CCP Funds Solomon Islands to Build Huawei Towers

On Aug 18th, Solomon Islands announced it signed an agreement with a bank of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to build broadband infrastructure in the country.

 As said in an official statement, the Solomon Islands National Broadband Infrastructure Project (SINBIP) has signed an agreement with China Harbour Engineering Company Limited to build up to 161 Huawei towers.

 The SINBIP will be financed entirely by a 20-year concessional loan of approximately RMB 448.9 million (around US$100 million) at an interest rate of one percent (1.0%) from the Export-Import Bank of China.Work is expected to begin early next year, following the signing of a formal Memorandum of Operating Agreement with Solomon Telecom Limited (STCL) and a final financing agreement between the Solomon Islands Government and the CCP Bank.

 As stated in the statement, the SINBIP is one of the national government’s priority projects. Meanwhile, the government received advice from two consultants, one of whom is from New Zealand, that the SINBIP is financially viable and compatible with the country’s existing telecommunications infrastructure.

 With respect to the work on SINBIP, the feasibility study has begun in 2019.An independent review of SINBIP showed that the project would generate sufficient revenue to enable the government to fully repay the loan principal and interest costs over the life of the loan. Moreover, it described the agreement as a “historic financial partnership” with Communist China.