Overview
Construction is one of the most significant drivers of the Fijian economy — and one of the most legally complex sectors we act in. Hotel and resort development, public infrastructure (roads, ports, airports, schools, hospitals), residential and commercial real-estate development, and the donor-funded infrastructure projects of the multilateral development banks together account for a substantial share of inbound capital and ongoing economic activity.
Our construction and infrastructure practice covers the full lifecycle of these projects — from the structuring conversations at the outset, through the procurement and contracting process, the execution-phase project management, the disputes that inevitably arise on substantial projects, and the post-completion operational arrangements. We act for developers, contractors, subcontractors, financiers, multilateral funders, public-sector clients and the insurers and bonding providers that support the sector.
The work draws on our banking-and-finance practice for project-finance and security work, our commercial group for the contracting and bonding documentation, our real-property team for the underlying land arrangements, and our litigation team for the inevitable disputes that arise on substantial construction projects.
The sectors we serve
The Fijian construction market is concentrated in a handful of major segments, each with its own commercial dynamic and legal architecture.
Hotel & resort development
The single largest driver of Fijian construction. New hotels, resort properties, branded-residence developments and the substantial refurbishment programmes of existing properties together represent the bulk of high-value construction activity in the country. The legal work typically combines real-property structuring (including land arrangements over freehold, state lease or iTaukei lease), foreign-investment registration under the Investment Act 2021, construction contracting, project finance, and the operating arrangements (management agreements, branding licences) that follow completion.
Public & donor-funded infrastructure
Road, port, airport, school and hospital infrastructure, often funded by the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Australian and New Zealand bilateral programmes, or through the Pacific Resilience Facility. These projects bring their own contractual frameworks, donor compliance regimes and procurement requirements — and we have acted as Fiji-side counsel on the documentation and compliance work that supports them.
Commercial & residential development
Office towers, retail centres, apartment developments and substantial single-family residential projects, predominantly in the Suva and Nadi corridors. The legal architecture is typically simpler than hotel development but the disputes profile is similar — delay, defects, variations and payment claims are the recurrent matters.
Industrial & energy infrastructure
Manufacturing facilities, fuel and energy infrastructure, telecommunications towers, and the industrial-services facilities that support major employers. Includes renewable-energy projects (covered separately in our environment and climate practice).
Construction contracting
Most substantial Fijian construction projects use one of the FIDIC suite of contracts — the international standard developed by the Fédération Internationale des Ingénieurs-Conseils — typically the Red Book (for construction work where the employer provides the design), the Yellow Book (for design-build work where the contractor takes design responsibility) or the Silver Book (for EPC and turnkey arrangements). The FIDIC framework is well understood by Fijian contractors, by the major foreign contractors operating in the country, and by the regional engineering consultancies that act as engineer or employer's representative on substantial projects.
Where bespoke contracts are used — typically on smaller projects or where a developer has a preferred form — the contracting work is similar in substance but requires more careful drafting of the risk-allocation provisions. We commonly work from a starting position based on FIDIC principles and adapt to the specific commercial requirements of the transaction.
The principal contractual issues
The recurrent risk-allocation conversations on a Fijian construction project typically cover:
- Time and delay — the construction programme, the contractor's entitlement to extensions of time, the employer's entitlement to liquidated damages on late completion, and the framework for assessing concurrent delay.
- Variations and scope — the process for identifying and pricing variations, the contractor's entitlement to additional time and cost for variations, and the procedures for resolving disputes about whether a particular instruction constitutes a variation.
- Payment and certification — the payment regime, the role of the engineer in certifying payments, the procedures for interim and final payment, and the framework for challenging certifications.
- Defects and warranties — the contractor's defects-liability obligations during and after the defects-liability period, the framework for latent defects, and the warranty arrangements supporting the work.
- Risk allocation — including for force majeure, change of law, cyclone and other extreme weather (a substantial Fijian consideration), site conditions, and the various risks specific to the particular project.
- Security and bonding — performance bonds, advance-payment bonds, retention bonds and parent-company guarantees supporting the contractor's obligations.
Bonds & guarantees
Construction bonding is a routine feature of Fijian projects. The principal bonds we encounter are:
- Performance bonds — typically 5–10% of the contract value, supporting the contractor's performance of the works. Usually on-demand bonds issued by Fijian or international banks.
- Advance-payment bonds — supporting any advance payment to the contractor, reducing as the contractor performs and the advance is amortised.
- Retention bonds — sometimes used in place of cash retention, where the contractor provides a bond rather than allowing the employer to withhold retention from progress payments.
- Parent-company guarantees — where the contracting entity is a special-purpose subsidiary, the parent provides a guarantee of the subsidiary's obligations.
- Bid bonds — supporting the tenderer's commitment during the procurement process.
The drafting and enforcement of construction bonding is an area where small drafting errors create large enforceability questions. The wording of the bond should be settled at the outset of the project and should accompany the contract documentation.
Public-Private Partnerships
Fiji's Public-Private Partnership Act provides the framework for PPP transactions in the country. Major PPP projects undertaken in Fiji have included road infrastructure, port development, water and wastewater services, and certain accommodation and facilities arrangements. The PPP framework involves a multi-stage procurement process, substantial due-diligence work, the structuring of the SPV that holds the concession, the project-finance arrangements supporting it, and the long-term concession documentation governing the operational phase.
