South Pacific’s New-Look Ports
By Sallyanne R. Shute-Trembath

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Upgraded facilities have improved turnaround times at Suva and Lautoka and offer better protection against earthquakes and tsunamis

Ships are now safer as a result of the project’s seismic protection processes

Workers’ productivity has risen as a result of port infrastructure improvements

Suva Port’s extended wharf enables ships to enter and leave the port faster

It is 6:30 on a Saturday morning and the Capitaine Tasman, loaded with a cargo of timber and taro, is about to leave Suva’s King’s Wharf, the Fiji Islands’ busiest international port. As the ship glides across the glassy ocean on its voyage to New Zealand, it passes the Pacific Islander II, a car-carrying vessel arriving from Japan.

The transition between one cargo ship loading and leaving, and another vessel arriving and unloading appears seamless, but the efficient turnaround is largely due to the Fiji Ports Development Project, funded by ADB and the Fiji Ports Corporation.

“The Fiji Ports Development Project has significantly impacted Fiji’s economy in a positive way,” says Savenaca Narube, governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji. “The project finished on time, in budget, and was a good example of engineering best practices.”

“The project has made Fiji’s two main ports, [Suva and Lautoka], the best in the region, comparable with Australia and New Zealand,” says Waqa Bauleka, head of the engineering department at the Fiji Ports Corporation, the executing agency for the project.

Rehabilitated Wharf

Both King’s Wharf in Suva and Queen’s Wharf in Lautoka are located on Viti Levu, the largest of the Fiji islands. Both ports were built more than 40 years ago, and about 1,000 vessels berth at the ports each year. Back in the 1960s, iji Islands’ ports were not protected from earthquakes or other natural disasters, cargo was not moved in containers, and heavy loads were unheard of. Before the project, Suva port’s deck was extremely corroded, riddled with concrete cancer; lighting was poor; and the deck’s ability to withstand heavy cargo loads was also in doubt.

The Queen’s Wharf is the country’s biggest export wharf. Walking along the wharf’s rehabilitated and extended deck, the sharp smell of pine fills the air as wood chips are loaded onto a ship bound for Japan. Once they reach their destination, they will be pulped and transformed into paper. Just meters from where the wood chips are being loaded, the Cape Scott is standing by to have its hull filled with sugar that will soon be bound for Europe.

Model of Efficiency

Lautoka’s port may seem a model of efficiency now, but it was not always like this. The port was originally built with only one berth, which meant that if a cruise ship came in while a cargo vessel was unloading, the cargo ship had to abandon its task and go out to sea to make way for the cruise ship, which had priority of berth.

Suva’s port is the largest general cargo port in the Fiji Islands. Groceries, hardware, cars, beer, wheat, and coconut oil are loaded on or off vessels here. Lautoka Port mainly deals with sugar, molasses, wood chips, and bottled water.

The director of ADB’s Pacific Operations Division, Sirpa Jarvenpaa, was the project officer and mission leader on the ports project when it was approved back in 2002. She says ADB and the Government of the Fiji Islands decided that extending the life of the Suva and Lautoka ports was a good interim solution to the problems they faced.

The Fiji Ports Development Project aimed to extend the life of Suva’s port by 15 years, protect the port from earthquakes, improve the wharf deck and container yards to efficiently handle the increasing cargo loads, and extend Lautoka Port to allow three vessels to berth at any given time.

The project has significantly enhanced the Suva and Lautoka ports’ productivity and capacity. Ships can enter and leave the ports faster, both ports are much more organized and streamlined than before, and Suva Port can now withstand earthquakes due to the seismic protection processes that were built into the project.

“We want to mainstream climate-proofing or climate change–adaptation features in infrastructure across the Pacific, and we are hoping to have some additional resources to finance the incremental cost,” says Jarvenpaa.

Mechanized Stevedoring

Once both wharves were upgraded, the conditions were right for the government to invest in mobile cranes that facilitated mechanized stevedoring and raised productivity. The commissioning of the cranes has made Suva and Lautoka ports four times more efficient. On average, 20 containers per vessel are lifted per hour. Ten years ago, the average lift rate was only about five containers per vessel per hour. Security at both ports has also increased due to the government’s purchase of 24/7 surveillance cameras.

Now that the harbor cranes are in operation, heavy loads are no problem, thanks to the newly strengthened deck. “The heaviest thing we ever loaded off a ship in Suva was a 180-ton electricity generator,” says Bauleka. “We loaded it on to the newly rehabilitated deck and brought in a specialized trailer from Australia with 40 or 50 axles. It took 3 days for us to deliver it to the Kinoya Power station, 15 kilometers away, traveling mostly at night.” The generator now supports Suva’s power supplies.

Transport infrastructure is a major focus of ADB’s work in the Pacific. Geography poses a significant challenge for development in the region, and Pacific island countries rely on international connectivity made possible by international aviation and shipping services. The vast majority of trade in the Pacific is carried by international shipping with countries outside of the region. Suva and Lautoka ports facilitate outbound access to international markets for agricultural and marine products, enabling rural producers to expand their businesses and provide local jobs. The continued development of the Pacific region depends on efficient transport services that will lead to better pricing structures for exports and imports, improved conditions for private sector investment, more jobs, and poverty reduction.

Parmesh Chand, now permanent secretary of the interim Prime Minister’s Office, was the chief executive officer of the Public Enterprises Ministry during the project. He says ADB has a long history of working on port infrastructure in the Fiji Islands, and in the future he would like to see more private sector engagement in port operations, particularly in the area of loading and unloading cargo.

The Fiji Ports Development Project was completed in late 2006. Suva and Lautoka ports are now well positioned to accommodate future growth in trade and guard against natural disasters.