Fiji’s upcoming investment projects show promising potential for the next year, but there is an urgent need to address the skills gap in the construction sector. Dr. Kishti Sen, senior economist for the Pacific at ANZ, expressed this concern during a media roundtable. He projected that private investments will significantly contribute to Fiji’s GDP growth in 2025 and 2026.
Dr. Sen highlighted that an expected new expenditure of $600 million in private investment is anticipated for next year. However, he noted the existing labor constraints that need to be tackled. He described the construction sector, along with business services and to a lesser extent, mining, as being currently slow-moving industries that face limitations.
Despite these challenges, Dr. Sen is optimistic that as the economy strengthens, these sectors are likely to see improvements. He emphasized that new investments are essential to drive growth, stating, “Once a cluster of new projects starts, these industries are likely to pick up and change lanes.”
He also suggested that Fiji may need to consider importing labor to maximize its investment opportunities and relieve some of the pressure on local labor capacity. To facilitate this, he recommended that the Department of Immigration streamline its processes for quicker processing of work permit applications.
Investment Fiji’s CEO, Kamal Chetty, reported that there are currently 27 construction projects valued at a total of $1 billion expected to begin operations in the coming years. Additionally, another 20 projects worth an estimated $1.6 billion are projected to start construction soon, contingent on the successful progression and timely approvals for all planned projects.
According to the Fiji Bureau of Statistics, the estimated value of construction work completed last year was $557.9 million, marking an increase of $31.8 million (or 6 percent) compared to 2022’s figure of $526.1 million.