Navua Town

The Ministry of Local Government discloses its active involvement in the development of town centres in multiple areas, including Navua, Seqaqa, Keyasi, Nabouwalu, and Taveuni.

Permanent Secretary Seema Sharma emphasizes the current focus on establishing essential infrastructure and amenities, with ongoing initiatives in various locations.

She adds the Ministry aims to designate majority of these areas as towns.

“The first project we’re working on is at least getting the passenger terminal for the Nabouwalu Port ready. And the other phase is obviously looking at the town centre development. That has been on the cards for a while, but we’ve started working on it now.”

While progressing with the development work, the ministry is mindful of preventing traffic congestion, underscoring collaboration with the Department of Town and Country Planning.

“Keyasi is also on the cards, and Seqaqa. So with Seqaqa, we’re trying to work with at least getting first, the market sorted out and then working towards a town development, because you will see, what happens is you start moving services out of the city centre, so you sort of defray the congestion.”

Local Government Ministry says they are involving in extensive consultations and site visits to ensure a well-planned and seamless integration of town centre development.