THE Nadi Chamber of Commerce and Industries has called out state authorities for not putting a stop to the continuous leak of wastewater near Denarau Island.
NCCI president Lawrence Kumar said the recent leak was the latest among a few over the last six months.
“This isn’t just some area of a community where they can wait to address a leak,” said Mr Kumar.
“This is Denarau where thousands of tourists and locals go to on a daily basis. We cannot let this type of infrastructure failures happen in a place that contributes a lot to our tourism industry.”
He said this issue had not “popped up overnight”.
“It has been ongoing where we noted there were leakages or bursts in different places of the same water or wastewater line.
“What that is telling us is that the infrastructure is giving up and that it needs to be renewed. Water Authority are not doing their proper inspections and monitoring of this situation and in terms of asset management which needs to be up to par and serve the people.”
Water Authority of Fiji confirmed repair works that include seeking approvals from other state agencies such Energy Fiji Ltd and the Fiji Roads Authority.
“WAF teams have assessed the affected section and are currently coordinating the necessary utility approvals and clearances to enable repair works to be undertaken safely and at the earliest opportunity,” a WAF statement said.
“The existing DN250 asbestos cement (AC) wastewater rising main is located within a corridor containing Energy Fiji Ltd (EFL) high-voltage electricity cables and other utility infrastructure. Due to the proximity of these critical services, the necessary approvals, utility clearances and safety requirements must be completed before excavation, and repair works can proceed.”
Works officially began yesterday.
