Plans for a 13-storey apartment building with 11 car parks in Vatuwaqa, Suva have sparked fierce criticism, with locals calling the $5-per-page fee to access Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports “unreasonable and unfair”.
Resident Adrienne Ali voiced her frustration ahead of a public consultation yesterday.
“Some of these reports are 500 pages long, if you want a copy so you can go home, read it and research it, you have to pay $5 a page,” she said.
“That’s the minimum wage in Fiji, you’re basically asking people to give up eating so they can access information.”
Ms Ali also questioned why the EIA documents are not freely available online.
“We are on electronic every thing nowadays, what’s the harm in just putting it on your website? What have you got to hide?” she asked.
Concerns were not limited to costs. Ms Ali said the scale of the proposed development raises serious questions about Suva’s already strained infrastructure.
“We already can’t get water every day, the electricity goes out, the roads are full, traffic is everywhere.”
She cited a recent fire in Toorak where “there were 13 firefighters and three trucks, and they still didn’t have enough water pressure, so, imagine all these new buildings using even more resources.”
Ms Ali insisted that traffic congestion, water supply, electricity, drainage, and emergency access must be addressed before any further approvals are granted.
