PREPARATORY works have been completed and construction is expected to progress in the coming months on what is dubbed as Fiji’s new tallest building, the WG Friendship Plaza.
The plaza, a proposed 28-storey building along MacGregor Rd in Suva, is an investment by WG International Real Estate Co (Fiji) Ltd, a locally-registered Chinese company.
Yesterday marked the ground-breaking ceremony for the project with an estimated cost of about $115 million, which is set to lift the landscape of the Capital City.
Officiating at the event, Minister for Local Government, Housing and Environment Parveen Bala said the project came at a time of increasing need in Suva for quality accommodation.
“Suva is a ‘happening’ capital in the Pacific where people flock to get government work done, attend global events, holiday, and visit friends,” he said.
“My ministry views this project would be yet another instrument that would promote the city’s growth in Fiji’s changing multicultural environment.”
Mr Bala said with its strategic location and accessibility on Macgregor Rd, the project would see an enormous potential and a thriving address to a range of patrons from both Fiji and internationally.
“Positioned as a contemporary hospitality hub, it is poised to enjoy a great catchment from all over Fiji and the Pacific with its closer access and locational reach to public offices, tertiary institutions and hospitals,” he said.
“The ultimate benefit is mutual both to the investment group and Fiji.
“This will not only drive the return on investments through sales but also drive the local economy – including through the creation of local jobs.”
The plaza when constructed and commissioned is also expected to add an exclusive package of more than 300 rooms, a conferencing facility, an observatory tower, a boutique shopping arcade and other facilities like healthcare and entertainment complexes.
Chinese Ambassador to Fiji Zhang Ping said the plaza was a vivid example of the continuous development of China-Fiji economic and trade co-operation.
“It reflects the confidence that Chinese companies have in the future of our bilateral relations as well as the good prospect of Fiji’s long term development,” he said. The plaza is proposed to feature office spaces, apartments, shopping mall; hotel and parking lots.
