The Wairabetia Economic Zone development is not a foreshore development at the moment.
Clarifying the status of the development in Parliament yesterday, Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources Filimoni Vosarogo said so far, the leased land expected to be used for development did not include any foreshore.
“By way of an update on that development that was undertaken by the Government in Wairabetia to which the approval to lease was issued in 2017 which has now been completed,” said Mr Vosarogo.
“The peripheral survey has been approved at least on the dry part of the lease and had been approved in January 2024.”
Mr Vosarogo said while the development was on iTaukei land, they were not ruling out expanding the development to the foreshore.
“Ideally when we are looking at that real estate in Lautoka we are looking at expanding the real estate well beyond the dry land.
“There is a huge amount of state foreshore, and I think that is going to be the prime estate in this whole development.”
He said a portion of the funds set aside for the development had been paid out to landowners.
“A portion of the money that was set aside to the tune of just a little over $640,000 was paid to iTLTB for the lease and with the preliminary work such as the acquisition.
“We will soon be handing over to the Ministry of Trade the leases from iTLTB, through the Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources and once the leases have been registered the Trade ministry will have their own plans on the development.”
