SINPF $81 million dollar Project for new commercial building commences
The Solomon Islands National Provident held a ground-breaking ceremony yesterday (Thursday) to commence the construction of the new SINPF commercial building opposite the new Ombudsman Office in Honiara.
Speaking at the ceremony the Deputy Chairman of SINPF Board David Rupokets said this new commercial property located in the heart of the Honiara CBD is expected to cost around SBD81 million (inclusive of all taxes) and construction is expected to take up to 20 months to complete.
“Today, we are marking the beginning of construction works of this new commercial property by successful bidder AJ Enterprises Limited who successfully tendered for the project among other competitive bidders.
This new property investment will see the development of a basement parking level, a podium level and four (4) levels of Commercial Office spaces with all utilities and services to inclusively serve the needs of all tenants of the building. The Board has already commenced seeking and canvassing for potential tenants for the new commercial property.
For a bit of history, this location where we are now has a long rich history as it was formerly owned and hosted the former iconic government’s owned Solomon Islands Housing Authority Head Office. This asset is part of the sales and purchase agreement settled between the Solomon Islands Government and the SINPF Board when the SINPF Board bought the entity in 2009.
Director Rupokets said the investment journey to develop this commercial site commenced in 2017 with the Board’s endorsement and Minister of Finance approvals secured in 2018.
However, the project was put on hold when the Board won the public tender to construct a residential accommodation unit for the Commonwealth Government of Australia at the Hibiscus Apartment grounds.
“Today’s ground- breaking is a major milestone in the progress of SINPF Board’s investments in our domestic property investment market”, Director Rupokets said.
With the advance progress of the apartments’ construction (with the 1st phase of the Hibiscus development expected to be completed in December 2024), the Board is now in a position to commence the construction of this new modern 4 level commercial building.
He highlighted that to protect and grow our members contribution balances with good returns, there are also the wider positive ramifications that comes with such new investments that our wider economy will benefit from. These include the creation of new employment opportunities, creating additional business for local suppliers of goods and services and creating additional taxes for the government to pay for its services for our growing population. The completion of this new building will also provide a face lift for our national capital city Honiara.
It is expected the commercial building to be handed over to the SINPF Board by AJ Enterprises Limited in November 2025.
