The Fijian Government has identified an alternative site on Vanua Levu where it could build a new green field project.
Attorney General and acting Prime Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum made this comment in parliament yesterday as he responded to comments raised regarding proposed plans to upgrade the Savusavu airstrip.
He said they looked at three sites, which were neither in Labasa nor in Savusavu.
He said those sites were somewhere where it could be easily accessible by those in Labasa and Savusavu.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said it “would make a lot more sense because if you are able to build an airport that has eventually the ability to look at landing a Boeing 737 and God knows one day A330 or A350, then that is a good site”.
He said for Savusavu to be expanded, the runway would have to be built out into the sea – which would be a very costly affair – because of its geographical features of the sea on one side and the hill on the other.
And the airport in Labasa is built between the bend of a river so that cannot be extended, he says.
“… We are in fact looking at an alternative site in Vanua Levu where we could build a new green field project. In fact, we had been talking to ADB (Asian Development Bank) and there were some funding that was available also but because of COVID-19, that has been put on hold because we realised that there is still a lot more potential for regional development in Vanua Levu including the areas of tourism,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.
“So we are looking at a longer term project, and in fact in our discussions with ADB, we used the regional angle that it could also be used as a redundancy airport if something happens, for example, in Viti Levu and also it is closer to countries like Samoa et cetera, so there is some work around that.”
