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