The Minister of Health and Medical Services, Dr. Atonio Lalabalavu, announced that the construction of a new National Rehabilitation Centre has received approval from both the Fijian Government and Korea. This new facility will replace the outdated Tamavua Military Hospital, also known as the former Tamavua Rehabilitation Facility.
Dr. Lalabalavu stated that the Cabinet has sanctioned a subsidiary agreement between the Ministry of Health and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to facilitate the establishment of Fiji’s National Rehabilitation Centre. KOICA will contribute a grant-in-aid of $22.2 million for this project.
For the past ten months, the Ministry of Health and KOICA have collaborated closely to prepare the site for the KOICA Construction Team, which is expected to begin work next January. Additionally, the Latter-day Saints Charity has pledged $300,000 to assist with the temporary relocation of the rehabilitation hospital to Twomey Hospital during the construction phase. Furthermore, the Government has set aside $400,000 for the demolition and preparation of the current hospital site for the new facility.