Solomon Water Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Carmine Piantedosi recently announced a SBD $3.1 billion infrastructure program over the next 20 years during the National Energy Summit in Honiara.
This announcement comes despite the Government for National Unity and Transformation (GNUT) removing the Solomon Islands Water Authority (SIWA), trading as Solomon Water, from its status as a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) under Section 28.
The Cabinet decision, effective as of August 26, 2024, is part of the government’s efforts to revamp the Authority’s underperformance in delivering essential water services and projects to the public.
A government statement explained that despite numerous efforts to guide and support Solomon Water in managing national water projects, the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) has faced persistent challenges that have undermined confidence in SIWA’s leadership.
The prolonged construction of sewage systems along the Kukum Highway was cited as a notable example of these ongoing issues.
However, sources claimed Solomon Water got removed from SOE to Ministry of Mines, Energy, and Rural Electrification after the its Board terminated REAN PCS Joint Venture.
Rean PCS Joint Venture from India was awarded a SBD $130 million contract from Solomon Water for the construction of the Kongulai Water Treatment Plant and Pipeline Project (Bid No. SW0402021).
The project was funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank (WB).
The plant was intended to treat 15 megaliters (million liters) of water per day using clarifiers and filtration technology.
However, the project stalled when Rean failed to deliver, prompting Solomon Water Board to terminate the contract.
Rean subsequently took the Solomon Water Board to court, challenging the contract termination.
Mr. Piantedosi did not want to dwell on the politics of Solomon Water’s removal from the SOE schedule.
However, he explained that Solomon Water has been executing its infrastructure program since 2017, focusing on developing water sources, catchments, and reservoirs, as well as expanding access to water in various regions.
He highlighted that urbanization, particularly in Honiara, is growing rapidly, with an estimated annual influx of 1,000 people.
“We’re not getting 6,000 new connections each year,” Piantedosi said.
“Last year, we connected an additional 1,000 customers, the same as the year before. We plan to connect another 1,000 this year.”
Solomon Water operates in Honiara, Auki in Malaita Province, Tulagi in Central Islands Province, and Noro in Western Province.
It currently serves approximately 18,000 customers, the majority of whom reside in Honiara, which had a population of 127,000 in 2019.
Mr. Piantedosi emphasized the need to increase access to water.
“Last year, we produced about 13.5 gigaliters of water across all our operations, but only 5.4 gigaliters were billed. The rest was lost,” he said.
He was referring to high levels of “non-revenue water” due to technical and commercial losses.
He also pointed out that only 11% of customers pay their water bills on time and in full.
“If they don’t pay, their water gets disconnected. But then they reconnect illegally, tapping into the pipes and stealing water,” Piantedosi said.
This resulted in the unexplained loss of 7.3 gigaliters of water, leading to a revenue loss of SBD $170-180 million.
However, Solomon Water managed to recover SBD $120 million in the same year through sales.
Piantedosi explained that the infrastructure investments are aimed at reducing these losses, improving supply security and reliability, and ensuring that most areas under their service have 24/7 water access.
“We meet World Health Organization (WHO) standards for water quality and are performing well in that regard, but we still don’t provide this quality water to 100% of Solomon Islanders,” he said.
He emphasized that major infrastructure investments will be needed in the coming years to meet growing water demand and reduce the utility’s carbon footprint.
“We’ve designed some infrastructure and are exploring opportunities, such as harnessing treatment plants,” Piantedosi noted.
