27 April 2016
Solomon Water planning infrastructure upgrades
Honiara residents are set to benefit from upcoming improvements to Honiara’s water infrastructure.
Solomon Water General Manager, Ian Gooden, confirmed that a new reservoir and pipeline from West to East Honiara will improve consistency and reliability of water supply for Honiara residents.
“The network improvements will support our objective of providing 24 hour water supply to all customers,” said Mr Gooden.
The Australian Government has provided nearly $12 million to Solomon Water to support these upgrades. Solomon Water will manage the project and provide technical expertise. Construction will be procured both locally and internationally to ensure the best companies can bid to complete the works, and it is hoped that local companies will take the opportunity to tender or subcontract for the work.
Solomon Water is also about to install an Australian funded system that will provide real-time information to a central control room for more efficient operation of the network.
The works follow major improvements in Solomon Water’s performance, including provision of 24 hour water supply to 78% of Honiara households (up from 39% in 2013). Solomon Water has also seen improvement in compliance with World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations for water quality to 96%, up from less than 50% in 2011.
“I am proud of Solomon Water’s achievements. Network improvements like these are possible when water users pay for the water they consume,” said Mr Gooden.
“We still have a long way to go, but Solomon Water is on the right path to becoming an effective and efficient SOE.”