Eleven planning and policy officials from government and Honiara City Council are in Australia this week to study how to better plan, finance, deliver and maintain infrastructure projects in Solomon Islands.

The three-day training program, facilitated by Australia’s Solomon Islands Infrastructure Program, is being delivered by the University of Sydney.

Australian Charge d’affaires, Andrew Schloeffel said the training had been developed specifically to meet the needs and priorities of Solomon Islands.

“Infrastructure that supports economic growth and service delivery is a top priority for the Solomon Islands government,” Schloeffel said.

“This short course responds to this need and is delivered by one of Australia’s top universities,” he added.

“It will expose government officials to best practice ways to develop business cases, procurement and delivery strategies for infrastructure both in Honiara and throughout Solomon Islands.”

Supervising Director, Economic and Productive Division at the Ministry of National Planning and Development Coordination, Matthew Walekoro said:

“This is the first time for Solomon Islands Government and Honiara City Council to be provided with such a great opportunity to enhance our capacity to plan, manage, finance, and maintain critical economic infrastructure.

“It will be worthwhile for our officers to gain knowledge about setting up investments that require specific project ownership, project building capacities and Public Investment Management.”

The training is part of a range of activities under the Solomon Islands Infrastructure Program to support the government’s planning and delivery of infrastructure, including the development and rollout of the National Infrastructure Pipeline, and the new National Building Code Bill.