SUVA, May 12 -- Fiji is pleased with a highway project in the South Pacific island country's north undertaken by China Railway First Group Co., Ltd the government said Monday.

Neil Cook, chief executive officer of the Fiji Roads Authority (FRA) said work on the Nabouwalu-Dreketi highway project in Fiji's Northern Division has been progressing very well and "we are pleased with the progress."

To date, about 40 percent of work has been completed by China Railway First Group under the Fiji Roads Authority for the project, government statistics show.

"The contractors -- China Railway have adjusted well to the requirements FRA has imposed to deliver improved quality of construction and materials," the Ministry of Information quoted Cook as saying.

The Fiji Roads Authority and its consultants are pleased with the way China Railway First Group has worked with them to overcome obstacles and to ensure Fiji's Northern Division benefits from a superbly constructed highway for many years to come, Cook added.

With an estimated total cost of some 124 million U.S. dollars, the Nabouwalu-Dreketi highway project is a four-year long project by the Fijian government with the Fiji Roads Authority.