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Copyright © United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), 2012
All rights reserved
HS Number: HS/081/12E
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Excerpts from this publication may be reproduced without authorisation, on condition that the source is indicated.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Design and Layout: Florence Kuria
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FIJI:
GREATER SUVA URBAN PROFILE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD 5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6
BACKGROUND 8
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44
FOREWORD
5 5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
66
LAND DEVELOPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE AND BASIC
ADMINISTRATION URBAN SERVICES
Land in Greater Suva, like any other urban centre in The Greater Suva Urban Growth Management Plan
Fiji, covers the three main land tenures: State, native recorded that at least 20 per cent of the Greater Suva
and freehold land. While administration of freehold population still lived in underserviced peri-urban areas
properties rests entirely with private individuals, State and in the informal settlements. Recent upgrading
and native lands are administered by the director of works by the Ministry of Local Government, Urban
lands and the Taukei Lands Trust Board, respectively. Development, Housing, and Environment in some of
the informal settlements within the region - such as
The Taukei Lands Trust Board is the custodian, hence Bangladesh, Lakena, Caubati, Omkari, and Lami - will
is the agency that the Native Lands Trust Act has result in an increase in access to proper services within
mandated to administer Taukei lands or that which the next five years. This is in addition to proposed
indigenous landowning units own communally. State major residential subdivisions within the Suva-Nausori
land is administered under the Crown Lands Act. corridor and the peri-urban areas of Suva and Nausori.
Nasinu and Nausori have pursued boundary extensions
in their effort to increase land for economic development
and for urban residential homes. Any future land for
expansion, including proposed boundary extensions,
consist of native land within northern Suva: that is
to say Tacirua, Tovata and Nausori, extending north-
east. Farmlands adjoin the town boundary north-east
of Nausori and could be used for additional industrial
land.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
77
BACKGROUND
Phase one consists of the rapid profiling of urban The backgrounder includes data on administration,
conditions at national and local levels. The capital urban planning, economy, the informal and private
city, a medium-sized city and a small town are selected sectors, urban poverty, infrastructure and basic urban
and studied to provide a representative sample in each services, public transport, energy, social services,
country. rural-urban linkages, town-traditional urban village
linkages, land tenure and administration, health,
The analysis focuses on five themes: governance and and education.
finance; urban planning and management; land
development and administration; infrastructure and 2. A synthetic assessment of five main areas: governance
basic urban services; and climate change and disaster and finance; urban planning and management; land
management. Information is collected through standard development and administration; infrastructure
interviews and discussions with institutions and key and basic urban services; and climate change and
informants, in order to assess the strengths, weaknesses, disaster management. This section also provides
opportunities and threats of the national and local urban an overview of the existing institutional set-up,
set-ups. The findings are presented and refined during regulatory framework, resource mobilization, and
city and national consultation workshops and consensus performance. A list of project proposals to attend to
is reached regarding priority interventions. National and areas of priority is also identified.
city reports synthesize the information collected and
outline ways to reduce urban poverty through holistic 3. A basic strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
approaches. threats analysis, and an outline of priority project
proposals for each theme, is also provided.
Phase two builds on the priorities identified through
pre-feasibility studies and develops detailed capacity-
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POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHY ECONOMY
An estimated 57 per cent of the country’s urban With over 60 per cent of the national economy’s
population (approximately 244,000 people) resides income generated in the urban centres, the main trade
within the study region. The projected urban population and business centre of the country is the Greater Suva
of the Greater Suva is shown in the table below based urban region. The ports and points of entry generate
on the population census of 2001, 2007 and annual economic activity; with vessels, including cruise-liners,
recording of the Fiji Bureau of Statistics. berthing at the Suva Harbour along with their domestic
