THE newly-opened 18-storey FHL Tower in Suva will be put to an independent certification to become Fiji’s first green building.
The building, with a total floor area of 18,650 square metres, was designed with 11 “green” features, including efficient energy system, full integrated building management system, water harvesting and reticulation, among others.
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka revealed this in his official address at the opening of the building yesterday, saying FHL Tower stood as a declaration of confidence that Fiji could dream boldly, plan wisely and deliver with excellence.
“The Tower will be home to key development partners, embassies and prominent businesses including the Asian Development Bank, who have moved from June, the Bred Bank who are the main financier and will take signage rights, the United Nations Development Program, the International Monetary Fund, Korean Embassy, the New Zealand Trade, Amalgamated Telecom Holdings, Maxumise, Merchant Finance and FHL,” Mr Rabuka said.
The 18th floor will have meeting facilities.
The Tower will be fully tenanted by the first half of next year, he said.
Mr Rabuka also noted the FHL Group’s total assets that had grown to $917m as at June this year.
He said the Group was on track to grow that to more than $1billion in this financial year.
He added FHL had also distributed more than five times the initial capital to its shareholders, and had grown the value of the initial investments by over 10 times.
“In simple terms, if you were one of the original shareholders of FHL, you would have now gained 15 times your investments in both dividends received and share value appreciation.”
In his welcome address, FHL Group chairman Rokoseru Nabalarua said this was a remarkable milestone for the Group.
“It now rises proudly in the Suva skyline, not only as an architectural achievement, but as a beacon of hope for the iTaukei in Fiji’s business landscape,” Mr Nabalarua said.
“After 40 years, this tower stands as a living testament to the vision of the Bose Levu Vakaturaga which inspired the establishment of the Fijian Holdings Limited with a clear purpose to accelerate iTaukei participation in Fiji’s commercial sector, and through it, uplift the socioeconomic wellbeing of our people.
“This building is not only just concrete and glass, it embodies vision, courage and perseverance. It is the story of the people determined to rise to build and to lead with excellence.”
Described as the Group’s largest capital investment to date in FHL’s 2025 annual report released early this month, the FHL Tower began as a $60million project when it was launched but increased to more than $70million due to COVID-19 and related cost variations billed to the Group by its main contractor.
