Solomon Islands secures $66m Chinese loan for Huawei towers deal

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
19 Aug 2022 09:43

Solomon Islands secures a loan from China to fund tech giant Huawei building telecommunications towers.

The Solomon Islands secured a $66 million loan from China

The Solomon Islands confirmed Thursday that it had secured a $66 million loan from China to fund tech giant Huawei building 161 telecommunications towers across the Pacific nation.

The deal marks the first financing that the country receives from Beijing since it signed a secretive security pact in April, following the severing of diplomatic links with Taiwan.

The Solomons' government said the deal was a "historical financial partnership" that comes after it restored ties with Beijing in 2019.

However, the Solomons' growing financial and security links to China have roused concern from the United States and its allies.

Western officials claimed that China could use the security pact to build a military base in the country - something the Pacific nation's Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Chinese officials have repeatedly denied.

Under the terms of the deal, the Solomons will receive a 20-year concessional loan from the state-linked Export-Import Bank of China that will fully fund Huawei's construction of the towers, the government indicated.

According to the government's statement, almost half of the towers would be built before the country hosts the Pacific Island Games in November 2023.

The towers would allow Solomon Islanders, especially those in rural areas, to be able to watch the games even if they are not able to come to the capital Honiara, the government pointed out.

Earlier this month, Sogavare proposed changing the country's constitution to delay national elections until after the games, saying the country could not afford both events.

The next election - due to be held before September 2023 - will be the country's first since widespread rioting by anti-Sogavare protests broke out in Honiara last year.

It would also be the first poll since Sogavare signed the security pact with Beijing.