12 Aug 2005

ADB urges Solomon Islands to improve shipping services

10:23 am on 12 August 2005

The Asian Development Bank says the infrastructure in Solomon Islands needs to be improved for the country to be able to develop.

Eighty per cent of Solomon Islanders live in rural areas and the ADB says communications are unreliable or costly.

The ADB is presenting its assessment of the private sector and Winfried Wicklein of the ADB's Sydney office says change cannot be achieved overnight.

He says shipping should be improved to open up inter-island transportation, connect producers to both domestic and international markets and to enable labour mobility.