Cemetery Expansion begins

Monday 22 July, 19

The Fiji Correction Service is guided by the Public Burials Act to maintain and manage the major public cemeteries in Suva, Nasinu, Vatiwaqa, Labasa, Levuka, plus Tavakubu and Balawa in Lautoka.

Commissioner of Corrections Commander Francis Kean said the demand for burial plots is ever increasing especially for Lovonilase and the New Extension Cemetry in Suva.

“In many cases we have diverted several requests to Nasinu Cemetry which has adequate space and also currently under civil works to develop thousand plus more plots to cater for this demand,’’ he says.

“In certain cases we have requested relatives of the deceased to identify family burial plots which could be reopened.”

Under the Burials Act plots can be reopened after 14 years. In the recent past, the FCS  have been exercising this practice to meet the current demand and more importantly to await the completion of civil works at both the Nasinu and Suva Cemeteries.

“We are also trying our best to consider geographical locations requests coming especially from the Delainavesi to Wainadoi corridor residents. It’s only sensible to allot at plot in the Lovonilase and New Extension Cemetry.”

Commander Kean adds that as for other suburbs of Suva ideally, the FCS would normally advice that they use the Nasinu Cemetery.

“We thank the cooperation and understanding of the general public in this regard.

“Works at Nasinu as you can witness has progressed well; we are currently undertaking frequent ground works in hairdressing the plots which would be available for use by Jan 2020.

Commander Kean says a lot of work have been undertaken by the FCS internal project engineers to ensure that there are clearly demarcated burial plots for a dignified farewell.

“As you can see we have created pathways and our burial officers have been instructed on where to start the plots so we can respect this solemn ceremony.”

He however, confirmed that the civil works in Nasinu will extend to the next 3 financial years depending on what government would allocate to their requests during annual budget submissions. Civil works first started in 2017 and hopefully would be able to complete this project in the 2022-23 financial year.

“The RFMF are liaising with us for a specific burial ground for their service personnel and we are working towards delivering on this discussions. The Police and Corrections also have an allocated area for their burial ground here at Nasinu.

The total costs for all the civil works completed so far at Nasinu Cemetry and Suva Cemetary is $ 873,458.00

The Project Engineer is Pola Designs, and the Contractors are Coastal Development for Nasinu Cemetary and Hot Spring Hire Services for Suva Cemetary.

“We want to advice the public that this area along Davuilevu Rd in Nasinu is not a play ground nor a thoroughfare for traffic.

“We request the general public to be aware of this project by the Fiji Corrections Service and respect the intent of the project.”

Commander Kean adds that they have had a few requests from Government Ministries, Private Sector, NGOs and religious organizations to use this however they ha

ve politely declined these requests. This whole area will be fenced off for security, safety and respect purposes.

The civil works at Suva Cemetery started in 2018 and the FCS hopes to complete all these works by the 2020-21 financial year with the intent of opening it up for use in 2022.