and foreign visitors to the capital city. The Nausori and
Area 1996 86/96% 20012 2001- 2006 2011 2011- 2016 2021 Area
Pop 2011% 2021%
SUVA 167,975 - 84,859 89,435 94,257 96,748 99,308 SUVA
Incorporated 77,366 1.06 81,405 1.06 85,794 90,419 0.5 92,702 95,043 Incorporated
Peri-Urban 90,609 2.39 3,454 1.06 3,641 4,046 1.06 4,046 4,264 Peri-Urban
Lami 18,928 - 20,164 22,197 24,437 27,040 29,921 Lami
Incorporated 10,556 2.08 11,662 2.08 12,925 14,324 2.08 15,875 17,594 Incorporated
Peri-Urban 8,732 0.32 8,052 1.75 9,272 10,113 2.00 11,165 12,327 Peri-Urban
NASINU 78,820 88,429 99,217 104,772 110,661 NASINU
Incorporated 0 1.75 71,000 1.75 79,900 89,915 1.00 94,502 99,322 Incorporated
Peri-Urban 74,985 2.39 7,820 2.39 8,529 9,302 2.00 10,270 11,338 Peri-Urban
NAUSORI 21,617 46,510 53,841 62,692 69,605 77,397 NAUSORI
Incorporated 5,744 0.92 18,135 0.92 18,985 19,875 0.92 20,806 21, 781 Incorporated
Peri-Urban 15,873 6.16 28,375 4.2 34,856 42,817 2.65 48,799 55,616 Peri-Urban
NAVUA 4,183 NAVUA
Urban 4,183 4.2 5,105 4.2 6, 270 7, 700 4.2 9,457 11,615 Urban
GREATER GREATER
SUVA SUVA
9 9
Nadi airports also boost economic activity. Imminent WATER
airport runway extensions are bound to increase these
activities through greater demand for aviation services. Fiji Bureau of Statistics records over 60 per cent of
This will impact Nausori as a point of entry and the country’s population as having has direct access to
“parking” or transit routes for some of the major flights clean drinking water through connection to the water
throughout the South Pacific, including New Zealand reticulation system that the Water Authority of Fiji
and Australia. administers. The continued upgrading of projects by
the Water Authority of Fiji reflects the Government’s
Nausori is growing in anticipation of the runway commitment to provide this basic need to all its citizens.
extension which will accommodate larger aircrafts from However, the continued water cuts and shortages of
three of the country’s major provinces: Rewa, Tailevu the last 10 years in Greater Suva have undermined this
and Naitasiri. This will also lead to an increase in airport effort.
and airline catering, cargo centres and other aviation
operations. Improvements in access have directly
triggered an increase in the agricultural economy. This
is reflected in the town’s municipal produce market, SANITATION, SEWERAGE AND
corresponding to the urgent need for the Nausori Town SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
Council to develop its bus station and market.
The old subdivisions within the Greater Suva Urban
The public transport industry thrives in Nasinu. area have no connection to the sewerage system.
However, there is a high rate of traffic congestion. However areas developed from the mid-1990s became
As a result, the central government has committed subjected to urban standards, requiring mandatory
to widening Kings Road and several minor bridges. connections. All new developments within Suva and
These infrastructures, once built, will play a major role Nasinu are connected to the sewerage system. The
in boosting business activity along the Suva-Nausori wastewater management upgrading works of the Suva-
corridor. Nausori corridor, which the Asian Development Bank
supports, aim to extend sewerage connections to Lami
Greater Suva Urban also embarked on joint ventures with and Nausori. This will improve the urban environment
the private sector on major commercial developments. and public health. Provision of sanitation, sewerage
and solid waste management services within informal
settlements vary and are ad-hoc. This puts the health of
informal settlement residents at risk.
THE INFORMAL AND PRIVATE
SECTORS The Naboro landfill is the main basin for dumping
of solid waste in Greater Suva. Waste from all the
Majority of the working population are engaged major urban centres ends up here. The Ministry of
in formal employment. The tourism and transport Local Government, Urban Development, Housing
industries employ most people. Greater Suva is the main and Environment - through the Department of
GREATER SUVA URBAN PROFILE - BACKGROUND
economic hub of Fiji; generating activities in commerce, Environment - has identified a waste transfer station site
industry, information technology, and manufacturing. in Suva to reduce the high costs of transporting garbage
Tourism also provides income for the informal sectors to the Naboro landfill. Commencement of work at this
in the sale of handicrafts and local artifacts. transfer facility is still at the preliminary stage as each
municipality within Greater Suva Urban area seeks to
National Micro-Enterprise (the country’s main agency), identify its own landfill or transfer site.
Small Business Industries and the International Labour
Organization assist the informal sector in areas that
included capacity-building, the establishment of small
businesses; and cottage industries. The Integrated ENERGY, POWER USE AND
Human Resource Development Programme of the
Ministry of Labour has also had significant impact on TELECOMMUNICATIONS
the growth of the informal sector within urban and The Fiji Electricity Authority serves residents of Greater
peri-urban areas. Suva. Residents also receive the services of various
communication and telecommunication providers,
including mobile services.
