The Minister for Health and Medical Services, Dr. Atonio Lalabalavu, announced that the Government of Fiji and the government of Korea have approved the construction of a new National Rehabilitation Centre. This facility will replace the outdated Tamavua Military Hospital, previously known as the Tamavua Rehabilitation Facility.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 develop Fiji’s National Rehabilitation Centre. KOICA is set to provide a grant-in-aid of $22.2 million for the project.
Over the past ten months, the Ministry of Health has collaborated closely with KOICA to prepare the site, and they anticipate that the KOICA construction team will start work at the site next January. Additionally, the Latter Day Saints Charity has offered $300,000 to assist with the temporary relocation of rehabilitation services to Twomey Hospital during construction. The government has also earmarked $400,000 for the demolition and site preparation for the new rehabilitation hospital.