New Labasa Eco-Resort Soon
A$10 milliondollar tourism project designed to raise the bar for Labasa Town, Vanua Levu, is on the horizon. Businessman, Vinesh Dayal, is behind the Vualiku Eco-Tourism Resort project, which will take 18 months to build along the Labasa riverbank, when it gets off the ground in August.
It took him 13 years to get reach this reality.
Mr Dayal is managing director for VCORP Pte Limited, owner of LunchBox Restaurant Limited, Hotel North Pole, Vualiku Hotel and Apartments, North Pole Rental Limited, and Timber and Blockworks Limited.
He is also president of Labasa Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
The Vualiku Eco-Tourism Resort project is a double storey building with 40 rooms, swimming pool, car park, restaurant, children’s play area, and other reactional facilities.
Mr Dayal hopes to engage overseas expertise to join his in-house construction team for the project. The landowning unit, Yasawa Matasawa will benefit from the project, through employment.
“About 50 workers will be hired with the first opportunity going to youth, and unemployed men and women of the landowning unit,” Mr Dayal said.
The project was initially turned down by Labasa Town Council, he said.
Landowner, Laisa Rawale said the livelihood of 40 landowners was expected to improve through the project.
Tui Labasa, Ratu Jone Qomate, was happy that a local businessman would work with the landowners on the project.
“We need this kind of partnership and to see some form of tourism investment in our own town is a huge achievement,” Ratu Jone said.
“We need more hotels and resorts so that job opportunities are created for our people.”
He called for more local support for such projects.
The project was made possible after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Hotel Northpole, and upheld lease to develop the land along Sangam Avenue Road.
Mr Dayal said as an insurance policy against the deteriorating sugar industry 13 years ago, the project was designed to lay the foundation for tourism in partnership with the land-owning unit, Yasawa Matasawa and in collaboration iTaukei Land Trust Board (TLTB), an opportunity that no one considered in the last 50 years.
He said the project offered landowners non saleable lifetime shareholding rights, educational benefits, profit sharing and a role in tourism activities.
Mr Dayal said the project aligned with the vision of the Government and the aspirations of the landowning unit.
He spent over $500,000 on the land development.