Lautoka

Lautoka, city on the northwest coast of the island of Viti Levu, Fiji, South Pacific Ocean. Situated on the dry side of the island, Lautoka (originally called Namoli) serves an important sugarcane-growing district and is Fiji’s leading sugar export port. The Lautoka Sugar Mill is supplied with cane by a private railroad and by trucks that collect cane from the small farms in the vicinity of the city. Roads circling the island link Lautoka to Suva (about 140 miles [225 km] southeast). Lautoka is about 20 miles (30 km) north of the international airport at Nadi (Nandi). Pop. (2007) 52,742.