After spending over four years in tents since the devastation of Tropical Cyclone Ana, villagers of Nabavatu in Dreketi are finally seeing real progress in their relocation.
Minister for Rural and Maritime Development Sakiasi Ditoka told Parliament last week that civil works on the Nabavatu Relocation Project are now 80 per cent complete, paving the way for house construction to begin.
The multi-million dollar project is being delivered in four stages: civil works, home construction, community infrastructure, and final engineering checks.
The Public Works Department is expected to complete road and drainage upgrades by the end of May.
Engineering Express Limited has been awarded the contract to build 37 homes, with construction now in progress and targeted for completion by December.
Two landowning units; mataqali Carakoro and mataqali Uluitoga have agreed to free logging licences to allow timber from their land to be used in construction.
Logging is currently managed by Gold Hold Timber under government supervision.
The ministry is also facilitating the building of an evacuation centre and church for the relocated community, while continuing to cover the villagers’ water bills — around $7000 a year at their current temporary site at the Dreketi Assemblies of God Church.
Humanitarian partners including UNICEF, UNFPA and the Fiji Red Cross have stepped in with vital supplies, from hygiene kits to early childhood essentials.
“This relocation may be inevitable,” Mr Ditoka said.
