The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide grant aid of more than $56 million pa’anga to fund the implementation of disaster early warning systems and disaster communications infrastructure in Tonga.
A grant agreement confirming Japan’s commitment was signed on 21 June by Prime Minister Hon. ‘Akilisi Pohiva and JICA resident representative Mr. Shinji Yoshiura. The signing took place at Tonga’s Cabinet office in St George’s Government Building.
JICA announced that the project will install “…a disaster preparedness radio system, a sound alert system, and equipment and facilities to the Tonga Broadcasting Commission (TBC) so that warning and safety information for natural disasters can be promptly transmitted, thereby contributing to a mitigation in the destruction caused by natural disasters.”
The project will be implemented by MEIDECC (Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change, and Communications).
According to a media statement from the Tonga Government, “The overall goal of this project is to save lives through the improvement of disaster information dissemination in the whole Kingdom of Tonga by installing an Emergency Radio System and an Early Warning Sound Alert System, by improving AM Radio broadcasting infrastructure and constructing Tonga Broadcasting Commission’s headquarter, aiming at shortening the alert transmission of tsunami evacuation from 90 minutes to eight minutes and increasing the number of beneficiaries from 13,000 to 67,000.”
Original source: Matangi
Published on 22 June 2018
