As tensions increase with China, the Solomon Islands have received commitments of $130 million from the World Bank to assist with infrastructure.
The money will pay for upgrades to airports, roads and bridges across the country, the World Bank said in a June 1 news release.
“Providing reliable, climate resilient transport connections is a major challenge in Solomon Islands and a key obstacle in addressing uneven development and opportunities for communities across the country,” Annette Leith, World Bank resident representative for Solomon Islands and Vanuatu said in the release. “This new project will address critical issues in air transport infrastructure to improve service delivery for communities in need, as well as improving important international links to support Solomon Islands’ tourism sector.”
The first project, which will cost $89 million, will help improve the safety and efficiency of the nation's aviation sector and make it more "climate resilient," the news release said.
Further projects are expected to be announced throughout the month of June, and are expected to be more focused on aquatic and rural developments, according to the release.
The U.S. and other western nations raised alarm over a security pact the Solomon Islands made with China earlier this year. The pact has been seen as a major step for China to expand its influence in the pacific region.
"For the United States to be effective in the Pacifi,c we must do more, and we must do more on areas that matter and are of significance to the Pacific Islanders," Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said, according to a May 2 Reuters report.
Campbell noted the leaders of Pacific Island nations will be invited to the White House later this year, a move seen as an attempt to boost relations in the area following the Solomon Islands coming to an agreement with China, according to Reuters.
