The proposed construction of a $87million Nalagi Residential Apartments at the corner of Short and Bau streets in Flagstaff, Suva has been met with strong objections from residents and property owners in the area.
With 221 residential apartments in two nine-storey buildings, the proposed project is expected to begin in 2027 and will take 48 months.
However, things aren’t looking good for developer Dong Cheng Investment Company Pte Limited as participants at a consultation held at Suva’s Albert Park Pavilion yesterday opposed the proposed plan.
Bipin Patel, owner of two properties on Short St, said he flew in all the way from Sydney, Australia for yesterday’s consultation because of the advice of his tenants.
“I own two houses just behind the property. It is an absolutely bad idea to put up a building there because it’s going to affect everybody there, not only the people staying on that street,” Mr Patel said.
“My main concern is the impact it will have on my property, which is at the lower end of Short St. I heard that they will be digging deep down, what impact will that have on my properties? Has proper due diligence been done? Have we been advised on what sort of impact it will have on the properties down below.”
Practising barrister and solicitor Adrienne Ali, who also lives in the area, said the real issue was the “piecemeal approach” taken by the regulatory authorities.
“The TIA (traffic impact analysis) has been done, we didn’t participate in that,” Ms Ali said.
“We never got to see it until this report came out.
“The EIA (environmental impact assessment) is being hosted by the MoE today but there’s no proper city planning, right? Like when you build a building this size, with this many people, we’re talking about 221 apartments.
“Nowadays, you cannot just run a single public consultation and go, ‘we ticked the box. MoE, we ticked the box. We did our job’. You’re not doing your job. I’m telling you that straight now. You have not done the proper preparation for this meeting or this development.”
The project’s EIA consultant Planit Pacific Pte Limited Jacqueline Hughes said they would call another consultation to allow other authorities who were not present in yesterday’s meeting to attend.
