The key stakeholders in the Fiu Hydropower Project, including the resource owners, have expressed deep-seated commitment to progress the project to the construction and operation phases.
The stakeholders articulated their profound commitment in their consultative meeting in the Malaita Provincial capital Auki yesterday.
The three key stakeholders in the project include the Malaita Provincial Government, the National Government and Solomon Power (formerly known as the Solomon Islands Electricity Authority).
The meeting was convened to enlighten, particularly, the resource owners about the Democratic Coalition for Change Government’s Policy on renewable energy and to allow all key stakeholders to touch base on the progress achieved so far in the particular renewable energy project and identify issues that may hinder further progress and to be able to address them.
Of all the five national projects earmarked for Malaita by the Democratic Coalition for Change Government, the Fiu Project has made tremendous progress in its development and also secured funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the National Government and Solomon Power.
The other four Malaita projects are Bina International Seaport Project, the Suava Bay International Seaport Project, the Auluta Oil Palm Project and the Waisisi Oil Palm Project.
It was pointed out that the Fiu Hydropower Project is a major infrastructure project in Malaita Province designed to improve the delivery of electricity supply in the provincial capital Auki by harnessing the hydropower resource.
Solomon Islands currently relies solely on diesel fuel for electricity generation and this situation places the country in a very vulnerable position to spikes in global oil prices, resulting in high costs of electricity supply.
The Fiu Hydropower Project as a project of ‘national interest’ is to provide reliable electricity to Auki and Malaita Province and furthermore to reduce Solomon Islands dependence on fossil fuel.
Source: Solomon Islands Government Press Release.
