, the local labour market conditions are anticipated to improve through increased hiring intentions and incomes, on the back of higher economic activity forecast for this year. construction sector in 2010, the construction sector is estimated to have grown by 3. 9 percent – an upward revision compared to the previous forecast of 2. 7 percent growth. the upward revision is largely from the central government activity. as expected for building and construction industries, activity in this sector can be volatile depending on construction projects. over the period 2005 to 2009, the sector has contributed on average 3. 0 percent to gdp. the contribution of the construction sector increased from 2001 onwards and peaked in 2003 – contributing around 4. 7 percent to gdp. this is attributed to increased construction activity due to the south pacific game in 2003. in 2009, in relation to other sectors of the economy, the building and construction sector contributed around 2. 9 percent to total gdp. in terms of formal paid employment, the sector contributed around 1. 1 percent of total paid employment in 2010. as an indicator of building and construction activities, the latest construction report by the fiji bureau of statistics ( fbos ) revealed that in 2010, a total of 1, 204 building permits were issued – valued at $ 123. 3 million. the number and value of permits issued increased by 7. 6 percent and 21. 0 percent, respectively. in addition, a total of 413 completion certificates valued at $ 92. 3 million were issued. this represented an annual increase of 19. 0 percent and 42. 9 percent, respectively. following the real estate boom and increased investment in tourism industry in 2006, lending to the building & construction sector rose to $ 202. 2 million. in 2010, loans to the building & construction sector fell by 7. 3 percent to $ 201 million, attributed to the decline in lending to the hotels & tourism sub - sector. economic costs of natural disasters fiji has been prone to numerous natural disasters. in a study by sopac, in the period 1970 to 2007, fiji was on the receiving end of numerous forces of nature. this includes tropical cyclones, floods and droughts. according to the report, the direct cost of disaster events in fiji for 1970 – 2007 was estimated to be about us $ 532 million. cyclones accounted for the highest proportion of total costs reported for fiji during 1970 – 2007, reflecting its dominance. let me now touch on the national building code ( nbc ), its importance and how the reserve bank of fiji became involved in the early

willem f duisenberg : assessment of the euro cash changeover and the ecb view on recent monetary and economic developments keynote address by dr willem f duisenberg, president of the european central bank, at the new year's reception of the international club of economic journalists, frankfurt, 14 january 2002. * * * thank you very much for inviting me to participate in today's new year reception. in my speech today, i will address two issues, neither of which is likely to come as a surprise to you. first, i should like to assess the euro cash changeover, which started a fortnight ago. second, i should like to share with you the view of the governing council of the european central bank ( ecb ) on recent monetary and economic developments. a first assessment of the euro cash changeover on 1 january 1999 the euro was established as a new currency. two weeks ago, the euro banknotes and coins were issued and became legal tender in the countries participating in the euro area. with their arrival, the process of introducing a single european currency, as agreed in maastricht in 1991, is complete. paying with a single currency in daily transactions throughout the euro area can be regarded as an achievement of historic proportions and as a major step in the process of european integration. the eurosystem, the ecb and the 12 national central banks ( ncbs ) of the euro area as well as all other parties involved were quite confident – although of course not 100 % certain – that the euro cash changeover would be a success, given the enormous efforts and preparations which went into this unprecedented operation. now, two weeks after the introduction of the euro banknotes and coins, i can even say that, given the scale of the task, the operation has so far progressed very smoothly, even beyond our own expectations. here and there some minor mishaps have occurred and may continue to occur, but this is quite normal for such a massive operation, involving more than 300 million people in 12 countries. the introduction of euro banknotes and coins has been a complex and ambitious undertaking which requires – in addition to understanding and co - operation on the part of the public – organisational, logistical, technical and economic efforts on the part of those sectors directly involved in the use of banknotes and coins. i should like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all these parties, such as retailers, the vending machine industry, cash - in - transit companies and