A KEY land lease within the Labasa Airport boundary has been found to have expired.
iTaukei Lands Trust Board (TLTB) chief executive officer, Solomoni Nata confirmed that lease for the land on which the entry to the airport is located has expired.
“There is an expired lease at the entry to the airport, which TLTB is processing as a development lease to the landowners’ trustees,” he said.
Mr Nata said the land belongs to the Nabukarabe clan of Nakama Village, and consultation with the them is ongoing.
“We held two consultations with the landowners last year at Nakama Village, on August 20 and December 16,” Mr Nata said.
“Present at these consultations were the TLTB regional manager, Isoa Kasainaseva and team, as well as reps from the Ministry of Lands. Also present was Airports Fiji’s general manager, Salote Delailoloma.”
He said this approach reflects a shift towards treating landowners as business partners rather than passive recipients of lease income.
“We ensure that landowners are partners in the extension on terms of business and not mere recipients of premium and lease.”
The clan’s committee secretary, Kalesi Volatabu, confirmed the process is moving forward.
“The offer was sent to us last year. This was again brought up during our recent meeting with TLTB.”
Ms Volatabu said they are in the final stage of finalising the lease agreements.
“We are happy that we are finally getting to sit at the table and have discussions with relevant authorities because at the moment, most landowners feel they are left out during development discussions.”
Fiji Airports said they take all concerns raised by landowners seriously and ensure these are addressed promptly and respectfully through established channels.
“We are committed to open dialogue and to working collaboratively with landowners to achieve outcomes that are well understood and mutually acceptable,” the company said, adding it remains committed to ongoing engagement to ensure landowners are kept informed, heard and respectfully involved as the project progresses.
The Nabukarabe clan owns 3890 acres in Labasa, with about 1100 acres currently leased under the iTaukei Land Trust Board.
Runway strengthening at the Labasa Airport is scheduled to take place from February 16 to March 27, during which the airport will be closed.
