A Regional Training Collaboration and Awareness Centre is planned to be constructed by the end of next year. This announcement was made by Harish Pratap, the Acting Director of the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS), during a Meteorological Observation Training held at their headquarters in Nadi.
The project will be funded by the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with an estimated budget of around USD$12 million (FJ$24 million). “We are working on a project called a Regional Training Collaboration and Awareness Centre,” Mr. Pratap stated.
Currently, preparations are underway 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 added, “We expect our ground preparation to be completed by 2024, with construction commencing either at the end of 2025 or early 2026.”
Takashi OBA, the assistant resident representative of JICA, confirmed that the project is in the preparatory phase. “We are implementing a preparatory survey for the new grant aid project for the construction of the new training centre,” Mr. Takashi remarked, indicating plans to build the Centre within the FMS compound.
Last Friday, fourteen participants completed the Meteorological Observation Training, which was sponsored by JICA in collaboration with FMS. The training aimed to enhance the skills of observers in data interpretation and weather forecasting.