The Government will not rubber-stamp the controversial Vuda-Saweni waste-to-energy proposal and insists the project must clear rigorous legal, environmental and public scrutiny before any decision is made, Foreign Minister Sakiasi Ditoka said in a detailed response to former journalist Charlie Charters. The proposed incinerator, which backers say would handle about 900,000 tonnes of waste, remains in its early assessment phase and has not been approved by Cabinet.
Ditoka stressed Cabinet’s instruction was limited: ministers endorsed the “normal due diligence process to proceed” but did not endorse the project itself. The proponents have funded a full environmental impact assessment (EIA) that is currently under review by the Ministry of Environment. Only after the EIA is evaluated will the Government hold public consultations with Vuda-Saweni residents, nearby landowners and traditional custodians; the proposal would then return to Cabinet for any final decision.
Legal compliance will be a central focus of that scrutiny, Ditoka said, pointing specifically to international obligations such as the Waigani Convention, which restricts the movement of hazardous wastes into Pacific Island countries. “If there are questions… they must be addressed plainly and early,” he told Charters, underlining that legal, regulatory and treaty requirements must be satisfied before the project can advance.
Environmental concerns to be tested through the EIA include emissions, water safety and potential coastal impacts, officials said. Ditoka rejected characterisations that scrutiny was a mere formality, calling the process “the safeguard” for a proposal of this scale. He also pushed back against remarks attributed to project proponents that dismissed critics, saying communities and landowners “have every right to question a development of this magnitude” and that such scrutiny is an expression of citizenship rather than selfishness.
The announcement comes amid mounting public criticism and broader anxiety over Fiji’s worsening waste crisis. Ditoka pointed to visible problems across the country — from burning dumps at Vunato to illegal dumping and uneven collection in outer areas — and cautioned that existing landfill capacity, such as at Naboro, does not solve the national challenge. He also warned policymakers not to view a single large incinerator as a panacea: “I have never argued that ‘anything is better than nothing’,” he said, adding that the proposal is one option among many to be measured against scientific, economic and long-term national priorities.
Broader energy and development pressures help explain why waste-to-energy concepts are on the table. Ditoka said ambitions to grow industry and manufacturing will require a more diversified and reliable energy base than Monasavu hydropower alone can provide, and that reliance on imported diesel leaves Fiji vulnerable to global price volatility. At the same time, he signalled caution over the role of private investment and public-private partnerships in large infrastructure projects, saying PPPs are a reality for many countries but must be handled with care and transparency.
For now, the latest development is procedural but significant: Cabinet has tasked investors to follow formal government channels and confined its endorsement to due diligence, not project approval. The outcome of the EIA and subsequent public consultations will determine whether the Vuda proposal is recommended back to Cabinet or stalled — a distinction Ditoka repeatedly emphasised as central to the Government’s approach.
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