Fiji revives Bridgecorp's Momi Bay resort

An abandonded Fiji resort development that Rod Petricevic and other Bridgecorp directors poured $106 million into is being revived, the island nation's military ruler has announced.

The half-finished Momi Bay resort was the largest property project Bridgecorp had put money towards and in 2006 was to have been the biggest resort development in Fiji and the South Pacific.

The project was running behind schedule and had run into trouble well before Bridgecorp collapsed in July 2007, owing $459 million to 14,500 investors.

In 2009 the Fijian military regime seized Momi Bay against the wishes of Bridgecorp receivers in an effort to stem the losses of the Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF), which had a $60 million exposure to Momi.

While the resort site has languished and struggled to find a buyer since then, Fiji's military leader Frank Bainimarama has announced the FNPF will invest around $150 million (NZ$103 million) to complete the first stage of the development.

"I'm pleased to announce that stage one of the Momi Resort development, will commence at the beginning of the second quarter of 2013. Accordingly, FNPF will complete the development of the resort with an estimated investment of $150m. Government of course will assist this initiative by ensuring that this project is completed expeditiously," the Fiji government radio reported the military leader saying.