The Fiji Roads Authority (FRA) reported investing $198 million in maintenance, renewal, and capital projects for the financial year 2020-2021, as detailed in its recently tabled annual report in Parliament.
This funding was allocated to various significant rural and urban projects of considerable complexity, according to FRA. The organization noted that measuring the completion of planned projects poses challenges, particularly because many of these initiatives span multiple years.
Additionally, some capital projects involved non-physical work items that were initiated within the 2020-2021 fiscal year and are part of a larger development pipeline for future construction. As a result, FRA has opted to evaluate performance based on the progress made on planned tasks rather than the overall completion of projects.
FRA acknowledged the necessity for more advanced project management tools to enhance monitoring and performance reporting. Plans are underway to implement an enterprise management system, which is expected to enable increased scrutiny and provide more detailed reports concerning program delivery.
The authority recognized that several projects encountered delays during the reporting period. While such setbacks are anticipated in a program of this magnitude and complexity, there is an ongoing commitment to continuous improvement.