Foreign Minister Murray McCully has announced a $10 million package to help Fiji repair public infrastructure following Cyclone Winston.

The announcement follows a statement fromRepublic of Fiji Military Forces Commander Rear Admiral Viliame Naupoto says New Zealand military personnel are 'helping bring back smiles and hope” to areas devastated by Tropical Cyclone Winston.

NZDF Senior Environmental Health Specialist Corporal Leigh Albert conducts a routine quality check of the drinking water produced from a water desalination station set up by New Zealand Army engineers at Lomaloma village.

Viliame says the combined teams of engineers from the NZDF and the RFMF have repaired dozens of schools, medical centres and other community buildings on the main island of Viti Levu and in the remote northern Lau archipelago.

Of the package announced by Murray, $500,000 has been assigned to supply building materials for projects being undertaken by the NZDF, says Murray.

'The remaining funding will be used to rebuild schools, evacuation centres and medical facilities on Vanua Balavu and elsewhere in Fiji. This builds on the work we are already doing to help Fiji restore electricity infrastructure.

'We will also be working, through our wider aid programme in Fiji, to help stimulate the local economy by providing targeted support to the dairy sector and agricultural exporters.”

HMNZS Canterbury's original deployment has been extended until mid-April to support the construction tasks, says Murray.

This latest package brings total New Zealand aid to Fiji following Cyclone Winston to more than $15 million.

'All this rebuilding is helping bring back smiles and hope to people in affected areas. The pace of work is quite fast. Those schools that were repaired by the NZDF are among the first to reopen,” says Viliame.

'From a military perspective, we are happy with the way the NZDF has deployed its personnel and assets. We are complementing each other very well and we are able to work faster – with the local knowledge that our boys have and the technical expertise and tools from the NZDF.”

Army Lieutenant Lauren Christie plays a game of ABC with children at Lomaloma village on Vanuabalavu Island.

The multi-role vessel HMNZS Canterbury sailed for Fiji on March 28 with 293 military personnel, including Army engineers and medical staff, two NH90 multi-role helicopters, a Seasprite helicopter, vehicles and hundreds of tonnes of additional aid.

Around 60 Army carpenters, electricians, plumbers, plant operators and combat engineers have been working alongside RFMF soldiers to repair schools and clinics in Viti Levu and on Yacata and Vanuabalavu islands in northern Lau.

Army engineers have also set up a water desalination station that converts seawater into drinking water at Lomaloma village on Vanuabalavu Island.

Up to 10,000 litres of potable drinking water are produced each day to support the New Zealand contingent and Lomaloma residents.