Stimulating investment in pearl farming in ... - World Fish Center

if customary rights extend over reefs adjacent to customary land being acquired by theCommissioner or Provincial Assembly for transfer of the perpetual estate to the customaryowners, in the manner already described, it appears that those rights could be included inthe perpetual estate and be subsequently leased to an investor.4. Transport and telecommunications4.1 Land transportThere are no road bridges between islands, and most of the potential mariculture sites arenot on the intra-island road systems that do exist on North Guadalcanal and Malaita andto a lesser degree on Makira and Choiseul.4.2 Sea transportFrequent and busy shipping services operate between Honiara and ports in RussellIslands (Yandina) and Western Province (Marovo ports, Munda, Noro, Gizo andShortlands). Isabel is also well served, Choiseul and the eastern provinces less so.Vessels in service include several landing barges and express passenger craft. There isstrong competition for freight business and rates are keen.Transhipment of freight from rural ports to remote locations is mainly done by 6-8mfibreglass open boats or large wooden canoes powered by 25-60hp outboards.4.3 Air servicesThe government-owned airline Solair operates three 20-seat Twin Otter STOL aircraftand one 8-seat Islander. There are two scheduled flights most days to Western Province,going on twice a week to Choiseul and Shortland, daily flights to Auki and Malaita andtwice a week to Makira. Fares are competitive with other domestic operations in theregion, but the aircraft have limited cargo capacity and care is needed to ensure thaturgently needed spare parts, for example, don’t get off-loaded in favour of surfboards. Alocally-based helicopter is used mainly by minerals prospectors but is also available forother charter work.4.4 TelecommunicationsThe national telecommunications provider Solomon Telekom Limited (trading as ‘OurTelekom’) is a licensed monopoly, majority owned by the national superannuation fund.It provides landline services at Honiara and urban centres, mobile phone services at thelarger centres and satellite links for international communications. Though the businessis very profitable, user costs are high by international standards and service quality andtechnical support are not highly regarded by customers.Public opinion for some time has favoured opening the sector to competition. Externaladvice (eg, World Bank, ADB) agrees, and the government is now committed to it. Theexpectation is that this will lead to lower prices and better services, as has been the casein other Pacific island countries with a similar telecommunications history. With the12