BY JOSES SAREN
The United States will send an assessment team to Solomon Islands towards the end of August as part of efforts to move the Bina Harbour Project from a greenfield site to a development-ready stage, Prime Minister Matthew Wale said upon his arrival home yesterday afternoon.
Mr Wale, who returned from official visits to the United States and Japan, said the Bina Harbour Project had drawn strong US interest, with a firm commitment, subject to further detail, to help the project reach the stage of having a wharf, jetty, port, fuel storage, water, energy and supporting roads in place.
“That means it goes from where we are only pushing and talking but nothing is actually done, to having a wharf, jetty, port, fuel storage, water, energy, supported basic roads,” he said.
Wale said officials now need to prepare a “bankable project” package ahead of the August visit, working alongside the International Finance Corporation (IFC), New Zealand and other partners already engaged on Bina.
He said the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and American private sector companies had also expressed interest in factory and processing development linked to the project.
Bina Harbour featured prominently in Wale’s meetings with US officials in Washington, including with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, the Development Finance Corporation and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, alongside a private sector roundtable hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce.
The Prime Minister acknowledged the US side had been disappointed he did not have the Bina Harbour project documents with him during the visit, as they had hoped to move towards construction next year.
“I am happy to know the spirit they have to support us, and also the spirit we have to get it done,” Wale said, adding that no funding agreement had yet been signed but that he remained confident.
“We now need to get our officials to work in IFC and New Zealand and those that stand with us. So, Bina is a critical one, and I’m very confident,” he said.
Photo credit: Island Sun
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