A substantial amount of funding has been allocated for the construction of Queen Elizabeth Drive in Nasese, Suva, despite concerns over inadequate assessment, as revealed by Minister for Public Works and Transport, Ro Filipe Tuisawau.
An audit conducted between 2021 and 2023 uncovered notable irregularities, with estimates suggesting contract variations could reach between $300 to $400 million, raising alarms for the minister.
The renovation of Queen Elizabeth Drive, which initially had a timeline of one year and six months, took nearly four years to complete and experienced significant cost overruns. Ro Filipe confirmed that an investigation is currently underway regarding the project’s finances. At its launch in 2019, the project was allocated a budget of $25 million.
Ro Filipe expressed his concerns about the project’s hefty costs and contract variations, suggesting that it could have been completed at a lower expense and that funds could have been utilized in other neglected areas. Atunaisa Nayago, Chairman of the Fiji Roads Authority (FRA), stated that the project costs were aligned with its design and were managed through a consultant, emphasizing the infrastructure’s resilience, which included raising the road to enhance climate resilience.
The project encompasses the construction of a new bridge and approximately 200 meters of land reclamation, with a width of 34 meters. These modifications could potentially impact the environment and coastal resilience. Ro Filipe indicated that environmental compliance measures, including Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), are typically required for such projects.
Concerns have also emerged regarding the contract awarding process and adherence to proper bidding practices. Ro Filipe underscored the necessity of effective monitoring of contract performance to ensure projects remain within their designated costs and specifications. He noted that inadequate monitoring often leads to cost deviations.
Lessons learned from this situation will be used to refine policies and procedures related to tendering, contractor assessments, and oversight of contract performance to avert similar problems in the future. Ro Filipe pointed out that substantial variation amounts were approved by the board without thorough assessments and are currently under investigation, which has led FRA to review and revise its internal processes to prevent costly oversights.
The FRA’s executive chairman Nayago acknowledged that some construction delays stemmed from land acquisition challenges related to the project. Meanwhile, the investigation regarding the cost allegations has been referred to the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC).