Gender workshop organised for Tina Hydropower Project stakeholders

Attendees of the workshop from the Porject Office, HEC, THL, ABD and commuities. The Tina River Hydropower Project (TRHDP) Office hosted a one-day Gender Action Plan (GAP) workshop in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to continue to raise awareness about gender equality and women’s empowerment. The workshop aimed to highlight the importance of mainstreaming gender equality for the Project as it progresses with construction activities, while familiarising participants with ADB’s approach and GAP implementation and reporting requirements.  The event combined stakeholders fromTina Hydropower Limited (THL), Hyundai Engineering Company (HEC) and the TRHDP Office (PO) while some joined online from other …

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SIG supports landowner partnership on Tina Project as a new way forward for local business

The Buhugaro Tribe, one of the five landowning groups of the Tina Core Land Owning Company (TCLC), have purchased a new vehicle for commercial use as part of a partnership agreement with the Solomon Islands Government’s Ministry of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification (MMERE) and the Tina River Hydro Project Office’s Community Benefit Sharing Project (CBSP). The vehicle, which costs more than $400,000 SBD, is currently being leased to the CBSP team for 14 months and is a great example of the Project taking community ideas on-board following consultations with landowning tribes during the Project’s preparation phase back in 2010. During …

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CBSP supports 15 young people from the Tina River Communities to further education at SINU

The Tina River Hydropower Development Project has partnered with the Solomon Islands National University (SINU) to enroll 15 students from the Tina River communities to upskill and train locals under the Community Benefit Sharing Program (CBSP). Starting next week and continuing into 2022/23, the students will be trained in certificate and diploma courses in fields such as Electrical, Plumbing, Business, Survey, Carpentry and Joinery, Environmental, Automotive Engineering and Secretarial studies. In a first-of-its-kind extension program, the students were identified and selected after attending the CBSP’s Pre-Employment Training which was made available to eligible members of the Tina communities. PET training …

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Tina River Project appoints HR firm to train locals ready for Project employment

The Community Benefit Sharing Project (CBSP) is designed to enhance the positive impacts of the Project to the communities in the area by investing in basic services and infrastructure and to foster support and cooperation from the communities. Benefit-sharing is an approach adopted by the Project to promoting sustainable development for affected communities which extends beyond the life of the actual project. Under the Human Resource Development component of the CBSP, Pasifiki HR, who are a well-established and reputable firm based in Honiara, will meet this objective by helping members of communities in the Project area access training and employment opportunities created by TRHDP.

Solomon Islands’ Nation Building Hydropower Project wins Prestigious Industry Award

The Tina River Hydro project, the nation’s first large utility-scale renewable project, has won a prestigious industry award and has been recognized as the Asia Pacific hydro deal of the year by IJ Global.The awards, which celebrate the best-in-class transactions and organisations in the international infrastructure and energy sectors across the world, have recognised the Project for its unique and innovative financial close achieved in 2019.   The awards recognised the monumental effort over more than a decade of the Solomon Island Government, working closely with the World Bank on studies and then the International Finance Corporation, to put together the …

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Tina Hydro delivers employing 31 locals in the first quarter of 2020

Workers in action at the Tina River site.There are now 31 new members of the Tina Hydropower Development Project construction team as locals fill both skilled and unskilled labour positions. Supporting local communities in the Guadalcanal region with employment opportunities is a priority for the Solomon Island Government as preparations on the Hydropower Project continue with certainty in these unprecedentedly challenging times. Since Christmas, project construction partners Hyundai Engineering Company (HEC), have worked with the Project Office under the guidance of the Community Benefit Sharing Program (CBSP) team, to reach out to communities with employment opportunities. Positions are being filled by …

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MIGA Covers K-Water & HEC Investment in Solomon Islands’ First Hydropower Project

Tina River Hydropower Development Project will help reduce dependency on imported diesel fuel, avoid 1.3 million tons of CO2. WASHINGTON DC, March 19, 2020 The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a member of the World Bank Group, has issued guarantees that will support the development, financing, construction, operation, and maintenance of the Tina River Hydropower Development Project in the Solomon Islands. The guarantees, issued to Korea Water Resources Corporation (‘K-Water’) and Hyundai Engineering Co., Ltd. (‘HEC’) and amounting to US$14.094 million, cover 90 percent of the equity investments and future earnings in the Project for up to 20 years through …

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Tina River Hydropower Project reaches financial close

Tina River Hydropower Project reaches financial close

Financing packages for the Tina River Hydropower Development Project, estimated to reach US $240 million, have been finalised in Honiara. This major milestone for the 15-megawatt hydropower infrastructure project now clears the way for construction to commence late January 2020.  Six financing organisations have come together to make the vision for clean renewable energy and more affordable electricity, a reality for the government and its people.  The project is being financed through a combination of loans and grants; with a final cost for building the hydropower dam and station estimated at US$184 million. The total project cost is expected to reach …

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The Tina River Hydropower Project is on track for a Royal visit

Tina River Hydropower Project on track for Royal visit

The serious environmental problems currently facing Solomon Islanders will be high on the agenda when His Royal Highness Prince of Wales Prince Charles makes his first-ever visit to the Solomon Islands on November 24th and 25th. In a two-day visit, Prince Charles will meet with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and other leaders in Honiara who will discuss, amongst other things, the consequences of climate change on island life. With a focus on solutions for the future, the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) will brief his Royal Highness on their commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through the Tina River …

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Crucial final agreements signed for Tina River Hydropower Project

