A new Regional Training Collaboration and Awareness Centre is expected to be constructed by the end of 2024. This announcement was made last Friday by Harish Pratap, the Acting Director of the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS), during a Meteorological Observation Training session at their Nadi headquarters.
The project, which is being funded by the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), will have an estimated budget of USD$12 million (FJ$24 million). Mr. Pratap stated, “We are working on a project called a Regional Training Collaboration and Awareness Centre.”
Currently, preparations are underway at the proposed site located behind the FMS headquarters. Mr. Pratap mentioned that a team from Japan is scheduled to visit Fiji from September 19 to 23 to finalize the structural design of the building. He anticipates that the ground preparation will be completed in 2024, with construction expected to commence either at the end of 2025 or early 2026.
Takashi OBA, an assistant resident representative from JICA, confirmed that the project is in its preparatory phase. He noted, “We are implementing a preparatory survey for the new grant aid project for the construction of the new training centre,” adding that the Centre will be located within the FMS compound.
During the training event last Friday, fourteen participants successfully completed the Meteorological Observation Training, which was sponsored by JICA in collaboration with FMS. The focus of the training was to improve the participants’ skills in data interpretation and weather forecasting.