Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Nadi to overcome flooding says Fiji administrator

Posted at 18:16 on 31 January, 2013 UTC

The head of the Nadi Town Council in Fiji says recurring flooding is a major issue to overcome before Nadi can be named Fiji’s third city by the end of the year.

Nadi, which has a population of 12,000 in town and about 50,000 in its outlying suburbs, is much smaller than Fiji’s capital Suva or nearby Lautoka where Nadi still transports all its rubbish for landfill.

The Special Administrator for Nadi Town Council Aisea Tuidraki says he has found a site of freehold land for a rubbish landfill and is hoping to purchase it soon.

Mr Tuidraki says his plan is to continue dredging the Nadi river, as well as digging canals and making short-cut channels to avoid bends in the river and enable faster draining after flooding.

He says the town needs to deal properly with major downpours such as those that claimed 15 lives in January and April 2012, and build resilience to natural disasters.

“The most important thing for us is just to build up our confidence where we live, though we have been facing a lot of disasters like floods and cyclones which just passed us recently. People are not moving out, businesses are still here and new businesses are still coming.”

Special Administrator for Nadi Town Council Aisea Tuidraki.