The State Ridge community in Central Honiara has welcomed the official handover of 20 new solar-powered streetlights, funded under the Solomon Islands-Australia Community Partnerships program.
The project will improve safety and security for the State Ridge community in both the Central Honiara and East Honiara Constituencies.
High Commission officials, led by Minister-Counsellor Stephanie Aeuckens, were warmly welcomed to State Ridge by the community, Constituency Development Officer for Central Honiara, Mr Rexford Paul, and Constituency Project Officer for Central Honiara, Mr Tony Chris, for the event to celebrate the milestone.
This project builds on ten solar-powered streetlights funded earlier under the Community Partnerships program. The extension of this solar lighting project came following the overwhelming positive feedback from the State Ridge community.
Australian High Commissioner Jeff Roach said this project was a shining example of the strong commitment and partnership between Solomon Islands and Australia.
“Solar lights are a simple but hugely effective resource,” he said. “They help keep people safe at night and improve the community for everyone.
“We’re so thrilled that the community valued the first project so highly that they wanted to extend it further.”
Project Coordinator, Mr Julian Houkura, said that for many years the community did not have any lights on the road, and the installation of the first ten solar lights saw a decrease in instances of harassment and anti-social behaviour.
“Today, we are happy to have these additional streetlights. This project will help to ensure more members of the community, especially women, youths and children, can go about their daily activities without fear”.
This project is one of more than 100 community projects funded in 2025, across all provinces of Solomon Islands. These projects are worth more than $25 million in direct investment to Solomon Islands’ economy.
Round 1 of this year’s Solomon Islands-Australia Community Partnerships is currently open. The Australian High Commission is accepting applications until 8 March 2026.
For more information visit https://solomonislands.embassy.gov.au/honi/communitypartnerships.html
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