THE Government for National Unity and Transformation (GNUT) will commit between SBD$50-100 million each year to the development budget from 2026 onwards.
These funds will be for the implementation of projects such as the Bina Harbour, the Dala-Atori Road Project and other projects in the health, agriculture and education sectors.
This was announced by Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele at a press conference on Sunday following his arrival from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) after attending the World Government Summit (WGS).
“In this regards, it is my intention that the government will start to put aside a budget subvention of between SBD 50-100 million each year in our development budget from 2026 onwards to underwrite our contributions to projects such as Bina Harbour, Dala to Atori Road Project and other priority projects which we need to implement in other sectors, including Health, Agriculture and Education etc,” he said.
He said as a government, GNUT must also make an investment in the projects for which it seeks funding to demonstrate to development partners that it is prepared to make a contribution to the positive and seek funding to bridge the financing gap from donors.
Meantime, the European Union (EU) has registered its commitment to providing 10 million euros towards the Bina Harbour Project in Malaita Province.
“Let me inform you that the EU during the recent dialogue that was held in Brussels between the EU and our Foreign Minister. This is the first political dialogue held under the Samoa agreement and the EU has agreed that it is committed to provide 10 million euros towards the Bina Harbour Project,” he said. The Samoa agreement is the overarching framework for EU relations with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. The agreement aims to strengthen the capacity of the EU and the ACP countries to address global challenges together.
PM Manele said the government will continue to keep the conversation with other partners who have shown interest to support the development aspirations of Solomon Islands, but are yet to make further commitment in terms of funding.
He underscored that attending the World Government Summit (WGS) will benefit Solomon Islands as it allowed him to meet with other leaders and expose Solomon Islands to tremendous new opportunities to engage with for the development of the country.
PM Manele said GNUT can now unlock millions of dollars from concessional funding from Solomon Islands development partners for the two very important infrastructure projects in Malaita: Bina Harbour Project and the Dala-Atori Road Project.
By LACHLAN SHYVES EDDIE
Solomon Star, Honiara
