37-house village plan

GOVERNMENT will construct 37 twobedroom houses with eight communal septic tanks, a concrete footpath and concrete foot crossings as part of relocating Nabavatu Village in Dreketi,Vanua Levu.

This is contained in the tender documents released by the Ministry of Rural & Maritime Development and Disaster Management (MRMDDM).

The construction of the houses, which will have two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a porch will be done to withstand Category 5 cyclone, states the tender’s scope of work.

“The MRMDDM recognises the need to relocate Nabavatu Village due to the eminent danger they are facing based on Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources (MLMR) findings and the need to construct conducive and permanent houses,” the tender document states.

“The design and construction works will ensure that the facilities are designed and constructed in compliance with the national Building Code of Fiji for natural disasters, as well as meet required compliance to other by-law.”

Nabavatu Village was affected by the Tropical Cyclone Ana in 2021 and the decision for the relocation was approved by the Peoples’ Coalition Cabinet on February 27, 2024.

There are four phases for the relocation project, with phase 1 including site clearing and road access already underway.

Phase 2 includes the procurement of housing materials, construction and water reticulation, and grid connections and Phase 3 will see the construction of footpaths and footbridges within the community.

The relocation project is estimated to take 35 weeks.