Fiji Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in fiji, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Water and Wastewater Treatment
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Overview

Water supply services have reached critical levels due to aging infrastructure assets.  The Fijian government faces a mammoth challenge of replacing a 50-year-old pipe system; a project that is expected to cost $223.8 million (FJ$500 million).  Forty seven percent of treated water is lost through leakage in the pipe system.  Temporary measures have helped to reduce water disruptions while a long-term plan to upgrade and replace the existing infrastructure is being rolled out.

Around 82 percent of Fiji’s population has access to safe drinking water, including 58 percent of those who reside in rural areas and 98 percent of urban dwellers.  Only 28 percent of the population has access to the central sewerage system. 

The Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) will undergo a major institutional revamp which will include a review of the current water tariffs.  Fiji has the cheapest residential water rates in the Pacific at $0.07 cents (FJ$0.15 cents) per 1000 megaliters.  Furthermore, the free water allowance scheme provides free water to households with an annual household income of less than $13,500 (FJ$30,000) for up to 92,500 liters of water per year.  This means that WAF is not able to meet its operational costs and relies heavily on government funding for operational and capital expenditures.  Most contractors engaged by WAF are Australian and New Zealand based firms and specialists.

Leading Sub-Sectors

  • Water engineering
  • Water and wastewater plant construction
  • Equipment supply
  • Smart water technologies such as leak detection solutions and water analytics.  

Opportunities

In June 2023, the Fijian government announced plans to improve water sources, build new disaster resilient infrastructure for water treatment facilities, improve wastewater operations, and prioritize digital transformation.  The Fijian government continues to focus on improving access to water supplies in rural areas.

Resources

To receive tender notices, subscribe to the WAF e-procurement portal: portal.tenderlink.com/waterauthority-fiji.  The Water Authority of Fiji is a member of the Pacific Water and Wastewater Association, an association of public water utility organizations in the Pacific Islands.  WAF is a statutory body under the Ministry of Public Works, Transport, and Meteorological Services.

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