SICCI applauds Government’s push to Submarine Cable Project

January 18, 2017

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The Solomon Islands Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SICCI) has applauded the National Government for taking forward the submarine internet cable project that is expected to start work next month.

SICCI sees the significance of the cable investment and has welcomed the announcement made earlier this month of a contract with manufacturing giant Huawei to implement the project.

The Cable initiative is long overdue and the sooner the project is implemented the better it will be for the economy. It will unlock many opportunities for the country and bring with it many benefits for the government, the business community and Solomon Islanders.

The Government has promised to appoint a CEO in the SISCC office by early February.

SICCI CEO Dennis Meone says the cable project is important for the growth of the economy.

Among many benefits, the cable will boost the county’s internet speed connection, cheaper internet rates, make it easier for more investment opportunities, and of course meaning potentially more jobs and opportunities for Solomon Islanders when businesses are thriving and expanding their investment frontier.

It will also improve productivity and reduce wastage in time and costs.

“As the representative body of the Private Sector, we give our full support behind the project,” said Meone.

“It is a long overdue project but we applaud SIG in leading and driving this important initiative forward. 

“This project will provide a huge leap for internet services in the Solomon Islands, where we are depending more and more on the internet for basic services. The internet is the key means to communications nowadays and can have a better impact on production and efficiency.”

Once completed, the project will connect Honiara to Sydney, Australia via a communications cable laid along the sea bed.

Submarine cables are more suitable to the isolated and third-world country locations, and is known to reduce the cost of communication access and stimulate increased economic growth.

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