K-water General Director Mr. Seong-Yong Han, Solomon Islands Minister for Finance & Treasury Mr. Harry Kuma, and the Regional Director of ADB's Pacific Liaison and Coordination Office Ms. Lotte Schou-Zibell at the official signing in Sydney of the Tina River Hydropower Development Project. "The Tina River Hydro Project is a project rooted in our history that will grow into our future," said Mr. Kuma. "The signing of these agreements today will further enhance the public-private partnership that the Solomon Islands government is adapting for the financing of the Tina River Hydropower Project—the first such arrangement for infrastructure in the Solomon Islands." (Source: ADB)
“This transformational project will support the development of renewable energy to supply electricity to the capital, Honiara,” said the Director General of ADB’s Pacific Department Ms. Carmela Locsin. “We look forward to working with our partners on this project to help Solomon Islands prepare for a renewable energy future.”
ADB joins other partners in supporting the Tina River Hydropower Project, including the Government of Australia, the Green Climate Fund, Abu Dhabi Development Fund, Export–Import Bank of Korea, and the World Bank Group.
The main aim of the project is to increase the generation of renewable energy on the Honiara grid. To achieve this, a 15-megawatt hydropower plant will be developed on the Tina River, just outside Honiara.
The project will be the largest public–private partnership project ever developed in Solomon Islands. A special project company, consisting of Korea Water Resources Corporation and Hyundai Engineering Corporation Limited, will be established to design, build, own, operate, and manage the plant. The company will undertake the construction of the hydropower facility through a build-operate-own-transfer scheme.
The USD18 million loan will be sourced from ADB’s concessional ordinary capital resources. The USD12 million grant will be provided from ADB’s Special Funds resources.
The Ministry of Finance and Treasury will be the executing agency and the Ministry of Mines, Energy, and Rural Electrification will be the implementing agency./.