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The interest to pursue alternative sources of energy, RURAL-URBAN AND TOWN-
particularly solar, is fairly low, given the impact of
climate change on the city and limited potential solar TRADITIONAL URBAN VILLAGE
energy. However, city and town councils are encouraged LINKAGES
to pursue energy-saving initiatives; Lami is operating
vehicles that run on biofuel, whilst Suva has installed The rate of urbanization in the Greater Suva area is
low energy lights within the Central Business District. closely associated with the opportunities that exist for
education, employment, commerce, and industry.
The expiry of agricultural native leases in the rural west
ROAD ACCESS, MOBILITY AND of Ba, Ra and Tavua; and from the Northern Division,
PUBLIC TRANSPORT particularly Labasa, has led to a huge migration of
people to Greater Suva. However, this factor has also
The Council maintains all roads within Greater Suva contributed to the increasing number of informal
town boundary all of which are tar-sealed. The main settlements. The landowning units of these villages do
roads serving Greater Suva include Kings Road, which play a major role in determining land use, utilization
serves the Suva-Nausori corridor; part of the Suva-Nadi and administration of their land in consultation with
Highway and the main arterial roads such as Princess, the I Taukei Lands Trust Board. While a percentage of
Ratu Dovi and Wainibokasi. Other arteries to the involvement of governance has always been reserved
existing road network are the main subdivisional roads for Letters of Understanding, through representations
within each sub-centre. The Government’s position on in municipal councils, the current Government system
road maintenance, through the Ministry of National sees Letters of Understanding as being engaged in joint
Planning’s Coordinating Committee Agency on Roads, economic ventures. This is encouraged by the Ministry
has placed major pressure on Suva City Council in of Local Government and is in line with the Urban
maintaining urban roads, as prioritization of road Policy Action Plan in tackling the ad-hoc release of
works rests with the Coordinating Committee Agency prime native land.
on Roads.
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GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE
GREATER SUVA URBAN PROFILE - GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE
The local government review and reform of 2008 has councils. However, there is also the pressure to
brought about positive changes and challenges to the comprehend and embrace the revenue collected
administration and management of municipalities. by the councils and their capacity to manage these
The reform is an initiative of the Ministry of Local funds as received.
Government, Urban Development, Housing, and
Environment. The Ministry has undertaken this in an t The current accounting practices have not been
effort to foster efficient service delivery, along principles sufficiently conducive to track fraudulent practices,
of good governance, by municipalities. The main as in the cases of Nasinu and Nausori. Urban finance
challenge is the sustainability of the reform initiatives issues affect the relationship between the councils
because issues have started to surface since the reform and its ratepayers.
started in 2008.
t While collection of current rates has been progressive,
Since the reform, the Greater Suva area has experienced the pace of receiving rate arrears is enormous. This
changes at all facets of urban management. Some of the has resulted in revenue loss as councils tire of efforts
challenges include: to recover these outstanding rates. Moreover, there
are increasing requests for waiving of rates but this
t That the role and responsibilities of special is deemed unfair by those whose rates have been up-
administrators and chief executive officers are to-date.
not clearly defined such that, at times, differences
triggered at the upper echelon have resulted in high t The level of skilled workers or officers at the
turnover of personnel. local government is a contributing factor to the
administration of the council. There has been very
t The Government-appointed special administrators little effort in human resource development and
are also subjected to public scrutiny, such that management in the Greater Suva, so that workers
complaints on their performance have also resulted are abreast with the latest technology and know-
in dismissals from office. This affects decision- how in their operations for the betterment of the
making required under the Local Government Act. city. There is also no town planner in Greater Suva.
t The ongoing improvement in rate collection has
boosted the financial position and strength of
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URBAN PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
1313
LAND DEVELOPMENT AND ADMINISTRATION
Greater Suva covers an extensive area of land comprising and laws. As a result, land is released for housing
native or customary land, State and freehold land. The without going through the proper legal channels. This
utilization of land in the area for urban development has led to the rise in illegal informal settlements and
is directly influenced by factors such as terrain and developments on customary land that lack access to
non-favourable topography, which hike infrastructure basic urban services. These developments also affect the
costs and results in slow implementation of capital supply of basic urban services to the formal areas due to
infrastructure programmes such as construction illegal connections to the service systems.
of transport, water and sewerage systems. The
limited provision of infrastructure to accommodate The level of understanding, knowledge and skills of
development in the city has resulted in the delayed land development agencies on the land development
implementation of urban development programmes in process has also affected the manner in which land has
Greater Suva. been developed in the Greater Suva. There is a clear
indication of limited professionals and underqualified
Customary landowners misunderstand and misinterpret and inexperienced personnel recruited by land agencies.
the legal rights to development. This misinterpretation is There is also very little investment in capacity-building
worsened by the lack of knowledge of land use processes and institutional strengthening.
