28 Jun 2002

Lease problems hold up Studio City project in Fiji

3:47 pm on 28 June 2002

Work on the 1-billion US dollar Studio City development in Fiji has been held up because lease agreements have not been finalised.

The company behind the Studio City project, Paradise Entertainment Limited, says a draft agreement for the native title portion of the 2,200 hectares of land ahs been received from the Native Land Trust Board.

But the company's executive chairman, Philip Gerlach, says this only covers about 27 percent of the land in question.

Mr Gerlach says the company is pursuing lease agreements for the other 73 percent of the land which is state property and a foreshore area.

The Studio City project envisages the development of facilities for film production and an audio-visual industry in northwestern Viti Levu on land currently used as a cattle ranch.

Mr Gerlach says as soon as the lease agreement s are finalised, development work will begin.