Nigel Skeggs, Port Denarau Marina’s CEO, has announced a long-term strategic plan for the future development and growth of the Port Denarau Marina. This plan is currently with the Government and the Land’s Department waiting approval subject to the new Mangrove Resource Management Act due out in 2015.
Land in excess of that required for the current plans has been secured by the company to allow for further expansion in the future.
Skeggs says “Since Port Denarau Marina is an important part of the Fiji tourism infrastructure, providing access to all the resorts in the Yasawas and Mamanucas as well as the operators of tourism experiences such as tours, cruising, fishing and other marine based businesses, yachting and the constantly growing international cruise ship visits, we believe the time has come for us to invest heavily to further develop the infrastructure at Denarau”
The development will be staged over several years, but to successfully build the infrastructure to meet the future demands it is essential to have long-term plan that provides the services that will be required in the future,
Port Denarau Marina has always been very environmentally aware and has, from the start of business, had a separate environmental plan in place. To achieve the objective of protecting the environment the marina adopted a New Zealand program which was developed by marine environmental experts there to keep the total marine environment protected.
Port Denarau Marina has a large boat yard and a number of functions are carried out there that have the potential to damage the marine environment in the port area. This includes activities such as anti-fouling vessels, sanding and paint removal and oil leakage from engines and other mechanical units on the vessels. To ensure that there is no leakage of these contaminants into the harbor, all surface water within the boat yard is collected by a series of drains and delivered to sumps. Within the next two months a new system will be installed which will pass this water through a process that removes all contaminants and holds them for collection and disposal in an approved site, while the clean water is returned to the marine environment or recycled for cleaning purposes.
The harbor is an important fish environment and measures are being put in place to ensure the health and growth of the fish population in the area. A baseline study already conducted has shown that there is remarkable diversity of fish varieties currently enjoying the waters of the harbor and that it has developed into a significant breeding ground.
New development Location
The development is sited on land on the mainland and immediately adjacent to the harbor. Access is by a road to the right on Denarau Road about 300 meters before the Denarau bridge. There is a small river running at right angles to the proposed new road and the development land starts immediately after the bridge is crossed.
There are extensive stands of Mangrove on the site and the scheme seeks to retain large areas particularly along the waterfront as well as in a Mangrove Experience Centre. Raised wooden walkways will allow sightseeing deep within the mangrove stands without the danger of the visitors damaging the delicate environment.
The Sailing Club
A sailing club will be built at the North end of the marina with a hard stand area of 5,000m2 This area will have a large ramp to a sheltered section to the harbor. It is proposed that this facility will provide sailing lessons and more advanced instruction to people who want to learn to sail, particularly children and young adults.
The Marina
A marina, protected from prevailing winds by a barrier of Mangroves, will be built with an access from the harbor. The marina will provide 200 berths on four pontoon arms reaching out from the marina village. The marina will provide the facilities currently available in the leading marinas overseas.
The Marina Village
A village with stores, cafes, restaurants and retail outlets will be developed adjacent to the marina. This will also include office areas and a large residential unit precinct with 100 two and three bedroom apartments, a lot of open space, car park, pool and dedicated parking.
The Maritime School
A Maritime School will be established adjacent to the boat yard. This is ideal for the teaching of maritime subjects and the objective of the facility is to train people in the trades used in boat building and maintenance of vessels typically used in the Fiji waters
The boat yard
A very large hard stand area will be provided by the boat yard with various haul out devices, the largest of which will be a 600 tonnes travel lift capable of lifting any of the vessels currently operating in the western division. There will be workshops for the different trades required by boat owners, buildings for small boat storage and warehouses for goods and materials. The objective is to provide a service that is equal to overseas yards so the cruising and Superyachts can have work carried out in Fiji, adding to the economy.
The Stadium
A football stadium capable of holding 20,000 people will be built next to the boat yard. The facility will have covered stands and open seating with spacious grounds surrounding it on all sides. There will be adequate vehicle parking close to the entrance and access to public transport.
The Industrial and Commercial Zones
Inland from the marina and boat yard there will be a series of buildings designed to provide leasing space for both commercial and Industrial use.
The Harborside apartments
36 residential apartments will be built on the harbor edge with spectacular views to the west of both the harbor and beyond that Nadi Bay. Each apartment will have a personal parking place and there will be a number of nearby places for visitor vehicle parking
The future
The concept of the fully integrated development is the culmination of a great deal of research on best practice worldwide for this sort of integrated tourism, residential and commercial project, and will significantly add to the product variety available in Fiji.
Nigel Skeggs says “We have been steadily building the business and following our strategic plan ever since we started. There have been some really hard times, events such as cyclones that caused significant damage to the infrastructure, changes in government policies and issues in the Fiji tourism industry, but we persevered through all these problems and continued to grow the business.
Now, with the results of the general elections in September 2014, investor confidence has surged and we believe that the future of the tourism industry is very positive”.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Chief Executive officer of Port Denarau Marina Nigel Skeggs,
Email: nigel@denaraumarina.com/ www.denaraumarina.com
Phone: (679)707 5630, (679)6750600
Fax: 6756700
MEDIA RELEASE.