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Japan Assists Levuka Town's Road and Seawall Imrpovement Project

The town of Levuka in the island of Ovalau now has better protection against the strong ocean currents, which was provided by the Government of Japan in its assistance scheme.

The Government of Japan provided a grant of US$79,868 (F$135,622) to the Levuka Town Council in December 2003, for the procurement of materials and labour for the improvement of both road and seawall. In particular, the need for a new seawall arose since the existing one had deteriorated excessively and provided little protection for the town coastline and also posed a threat to the public.
The new seawall was constructed under the supervision of Mr.Yoshikata Kubosaki, a Japanese civil engineer working in Fiji under the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer (JOCV) scheme.

The Government of Japan views such project as an ideal 'project type cooperation' opportunity where Japan can provide both the technical skills and the financial resources to assist in rural development projects while at the same time effecting a transfer of specialist skills from the Japanese expert to the local counterparts in Fiji.

The Ambassador of Japan, H.E. Mr. Kenro Iino will visit Levuka on Tuesday, 29th June 2004 to officially hand-over the seawall project to the Mayor of Levuka, Mr. Mosese Vunivutu.