The Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management has reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to building safer, more inclusive, and climate-resilient rural infrastructure during a technical workshop focused on validating the new minimum standard designs for rural community access roads, footpaths, and footbridges in Suva yesterday.
In addressing participants during the workshop, Permanent Secretary for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management, Mr. Isoa Talemaibua emphasised that connectivity remained one of the most pressing challenges for Fiji’s rural population, more than 40 percent of whom depend on narrow footpaths, modest footbridges, and rough access roads to reach essential services such as schools, health clinics, markets, and government offices.
“The establishment of these minimum standard designs is not just a matter of engineering—it is a matter of equity, safety, and dignity,” Mr. Talemaibua said.
Supported through the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Governance for Resilient Development in the Pacific (Gov4Res) Programme, the workshop builds on the Ministry’s ongoing collaboration with development partners since 2020. A key area of this partnership includes the piloting of Risk Informed Development (RID) programmes—an approach that considers and mitigates climate and disaster risks in the planning and execution of development projects.
The proposed Minimum Standard Designs aims to ensure that all rural infrastructure projects meet baseline requirements for safety, climate resilience, cost-effectiveness, environmental sustainability, and social inclusion.
“We envision a rural Fiji with good access—where no mother should have to carry her sick child across a dangerous log bridge and no farmer should be stranded during a flood because of a collapsed culvert.”
Having standardised designs, Mr Talemaibua said, would improve project efficiency and quality control. The initiative will provide frontline officers with user-friendly templates for early project scoping and equip local contractors with clear expectations for construction standards.
Mr. Talemaibua highlighted that these efforts would also strengthen partnerships with donor agencies and non-government organisations (NGOs) by instilling confidence that their investments would be durable, impactful, and aligned with national development goals.