PPP work brings together construction, finance, real-property, regulatory and operational considerations in a single transaction. Where we are engaged on PPP matters, the work typically spans 12 to 24 months from initial structuring to financial close.
Disputes
Substantial construction projects almost invariably involve some form of dispute. The recurrent categories are delay claims (the contractor seeking extensions of time and cost), variation disputes (whether a particular instruction is a variation and how it should be priced), defects claims, payment disputes (the contractor seeking certification of work claimed; the employer disputing the certification), and the cascading subcontractor disputes that follow on substantial projects.
The dispute-resolution framework on a Fijian construction project typically follows the contractual hierarchy: engineer's determination (under FIDIC), followed by negotiation between the parties, followed by some form of expert adjudication or dispute board, followed by arbitration or court proceedings. The arbitration framework in Fiji recognises both domestic and international arbitration; New York Convention awards are enforceable in Fiji.
Our litigation and arbitration team has acted on substantial construction disputes including delay claims, defects matters, payment disputes and subcontractor claims. The work is fact-heavy, evidence-intensive and benefits from the structured project-management approach we apply to substantial matters.
Climate-resilient construction
Fiji is a country exposed to tropical cyclones, coastal-erosion pressure and the broader physical effects of climate change. Construction work in the country is increasingly framed by climate-resilience considerations — both at the design and engineering stage, and in the legal and contractual frameworks that allocate the risks of cyclone events and other climate-related disruptions.
Where we act on substantial projects, the climate-resilience conversation is increasingly central to the legal architecture. Risk allocation for cyclone events, force-majeure provisions reflecting the increasing frequency of extreme weather, insurance arrangements covering the construction phase and operational phase, and the design standards reflecting the latest Pacific climate science — all of these now feature in the documentation. Our environment-and-climate practice supports the construction practice on these matters.
What we do
Construction contracts
FIDIC suite, bespoke contracts, design-build and EPC arrangements, professional appointments.
Development agreements
Joint-venture and co-development arrangements, off-plan sales, branded residences, hotel management contracts.
Bonds & guarantees
Performance, advance-payment, retention and parent-company guarantees; bid bonds and warranty support.
Project finance
Construction-loan documentation, security perfection, multi-source financings, donor-funded project compliance.
Public-Private Partnerships
PPP procurement, SPV structuring, concession documentation, financial close support.
Building permits & consents
Local-authority approvals, building-code compliance, sector-specific regulatory consents.
Subcontracts
Subcontractor agreements, back-to-back provisions, payment-chain protections and dispute machinery.
Construction disputes
Delay, defects, variation and payment claims; adjudication, arbitration and litigation.
Insurance
Construction-all-risks insurance, professional indemnity, public liability, broker engagement and claims.
Climate-resilient documentation
Cyclone risk allocation, force-majeure drafting, climate-adaptation provisions for infrastructure assets.
Building in the Fiji Islands?
Get the contract right.
The contractual risk allocation is the single most consequential decision on any construction project. We will walk through the issues in an exploratory conversation at no cost.
Request a partner call →Frequently asked questions
Which version of FIDIC do you typically use on Fijian projects?+
The choice between the Red, Yellow and Silver Books depends on the design-responsibility allocation. The Red Book (employer-provided design) is common on traditional construction contracts; the Yellow Book (contractor-provided design) is increasingly used on infrastructure work; the Silver Book (EPC/turnkey) is used on energy and industrial projects. We adapt the standard form to Fijian-specific provisions — cyclone risk, governing law, dispute resolution and the operational realities of Fijian sites.
Can construction disputes in Fiji be arbitrated rather than litigated?+
Yes — arbitration is recognised and supported under Fijian law. Most substantial international construction contracts in Fiji provide for arbitration as the final dispute-resolution mechanism, often seated in Fiji or in a regional centre. New York Convention awards are enforceable in Fiji. The arbitration framework is well-developed enough to support major construction disputes.
Are advance-payment bonds standard in Fijian construction contracts?+
Yes — where the employer makes an advance payment (typically 5–20% of the contract value, depending on the project), the contractor will be required to provide an advance-payment bond. The bond reduces in value as the advance is amortised through the progress payments. We routinely draft and review these bonds and the related contractual machinery.
How is cyclone risk typically allocated on a Fijian construction project?+
Cyclone events sit at the intersection of the force-majeure provisions and the construction-insurance arrangements. The standard FIDIC position treats cyclones as employer's-risk events to the extent they exceed the contractor's control, with the contractor entitled to extensions of time but not necessarily to additional cost. The precise allocation is negotiable and should be addressed explicitly in the contract — and supported by appropriately structured construction-all-risks insurance.
Can a foreign contractor work in Fiji?+
Yes — subject to the relevant work-permit and immigration approvals for foreign personnel, the foreign-investment registration where applicable under the Investment Act 2021, and compliance with Fijian construction-licensing and health-and-safety frameworks. Many of the major hotel and infrastructure projects in Fiji have been delivered by foreign contractors operating under appropriate Fijian structures.