Western Bay Mayor Ross Paterson will hoist the national flag to officially open Katikati's new Memorial Square at a special ceremony on Wednesday, 16 April.

Memorial Square has been transformed into a centrepiece for the Katikati township and as a memorial to those soldiers who served in the world wars.

Katikati Memorial Square will open in time for this year's Anzac Day.

The opening ceremony for the Square is from 10am until noon, 16 April, and the public is welcome.

The $300,000 project, designed by Isthmus and built by Marra Construction, includes paving to the road edge and features three rectangle granite bars engraved with inscriptions in memory of the New Zealand troops deployed to war.

The flagpole has been repositioned from the Memorial Hall roof to the centre of the new square and the memorial clock will remain a focal feature of the square and hall building.

Mayor Ross says Memorial Hall is one of the most important buildings in Katikati and it is fitting that the new Memorial Square is the first project in the Katikati Town Centre Plan.

'I am delighted that the Square is finished in time for this year's Anzac Day service – as it will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First World War in which many Katikati men served.”

Ross acknowledged the patience of the community during the project's construction and said the support of the Katikati RSA, the Katikati Community Board, Katch Katikati and the Memorial Hall Committee had added to the project's success.

Katikati RSA President Peter Sparrow says the Memorial Square will bring home to the Katikati community the significance of the wars and conflicts in which New Zealanders were involved.

'For many, Anzac Day is a reminder, but Memorial Square will become a focal point for the people of Katikati and all those who pass through the town,'' says Peter.

'As for other towns in New Zealand, many of our early settlers and their families were involved in both World Wars and we should never lose sight of that. I believe Memorial Square will be a better reminder than an Honour Roll on a wall.

'My hope is that, for younger people - particularly school children – Memorial Square will bring home to them the sacrifice that many New Zealanders made during the two World Wars.''

Peter says Memorial Square is the perfect answer to a request made at the National Conference of the RNZRSA in Wellington last year where each RSA was asked to consider incorporating something in their community to commemorate World War One.

The Square's opening ceremony will be attended by the RSA, police, fire service and Western Bay of Plenty District Council representatives.

The next major project in the Katikati Town Centre Plan will be restoration of the former Katikati Fire Station.