Mr. Ting Wee Liang, President, TotalEnergies Asia Pacific & Middle East – Marketing & Services
Ms. Bhavana Samel, TotalEnergies Deputy Vice President for Southeast Asia and Oceania zone
Mr. Dennis Michael Cuaycong, Managing Director of TotalEnergies Marketing (Fiji) Pte Ltd
Mr. Rajesh Patel, Managing Director, Supreme Fuel Pte Limited
And other Invited Guests
Bula Vinaka and a very good morning to all.
First of all, thank you for inviting me as a Chief Guest for inauguration of TotalEnergies, Ba Service Station.
The opening of this service station shows the level of investor confidence within business sector in Fiji.
This supports the domestic economy which is poised to grow further by 8.0 percent this year, largely driven by the anticipated full recovery in tourism and related sectors with positive flow on effects to the rest of the economy. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fijian economy is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year.
Today, we celebrate TotalEnergies’ recent inauguration of a new service station, and their notable investments include the expansion of storage capacities at their terminals in Walu Bay, Suva and Vuda Point in Lautoka.
Ladies and gentlemen, TotalEnergies have contributed a lot in Fiji especially by providing fuel services to the transport industry as well as to vehicle owners.
I believe, this is the 33rd service station added to the TotalEnergies network and I congratulate them on this success and journey. The station features modern service amenities which includes a bonjour shop, café corner with plan to introduce car wash facility.
The opening of this station has generated job opportunities for approximately 20 individuals during the construction phase and currently employs 15 people for ongoing operations.
Energy is a global necessity and TotalEnergies aims to be a global leader in energy, delivering sustainable solutions to meet the world’s evolving energy needs.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Coalition Government had successfully delivered the very first National Budget of the Coalition Government and have received very positive feedback. The national budget focussed on three key dimensions on building fiscal sustainability, improving the provision of public services and strengthening social protection. The budget had some major tax reforms which has permanently added close to $600 million in additional revenues (approx. 5% of GDP).
We know it will be tough for some and that’s why we have introduced a few expenditure support measures to help the vulnerable and the disadvantaged.
We also had a successful National Economic Summit in April 2023 where key stakeholders including private sector, trade unions, academia, civil society organizations, women’s groups, youth organizations, development partners and the general public participated in a free and open dialogue process which will help to shape national priorities for inclusive and sustainable development.
We strongly believe that private sector led economic rejuvenation is an important pillar to ensure sustainable economic growth which is critical to put the debt to GDP ratio on a consistent downward path, complementing the planned fiscal deficit reductions. However, this requires a number of structural reforms to ensure private sector growth and development is supported.
The role of the private sector is paramount for economic recovery, job creation and overall development. I believe that as a government, we need to listen and create a more enabling environment for our private sector to thrive, through confidence building, streamlining business process to make things easier, investing in public infrastructure, skill development, ensuring rule of law and providing stability.
On global front, we are committed to meet our targets for Sustainable Development Goals and especially Goal 7 to have a ‘clean and affordable energy’ and we are progressing well towards it.
The United Nations High Level Dialogue on Energy 2021, has reflected the market trends on the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. The investment in the energy transition will create three time more jobs when compared with fossil fuel investments.
The National Determined Contribution (NDC) is specific to energy sector in terms of greenhouse gases and we are working together to reduce energy sector CO2 emissions by 10% through energy efficiency improvements economy-wide and this is through transport, industry, and electricity.
I gather that TotalEnergies has aligned with Fiji’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. TotalEnergies’ global climate commitment is harmonious, and their established market position drives them to collaborate with partners and stakeholders on inventive multi-energy solutions to realize this objective.
Based on the net-zero emissions, I strongly suggest that TotalEnergies re-look at their future plans and products that can meet our objectives and targets.
I also gather that TotalEnergies will be installing their first fast EV charging point (50kW) at the Flagship Station in Namaka, Nadi but I suggest that for TotalEnergies to look at renewable energy like solar to operate the station.
One of the outcomes from April 2023 National Economic Summit was for Government to unleash the potential of rural and outer island areas by providing them the infrastructure and resources needed to begin their own economic transformation. We urge TotalEnergies to look at investing in deep rural and maritime areas to achieve this outcome.
Finally, I would like to conclude by expressing my gratitude to TotalEnergies and the great staff of the company. I extend my best wishes to the Company and therefore acknowledge the formal inauguration of TotalEnergies Ba Service Station.