Infrastructure project delivery in Fiji has improved over the past three financial years, Parliament was told on Tuesday, with the Ministry of Public Works reporting higher on-time completion rates despite persistent operational challenges. Minister for Public Works, Meteorological Services and Transport Ro Filipe Tuisawau provided detailed capital budget and delivery figures in response to a question from Opposition MP Vijay Nath.
Tuisawau told MPs that in the 2022–2023 financial year the ministry had $344 million of projects approved and delivered 82 percent on schedule. The following year saw both a larger capital programme and a marked jump in punctuality: $511 million was allocated in 2023–2024 and 98 percent of projects were completed on time. For 2024–2025 the ministry approved $458 million and achieved a 90 percent on-time delivery rate.
The figures underline an overall upward trend in delivery performance, with 2023–2024 standing out as the best year in the three-year span. The ministry’s improved record came amid a fluctuating budget envelope — a roughly 48 percent increase in approved funding between 2022–23 and 2023–24, followed by a modest reduction in 2024–25 — suggesting some gains in project management and execution capacity even as priorities and fiscal settings shifted.
Tuisawau acknowledged, however, that delays still occur and set out the principal causes in the parliamentary briefing. “Those projects were not delivered on time was due to external and environmental factors, procurement and contracting delays, regulatory and approval delays and some design changes and scope variations,” he said. The list points to a mixture of unpredictable events, procedural bottlenecks and technical adjustments that can lengthen delivery timelines.
Procurement and contracting issues, along with regulatory and approval delays, are common constraints on public infrastructure programmes and can be exacerbated when project scopes change after contracts are awarded. External and environmental factors — likely a reference to weather events and other situational disruptions that affect construction and logistics — further complicate scheduling, particularly in a Pacific island context vulnerable to cyclones and floods.
The data presented to Parliament is framed by the government as evidence of steady improvement in project delivery while continuing to manage those operational constraints. Opposition questioning by Vijay Nath prompted the disclosure, reflecting parliamentary scrutiny of how capital budgets translate into on-the-ground infrastructure outcomes. The ministry’s figures will be watched by local councils, contractors and development partners who rely on timely completion of roads, water, maritime and transport works managed under Tuisawau’s portfolio.
No new specific remedial measures were outlined in the briefing to address the enumerated causes of delay. The statistics, however, give a benchmark for tracking whether recent procedural or management changes are sustaining the high delivery rates seen in 2023–2024 or whether the dip to 90 percent in 2024–2025 signals renewed pressures requiring further action.