Suva’s fine new tower

The Reserve Bank of Fiji, formerly the Central Monetary Authority, is about to move into its splendid new headquarters building in Suva, an 18-storey tower which dominates the city skyline and provides occupants with great views of the Harbour and southern Viti Levu.

Work began on the 60m tall building in March, 1981, as a joint venture between White Industries, Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, and J.S.Hill and Associates of Suva. The edifice has cost $10.5 million.

Facilities include vaults which occupy four podium level floors, two of them beneath the surface. The Reserve Bank will control these, and three floors of the tower block. The rest will be tenanted.

A feature of the building is a computer-controlled manage ment system to conserve ener gy used for lighting, lifts and air conditioning. All below-street entrances to the building can be sealed, water-tight, a precau tion against the albeit remote possibility of another tidal wave like that which hit Suva on September 14, 1953.

The building is of reinforced concrete clad in ’’Granosite” a resin-bonded marble aggregate finish. More than 4500 cubic metres of concrete and 1200 tonnes of reinforcing steel were used in the construction. The building has a total floor space of 10,000 sq metres and has been built to comply with the very stringent New Zealand seismic code.