PRIME Minister Manasseh Sogavare has highly commended landowning groups in North and North-East Guadalcanal for allowing their resources to support economic development activities in the country.
Mr Sogavare made the comments when he joined the visiting President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Takehiko Nakao to open two new major bridges funded by ADB at Mbalasuna and Mbarande in the Guadalcanal plains on Wednesday.
The two new facilities provide the necessary infrastructure that will support operations at the Guadalcanal Plains Palm Oil Limited (GPPOL) and also paves the way for the company’s interest to expand the plantation further east.
“We will not be able to do this without important infrastructure such as roads and bridges and I would like to thank the resource owners for allowing their land to host such important infrastructures,” he said.
The Prime Minister also praised ADB as a very important development partner for its ongoing commitment towards the development of Solomon Islands.
“This is a manifestation of a strong and fruitful relation that we have established over the years and I would like to thank you Mr President and your team for helping to develop our country.
Meanwhile, President Nakao has encouraged communities and the government to work together to develop the country forward.
“I think it is important that communities should work together with the Government to use your resources for the benefit of the country,” Mr Nakao said.
The newly opened bridges and others in west Guadalcanal were built under ADB’s National Transport Flood Recovery Programme in partnership with the Solomon Islands Government following the devastating floods in 2014 that destroyed a lot of infrastructures on Guadalcanal.
ADB has been working with Solomon Islands since 1973 and has approved 19 loan projects amounting to $123.42 million, 15 grant projects totaling $160.52 million, and 75 technical assistance projects totaling $31.2 million.
– GCU