GREATER SUVA URBAN PROFILE - LAND DEVELOPMENT AND ADMINISTRATION
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INFRASTRUCTURE AND BASIC URBAN SERVICES
1515
and Environment has embarked on its programme of Lengthy administrative and procurement processes
implementing the strategies of the National Housing also play a role in the growth of informal settlements.
Policy (2011). The major challenge of housing in Fiji, Documentation and tender processes delay project
more specifically in Greater Suva, is the associated high implementation such that by the time project works
costs of developing housing land, given the terrain. begin, the settlement population has been doubled,
Land for housing is expensive and this has contributed leading to needed amendments and variation costs.
to the increased growth of informal settlements.
There has been increasing interest by landowning units
Limited sewerage reticulation services have limited to engage in formal subdivision works, compared to
the development of high-rise residential buildings previous practices of releasing land for housing under
and multi-unit residential or apartment housing. For the “vakavanua” arrangements.
instance, Toorak and growth areas on the periphery of
the Central Business District have been subjected to Resettlement or relocation of squatters in the event
conversions for commercial development, including of land to be developed for housing (for example. the
offices rather than increasing housing stock. In Nasinu, Namara Settlement), is costly for the government. The
there is increasing housing stock because most of the situation is worsened by the slow delivery of squatter
area is connected to sewerage systems and all new upgrading projects, resulting from limited professionals
subdivisions require sewerage connections. or qualified people to efficiently and effectively
carry out the project to completion. There is also a
High demand for housing has resulted in the increased slow acknowledgement by councils on partnership
growth of residential areas in Nasinu. This has resulted contribution to improve the urban environment.
GREATER SUVA URBAN PROFILE - INFRASTRUCTURE AND BASIC URBAN SERVICES
A study has recorded that close to half the 200 settlements Search for employment and better education
in Fiji are in Greater Suva. While the number of squatter opportunities are the major factors pushing rural
settlements has stalled in Suva and Nasinu, there is an dwellers to the urban areas. There are high resource
increase in the density of the existing settlements, for skills in the squatter settlements for small business
example Wailea in Suva, Caubati Central and Omkar ventures but there are limited facilities or avenues to
in Nasinu. market their products.
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CLIMATE CHANGE AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT
There has not been a major disaster in Greater Suva through the Wailea and Jittu settlements, because they
in the last 10 years, although Cyclone Ami had some were near the sewer treatment plant for Suva.
impact in Nausori, causing many businesses to shift
location in anticipation of major floods. Evidence of impacts of climate change is not documented
adequately and the small ratio of disaster to casualties
The vulnerable areas are the squatter settlements along contributes to little acknowledgement of the impact
River Road in Narere, Nasinu as well as those along of climate change in the urban centres. This little
the coastal fringes and river banks like Tamavua River, information indirectly encourages local governments
Kalekana in Lami and Nanuku Settlement in Vatuwaqa. to make only slight efforts in formulating their own
There is also great concern about the vulnerability of disaster reduction and management plans, leaving that
squatters in terms of urban health and lower or poor task to the National Disaster Management Office which
living conditions. Squatters are susceptible to fire and has become the central coordinating agency for disaster
diseases such as the 2010 typhoid epidemic which swept management in Fiji.
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ng
ent
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GREATER SUVA URBAN PROFILE
The Suva Urban Profiling consists of an accelerated, action-oriented assessment of urban conditions, focusing on priority needs,
capacity gaps, and existing institutional responses at local and national levels. The purpose of the study is to develop urban
poverty reduction policies at local, national, and regional levels, through an assessment of needs and response mechanisms, and
as a contribution to the wider-ranging implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. The study is based on analysis
of existing data and a series of interviews with all relevant urban stakeholders, including local communities and institutions,
civil society, the private sector, development partners, academics, and others. The consultation typically results in a collective
agreement on priorities and their development into proposed capacity-building and other projects that are all aimed at urban
poverty reduction. The urban profiling is being implemented in 30 ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) countries, offering an
opportunity for comparative regional analysis. Once completed, this series of studies will provide a framework for central and
local authorities and urban actors, as well as donors and external support agencies.
HS Number: HS/081/12E
ISBN Number (Series): 978-92-1-132023-7
ISBN Number (Volume): 978-92-1-132495-2
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