More than $40 million is needed for the rehabilitation work to restore Levuka to its State of Outstanding Universal Value as a World Heritage Site, while $300,000 is needed for the Deed of Cession site.
This was revealed by Ministry for iTaukei Affairs Secretary for Operations, Paula Tuione, and Sipriano Nemani from the Department of Culture and Heritage, to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Affairs.
Tuione says $50,000 was provided for the rehabilitation work at the Levuka Deed of Cession site, and they have used $42,369 for preliminary scoping and regulatory works.
When questioned by Committee member Parveen Bala on whether the cost of work at the Deed of Cession site was initially $50,000 before scoping was done, Nemani said after the scoping and preparatory work, they were able to ascertain the actual cost of the total rehabilitation of the site.
He says one of their key priorities is to ensure the project conforms to the Outstanding Universal Values that qualified Levuka as a World Heritage Site.
Nemani says rehabilitation work to restore Levuka to its heritage status is estimated to cost more than $40 million.
He adds this assessment was conducted following Cyclone Winston in 2016.
Nemani says one of their key achievements is the rehabilitation of the Levuka Community Centre, which is now ready for opening.
However, he highlights that a major issue remains with several residential buildings left idle since Cyclone Winston, with only minimal restoration done.
He says their main aim now is to assist affected households so they can restore these heritage buildings.
Nemani adds that the majority of the funding is being provided by the government, and current efforts are focused on restoring residential houses that require rehabilitation.
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