Government’s investment and trade promotion agency Investment Fiji expects to get 15 to 20 investment projects to start construction next year.
Investment Fiji chief executive officer Kamal Chetty said their challenge at present was getting projects started.
To date, Investment Fiji has a pipeline of 212 investment projects worth $6.2 billion, covering the tourism, manufacturing, services, real estate and other sectors.
In an interview with The Fiji Times, Mr Chetty said those projects were in different stages of implementation.
He said their focus at Investment Fiji was getting those projects to start.
“Some are in construction stage and we want them to finish. Some are in pre-development stage, how can we start them into construction stage. Some are in conceptual stage, so how can we move them to actually mobilise something on the ground,” Mr Chetty said.
“We’re trying to get them started. For them to employ people, for example, agriculture projects, how can they work with local farmers, open the rural economy and all those things.
“We work in different sectors, and like tourism, it takes three to four years or maybe a longer time to construct.
“So we want them, at least, to start something on the ground.
“Obviously, the challenge is how fast we can them started, getting all the approvals sorted, ensuring they have enough people in the country to start that work.
“So, we’re looking at about 15 to 20 projects to start construction next year.”
Among the projects to begin construction next year is the multi-million-dollar Kerzner International’s One&Only ultra-luxury resort and private homes in Yasawa.
