Prime Minister and COP23 President Voreqe Bainimarama has announced a major loan agreement of 405‑million US dollars that will benefit more than 220,000 people in Suva.
The investment will improve the water and wastewater infrastructure of the greater Suva area.
The agreement was signed early this morning between the Fijian Government and the European Investment Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Green Climate Fund.
Bainimarama says the European Investment Bank has contributed up to US$75 million to this project and has thanked them for recognising the need to deploy substantial amounts of capital to reduce the risk of climate change, in both mitigation and adaptation.
He says in Suva’s case, aging infrastructure stretching back to colonial times collapsed under the weight of a growing urban population, heavy rains and inadequate wastewater management.
Bainimarama says the government realised just how vulnerable the infrastructure was to climate change in the form of extreme weather events and sea level rise.
He says fortunately, the government was able to find partners to provide a solution and the means to better serve the 30% of the population who live in the greater Suva corridor.
Bainimarama says in Suva’s case, public health, the environment and climate change all come together in this project.
He says when it is finished, the people of the capital and its surrounding areas will be healthier, safer and better protected from the more severe consequences that are coming.
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