BY ALICE CAMPBELL
The Solomon Islands-Australia Community Partnerships programme has helped another community.
The State Ridge community in Central Honiara welcomed the official handover of 20 new solar-powered streetlights, funded under the partnership programme recently.
The project will improve safety and security for the State Ridge community in both the Central Honiara and East Honiara Constituencies, a statement by the Australian High Commission yesterday said.
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 10 solar-powered streetlights funded earlier under the Community Partnerships programme.
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 is 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, 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, the high commission statement said.
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 statement said.
The Australian High Commission is accepting applications until March 8, 2026.
Photos: AHC
For feedback, contact: [email protected]
Editor: [email protected]
