SUVA, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The Fijian government has spent over 240 million Fijian dollars (about 110 million U.S. dollars) to rehabilitate schools damaged by the severe tropical cyclone Winston in 2016.

Fiji's Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts Rosy Akbar said on Friday that over 400 new buildings have been constructed and 1,350 buildings upgraded in schools.

Akbar said that while the Fijian government successfully upgraded and rebuilt the vast majority of schools, some were rehabilitated with assistance from foreign governments.

She said that 434 schools sustained various levels of damage from tropical cyclone Winston across Fiji.

"As we progress into the third year post-tropical cyclone Winston, a significant amount of work has been done. Some projects are in process as we have had to spread the budget over three financial years due to significant costs," Akbar said.

Akbar added that while the Construction Implementation Unit was managing 206 projects, the ministry is carrying out minor upgrade works for 125 schools.