Praneeta Prakash 
[Source: UNCOP]
Two remote villages in Buca on Vanua Levu and Tiliva on Kadavu, are set to benefit from improved access to renewable energy thanks to a grant from the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific.
This as the cabinet has endorsed an agreement for the three million dollar grant, administered through the Asian Development Bank (ADB), to fund the Rural Electrification Support Project.
This project aims to transform the energy landscape of these villages by expanding and upgrading Buca village’s mini-hydropower facility.
This will increase the village’s renewable energy supply and provide a more reliable source of power.
Under the project, Buca and Tiliva villages will be allowed to use the power generation facilities and also assume the operation and maintenance responsibilities of their respective power generation facility under a leasing agreement between the Department of Energy and respective villages.
It is estimated that approximately 190 households or approximately 1,070 individuals at the two locations combined, will directly benefit from the Project by improving their access to electricity generated from renewable energy sources.
The Project also aims to strengthen capacity for operation and maintenance through institutional strengthening of the Department of Energy and other relevant energy sector agencies in planning, budgeting, and executing the operation and maintenance programme.
Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
