Lautoka’s main container terminal has been given a lift as Fiji Ports Corporation Limited (FPCL) officially opened Container Yard 4 yesterday, with officials saying the expansion is aimed at meeting sharply rising demand that could more than double current throughput over the next three decades.
FPCL chair Isikeli Tuituku told the opening ceremony that container throughput at Lautoka Port currently stands at roughly 80,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). He presented new projections showing that volumes could exceed 120,000 TEUs by 2045, and climb to between 160,000 and 190,000 TEUs by 2053. “These are conservative estimated growth; we think we can achieve this in a shorter time as ship owners realise the efficiencies we are able to achieve,” he said.
Tuituku said the Container Yard 4 project directly addresses a “specific and well-documented constraint” in the port’s operational infrastructure. By expanding yard space, the project increases stacking capacity, improves truck circulation within the port precinct and enhances overall container operations efficiency. He added the works move FPCL toward an efficiency benchmark of 200 TEU ground slots per hectare, a target intended to help position Lautoka more competitively within the Pacific region.
FPCL framed Yard 4 as the first deliverable from the long-term Lautoka Port Master Plan, a broader infrastructure programme to modernise the port over coming years. Tuituku stressed the yard is not a standalone investment but the opening step in a staged upgrade of storage, handling and traffic management capacity to meet forecast growth in cargo, vehicle imports and cruise activity.
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who attended the ceremony, underlined the port’s strategic importance to the Western Division and the national economy. “It supports agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and regional trade,” Rabuka said, noting the port enables farmers, businesses and exporters to connect with markets beyond Fiji’s shores and helps create jobs and opportunities. He praised the investment as part of building “a stronger and more resilient economy” for Fijians.
Rabuka also acknowledged external support, highlighting the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) for its role in financing the work. He commended GHD (Fiji) Ltd for delivering the Port Master Plan and thanked partners for backing Fiji’s infrastructure ambitions, calling the investment “an investment in Pacific regional trade and prosperity.”
FPCL and government speakers linked the upgrade to expected growth in bulk cargo, vehicle imports and cruise calls, saying improved yard operations and circulation will reduce delays, lift productivity and make Lautoka a more attractive port of call for regional shipping. As the Master Plan’s first phase, Container Yard 4 sets a baseline for further works intended to meet the projected rise in container volumes and sustain the port’s role in Fiji’s export and domestic supply chains.
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