Bina Harbor Project appears to be turning into a geopolitical minefield
WESTERN donors will meet in a roundtable later this week on the Bina Harbor Tuna Processing Project – a move which appears to be turning the USD202 million (about SBD1.7 billion) project into a geopolitical minefield.
Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States will attend the one-day meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources and others at the Honiara Hotel on Friday.
Oddly, the People’s Republic of China – the driver of infrastructure development in Solomon Islands in the past five years, has been omitted from attending.
Other new donors such as India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indonesia have been excluded by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR), which organized the roundtable.
Solomon Star was unable to get a comment from the ministry yesterday.
Observers were surprised about China’s omission from the roundtable, saying if there was one country that could make things move, it is China.
“Look at the hosting of the 2023 Pacific Games, the National Stadium, the new hospital being completed in Honiara, the road works in the provinces and so on. That’s China, not any of the traditional donors,” one observer told Solomon Star yesterday.
“China is the one that has and continues to contribute to the changing landscape of Solomon Islands. One can only hope the so-called traditional donors are pulling our legs one more time,” the observer said.
In 2023, the International Finance Corporation – a member of the World Bank Group – announced the Bina Harbor Project would create more than 5, 500 jobs.
“The Bina Harbor Tuna Processing Plant, to be built under a public-private partnership (PPP), is also expected to generate up to $40 million in foreign direct investment and an annual revenue stream for the government and people of Solomon Islands of $3.5 million.
“The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has been confirmed as lead transaction advisor and will continue working with the Solomon Islands Government to engage a private sector partner to develop, finance, build and operate the plant,” the IFC said.
“The project, which is also being supported by the governments of Australia and New Zealand, is seen as transformative for Solomon Islands. Malaita Province in particular, where Bina Harbor is located, stands to benefit from a range of economic and employment opportunities.
“This national priority project will enable us to create employment, derive more benefit from our sovereign tuna resource, and add an important contribution to our economy,” Nestor Giro, then Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources, said at the time.
“We are now working with IFC to develop best practice approaches to structuring this transaction,” said. “Under the government’s national infrastructure planning, our vision is that Bina Harbor will grow beyond this project to become our first climate resilient international shipping port.”
Meanwhile, there are reports of a growing revolt within the ruling Government for National Unity and Transformation (GNUT) over the delay in paying the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
There were claims last night this could develop into a vote of no confidence being moved against the Prime Minister.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs is reportedly hosting at least eight senior government ministers in Canberra this week.
It is not clear whether the visit to Canberra is connected in any way to the political problem brewing here.
By Alfred Sasako
