TEMOTU Province is expected to take delivery of its new ship towards the end of this year.
Temotu Provincial Secretary Allan Agassi confirmed this in an interview with Solomon Star last week.
He could not confirm the exact date when the ship will arrive in the country but said “the boat is expected to arrive later this year.”
It is understood work on getting the ship to the country is still underway.
Several months ago, a delegation from Temotu Province led by Premier Clay Forau also visited Indonesia to look at a potential ship.
A boat which could carry both cargoes and passenger was identified following the visit.
A shipping committee was formed early this year to do the vessel selection, purchase and delivery of the new ship.
The initial plan was to have the ship arrive in the country mid this year.
However, the plan did not eventuate because of the need for vessel inspection and finalisation of all the required processes.
The move to acquire a vessel for the province started in June last year when the provincial government signed a deal with the National Government through the Ministry of Infrastructure Development (MID).
As a result, $5million was allocated to the province to acquire a new vessel.
Premier Forau said having a ship will definitely address the difficulty Temotu Province faces with access to timely transportation.
He said with reliable shipping services, businesses and investment activities will boom in the province.
“Big business houses in Lata with very large stocks of basic merchandise get depleted even in a week due to high customer demand and a constant shipping service is needed to bring new stocks as soon as practicable,” Premier Forau said.
He said the only way to connect Temotu to Honiara is for the province to have its own ship.
The shipping project was made in response to a request by the Provincial Government through Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare when he visited the province in 2020.
Temotu Provincial Secretary Mr Agassi thanked the National Government through MID for the positive response to the request by Premier Forau and the people of Temotu Province. “There is nowhere else the province can look for assistance but only the National Government and for this, we are very grateful,” Mr Agassi said.
By MOFFAT MAMU