Signing of ADB financing Agreement Tina River Hydro Project

The Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for the Tina River Hydropower Project has been signed between Tina Hydro Power Ltd (THL) and Hyundai Engineering Company Ltd (HEC) on the 30 September 2019 in Honiara, Solomon Islands. The Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for the Tina River Hydropower Project has been signed between Tina Hydro Power Ltd (THL) and Hyundai Engineering Company Ltd (HEC) on the 30th of September 2019 in Honiara, Solomon Islands. This is the latest key signing which follows the signing of the On-lending Agreement between THL and the Ministry of Finance and Treasury (MOFT), the …

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TRHDP Development Consent Granted

TRHDP Development Consent Granted

On 25th July 2019, the Director of Environment and Conservation Division (ECD) under Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM) approved Tina Hydropower Limited’s (THL’s) Development Application for the Tina River Hydropower Development Project (TRHDP) and granted THL the Development Consent under section 22 and 24 of the Environment Act 1998, to undertake the development of TRHDP. The development consent is applicable for component 1 and 2 of TRHDP that comprise the construction of access roads and main project works including dam, reservoir, power station and tunnel. The development consent outlines several conditions including those prescribed in …

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GREEN Climate Fund (GCF) will soon release USD$86 million for the Tina Hydro Project

GREEN Climate Fund (GCF) will soon release USD$86 million for the Tina Hydro Project

GREEN Climate Fund (GCF) will soon release USD$86 million (SBD$669,010,391.46) for the much-awaited Tina Hydro Project in central Guadalcanal. This followed the signing of an Accreditation Master Agreement (AMA) between GCF and the World Bank, Monday, on the margins of the 23rd climate change summit currently underway in Bonn, Germany. “The signing of the AMA opens the way for GCF to transfer its funding support to Tina Hydro Project in Solomon Islands.” GCF Executive Director Howard Bamsey. “The GCF and the World Bank share an understanding about the vital need to finance innovative infrastructure and clean technologies in developing countries …

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Energy Minister Confirms Tina Agreements in 2017

Energy Minister Confirms Tina Agreements in 2017

Minister for Energy, Honourable Bradley Tovosia has confirmed the government’s intention to ensure that the key Tina Hydro project agreements are concluded in 2017. He made these commitments during a series of high-level meetings with project funders and partners in Korea during early October. During his visit, Minister Tovosia met with senior officials of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Secretariat as well as the Executive Director of the Korean Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF). GCF and EDCF are two major funders of Tina Hydro, together with the World Bank, Government of Australia and IRENA. ADB is anticipated to be another …

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Renewable energy a step closer for Solomon Islands as World Bank Group approves support to Tina River Hydro

Renewable energy a step closer for Solomon Islands as World Bank Group approves support to Tina River Hydro

US$33.6 million approved towards major renewable energy project in Pacific nation burdened with some of the world’s highest electricity costs Reliable renewable energy is a step closer for Solomon Islands, a country facing some of the world’s highest per capita energy costs, following the World Bank Group’s commitment to the Tina River Hydro renewable energy project. The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank today approved US$33.6 million in funding for the Tina River Hydropower project in the Solomon Islands, which aims to reduce the cost of electricity and end the country’s near-total reliance on diesel fuel for power. …

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Team of Korean Technical Experts on Planning Mission in Honiara for Tina Hydro (August 2017)

Team of Korean Technical Experts on Planning Mission in Honiara for Tina Hydro (August 2017)

A large team of technical experts from Kwater Corporation and Hyundai Engineering (HEC) is currently in the country to progress engineering planning for the Tina Hydro Project. Kwater and HEC are the developers selected by Solomon Islands Government through an international tender process held in 2015. The team will be involved in analysing the network and current powerhouse of Solomon Power as well as other engineering details of the Tina Hydro Project. The team has made a technical visit to the water resources and seismology division of Ministry of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification (MMERE). The team also made a …

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Korea commits US$31.6 million for Tina River Hydro

Korea commits US$31.6 million for Tina River Hydro

Reliable renewable energy is another step closer for Solomon Islands with the Tina River Hydro Development Project receiving a commitment of $31.6 million in funding support the Government of Korea. This funding from Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) was approved by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance of Korea. The US$31.6 million is a loan to the Solomon Islands Government and will go towards the debt financing of a Project Company. The EDCF is the Korean Government’s fund for promoting economic development in developing countries and its contribution will support the construction of the Tina hydropower facility. Tina River Hydro …

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Australia commits AUD 17 million for the Tina River Hydro Project

Australia commits AUD 17 million for the Tina River Hydro Project

Solomon Islands is one step closer to cheaper and more reliable electricity that will boost business activity and improve people’s lives. Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Senator the Hon Concetta Fierravanti-Wells announced today that Australia has committed up to AUD 17 million for the Tina River Hydropower Development Project (Tina River Hydro). Australia will support the construction of the access road to the project site in East Guadalcanal and technical assistance for the Solomon Islands Government to manage the project’s implementation. “Australia is proud to support this major nation-building project,” Minister Fierravanti-Wells said, “Tina River Hydro has …

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NIPS Welcomes GCF Grant Approval for Tina River Hydro Development Project

NIPS Welcomes GCF Grant Approval for Tina River Hydro Development Project

The Network of Indigenous Peoples Solomons, (NIPS) welcomes the Green Climate Fund’s approval of USD86m for the Tina River Hydro Development Project recently in Sondong, South Korea. Vice President and Coordinator of NIPs, Ms Aydah Gwaena Akao, who was part of the delegation says this is a milestone for Small Island Developing States and especially the Pacific region. “What has transpired so far in the Tina River Hydro Project is the good work between indigenous land owners and community leaders; Tina River Hydro project Team; Provincial Government; National Government through the Ministries of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology, …

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