The serious environmental problems currently facing Solomon Islanders will be high on the agenda when His Royal Highness Prince of Wales Prince Charles makes his first-ever visit to the Solomon Islands on November 24th and 25th. In a two-day visit, Prince Charles will meet with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and other leaders in Honiara who will discuss, amongst other things, the consequences of climate change on island life. With a focus on solutions for the future, the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) will brief his Royal Highness on their commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through the Tina River …

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The Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for the Tina River Hydropower Project has been signed between Tina Hydro Power Ltd (THL) and Hyundai Engineering Company Ltd (HEC) on the 30 September 2019 in Honiara, Solomon Islands. The Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for the Tina River Hydropower Project has been signed between Tina Hydro Power Ltd (THL) and Hyundai Engineering Company Ltd (HEC) on the 30th of September 2019 in Honiara, Solomon Islands. This is the latest key signing which follows the signing of the On-lending Agreement between THL and the Ministry of Finance and Treasury (MOFT), the …

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On 25th July 2019, the Director of Environment and Conservation Division (ECD) under Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM) approved Tina Hydropower Limited’s (THL’s) Development Application for the Tina River Hydropower Development Project (TRHDP) and granted THL the Development Consent under section 22 and 24 of the Environment Act 1998, to undertake the development of TRHDP. The development consent is applicable for component 1 and 2 of TRHDP that comprise the construction of access roads and main project works including dam, reservoir, power station and tunnel. The development consent outlines several conditions including those prescribed in …

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GREEN Climate Fund (GCF) will soon release USD$86 million (SBD$669,010,391.46) for the much-awaited Tina Hydro Project in central Guadalcanal. This followed the signing of an Accreditation Master Agreement (AMA) between GCF and the World Bank, Monday, on the margins of the 23rd climate change summit currently underway in Bonn, Germany. “The signing of the AMA opens the way for GCF to transfer its funding support to Tina Hydro Project in Solomon Islands.” GCF Executive Director Howard Bamsey. “The GCF and the World Bank share an understanding about the vital need to finance innovative infrastructure and clean technologies in developing countries …

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Minister for Energy, Honourable Bradley Tovosia has confirmed the government’s intention to ensure that the key Tina Hydro project agreements are concluded in 2017. He made these commitments during a series of high-level meetings with project funders and partners in Korea during early October. During his visit, Minister Tovosia met with senior officials of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Secretariat as well as the Executive Director of the Korean Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF). GCF and EDCF are two major funders of Tina Hydro, together with the World Bank, Government of Australia and IRENA. ADB is anticipated to be another …

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US$33.6 million approved towards major renewable energy project in Pacific nation burdened with some of the world’s highest electricity costs Reliable renewable energy is a step closer for Solomon Islands, a country facing some of the world’s highest per capita energy costs, following the World Bank Group’s commitment to the Tina River Hydro renewable energy project. The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank today approved US$33.6 million in funding for the Tina River Hydropower project in the Solomon Islands, which aims to reduce the cost of electricity and end the country’s near-total reliance on diesel fuel for power. …

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A large team of technical experts from Kwater Corporation and Hyundai Engineering (HEC) is currently in the country to progress engineering planning for the Tina Hydro Project. Kwater and HEC are the developers selected by Solomon Islands Government through an international tender process held in 2015. The team will be involved in analysing the network and current powerhouse of Solomon Power as well as other engineering details of the Tina Hydro Project. The team has made a technical visit to the water resources and seismology division of Ministry of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification (MMERE). The team also made a …

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Reliable renewable energy is another step closer for Solomon Islands with the Tina River Hydro Development Project receiving a commitment of $31.6 million in funding support the Government of Korea. This funding from Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) was approved by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance of Korea. The US$31.6 million is a loan to the Solomon Islands Government and will go towards the debt financing of a Project Company. The EDCF is the Korean Government’s fund for promoting economic development in developing countries and its contribution will support the construction of the Tina hydropower facility. Tina River Hydro …

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Solomon Islands is one step closer to cheaper and more reliable electricity that will boost business activity and improve people’s lives. Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Senator the Hon Concetta Fierravanti-Wells announced today that Australia has committed up to AUD 17 million for the Tina River Hydropower Development Project (Tina River Hydro). Australia will support the construction of the access road to the project site in East Guadalcanal and technical assistance for the Solomon Islands Government to manage the project’s implementation. “Australia is proud to support this major nation-building project,” Minister Fierravanti-Wells said, “Tina River Hydro has …

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The Network of Indigenous Peoples Solomons, (NIPS) welcomes the Green Climate Fund’s approval of USD86m for the Tina River Hydro Development Project recently in Sondong, South Korea. Vice President and Coordinator of NIPs, Ms Aydah Gwaena Akao, who was part of the delegation says this is a milestone for Small Island Developing States and especially the Pacific region. “What has transpired so far in the Tina River Hydro Project is the good work between indigenous land owners and community leaders; Tina River Hydro project Team; Provincial Government; National Government through the Ministries of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology, …

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Significantly reduced electricity costs are one step closer with the approval of US$86 million by the board of the Green Climate Fund for the Tina River Hydropower Project. The funding approval was made in a meeting of the Fund’s board at its headquarters in Songdo, South Korea this week. Of the GCF funding, US$70 million is a low-interest loan towards the cost of building the hydro power facility, while US$16 million is grant contribution for the construction of the key access road that will link the power house and the hydropower facility to the capital city Honiara. The Green Climate …

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Solomon Islands has been awarded a USD15 million concessional loan for Tina Hydro Project by the International Renewable Energy Agency, IRENA. The award was announced during IRENA’s 2017 Assembly in Abu Dhabi last weekend. It is the first concessional loan to be approved in support to Tina Hydro, which is the largest renewable energy project ever in Solomon Islands and the largest renewable project currently being developed in the Pacific. The Tina Hydro will provide access to renewable energy for more than 100,000 people in the greater Honiara region and has been under preparation since 2011 with donor support primarily …

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