Rakiraki rural water project work is on hold temporarily and will resume in April.

Questions on this issue were raised during the discussion after the commissioning of the Tuvavatu Rural Electrification Project in Rakiraki on Tuesday.

“The rural water project in the settlement is on hold, but I believe Government is coming on board to work on the incomplete projects in the last financial year,” Mr Rokoduru said.

“The rural water authority has mentioned that by April they will start again. It’s 50 per cent complete.”

Another pending project discussed was accessibility because children had to walk long distances to the nearest bus stop. “The road is too narrow for any transport to service the area,” he said.

“We are providing them with carrier services, we have issued some permits to resolve the issue for now, but hopefully if FRA widens the road the bus companies will take this route into consideration.”

The Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Disaster Management and Meteorological Services, Jone Usamate said the ministry would be reviewing the new bridges because two have been completed.

“The 100 bridges are all across Fiji that really need to be fixed have been assessed so we look at the ones that are most critical and get them done quickly,” he said. Mr Usamate said each year the ministry repaired 10 or 15 bridges inclusive of crossings, roads and jetties due to the structure not being safe.