The Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts together with the Australian Government are now ready to commence work for a permanent rebuild of destroyed buildings at Lekutu Secondary School. The Australian Government through its Departments of Foreign Affairs and Defence will build two concrete classroom blocks consisting of three classrooms each.
Australian Defence Force (ADF) officers are currently under quarantine and will complete isolation over the coming weeks. Work is planned to commence this month till November 2021. After which, the personnel will redeploy in 2022 to complete all other works as per the project schedule.
Minister for Education Rosy Akbar says, “The permanent structures would be constructed to withstand category 5 cyclones, as our government believes in building back better. I am thankful to the Australian Government (DFAT) for providing support towards education and our schools rebuilding phase.”
As part of its Bilateral Agreement, the Australian Government has committed AUD $12.5 million to rebuild nine schools that sustained structural damages due to TC Yasa, over the next three-year period.
This year, FJD$8 million dollars has been allocated towards the first of the three phases of this project. This will be used to rebuild Nukubolu Primary School and Wailevu West District School in Cakaudrove and Ratu Luke Primary School in Bua.
The ADF personnel will be assisted by officers of the Fiji Military Forces.