The Government has signed a $385 million ($US171 million) financing agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to improve water and wastewater services, in what officials describe as a critical investment for the country’s future.
The Healthy Oceans and Water Supply Improvement Project will double the treatment capacity of the Kinoya Wastewater Treatment Plant, reduce water leakage in the greater Suva area, and establish a regional training program for water and wastewater operators.
Of the total project cost, the ADB will provide a concessional loan of $304million ($US135m) with a 40-year term, 10-year grace period and one per cent interest rate.
A further $23million ($US10m) grant will finance training and capacity building, while the Government of Fiji will contribute $59million ($US26m).
Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad said the project comes at a time when Fiji’s water sector is under increasing strain.
“Our water and wastewater sector faces some major challenges, including aged infrastructure, high levels of leakage, and over-capacity wastewater systems which threaten both our environment and economic development,” Prof Prasad said.
He also assured that the borrowing remains within the Government’s fiscal limits.
As of July 2025, total Government debt stood at around $10.8 billion, or 77.1 percent of GDP.
“This project is a priority investment and is factored within our debt sustainability framework,” he said, thanking the ADB, the Water Authority of Fiji and Ministry of Finance officials for preparing the project over the past two years.
Long road to reliable water
While the agreement marks a significant step, officials have cautioned that resolving Fiji’s water problems will take decades.
Minister for Public Works Ro Filipe Tuisawau told The Fiji Times earlier this week that it would cost an estimated $8.7billion and up to 25 years to fix the country’s crumbling water system once and for all.
He said thousands of Fijians may continue to experience water disruptions in the years to come as the Government’s Water Plan 2050, its road-map for tackling long-standing supply challenges, will only “gradually” deliver safe and reliable services.
“Urgent upgrades are needed not only in the Suva to Nausori corridor but across Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, and our maritime areas,” Ro Filipe said, noting that the scale of work required will demand sustained funding through loans, grants and the National Budget.
A regional first
The project will also position Fiji as a hub for water and wastewater operator training in the Pacific, with the ADB grant financing the establishment of a regional program.
Officials say this initiative will not only build local expertise but also strengthen resilience and service delivery across the region.
For now, Government leaders are framing the ADB-backed project as both an environmental safeguard and an economic necessity.
But with billions more needed over the next quarter century, Fijians may still be waiting decades for the taps to finally run without interruption.
One of the Water Authority of Fiji’s major reservoirs at Tamavua. Picture: WAF
School children take a sip from a newly commissioned water project. Picture: WAF/File
