Results for Business

A group of soil scientists have embarked on a quest to determine the impact of the volcanic ash fall and tsunami caused by the Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha’apai volcanic eruption that occurred near Tonga in January this year. Core soil samples collected from areas on Tongatapu and 'Eua will be undergo DNA and chemical analysis at CSIRO’s Analytical Services Unit laboratory in Australia before being archived for future research.

A new studio building for Tonga Broadcasting Commission was commissioned by Crown Prince Tupouto'a 'Ulukalala, on the completion of a Nationwide Early Warning System Project (NEWS) on Tuesday, at Fasi-moe-Afi. The NEWS project, worth about USD30 million in total, funded by Japan, will strengthen Tonga’s capacity for risk management and its resilience against disasters through the improvement of three systems: Emergency Radio Communication System, Early Warning Sound Alert System and Medium Wave Radio Broadcasting System.

Solar power for around 197 households on the small island of ‘Uiha in the Ha’apai Group, was tested this week marking an important transition from diesel to solar power generation, ahead of commissioning at the end of the month. The island's two villages, which had only six hours of electricity a day, now enjoy 24 hours a day of 100% renewable power.

While the government is aiming to improve the growth of electronic commerce, to enable more people in Tonga to fully utilize the ICT infrastructure and skills already in place, there is still a long way to go, says Tonga's trade minister, in the first ‘E-Commerce Strategy and Roadmap for Tonga’.

Telstra announced yesterday it had completed the acquisition of Digicel Pacific in partnership with the Australian Government. The acquisition which was initially announced in October 2021 was finalised, after necessary government and regulatory approvals. Digicel Pacific communications services across Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu will be overseen by a Telstra controlled board, chaired by Telstra Enterprise Group Executive, David Burns.

A revised petroleum price will take effect starting on Friday, 1 July for three-months, as the Tonga Competent Authority applies the government's 20 seniti per litre subsidy all petroleum products, except for power diesel.

Tonga's Outer Islands Renewable Energy Project for nine islands is now around 71% completed. It aims to help reduce the country’s dependence on imported fossil fuel for power generation by providing on-grid and off-grid generation solar power, reports MEIDECC's Department of Energy.

The receipt of relief funds from the government’s development partners to support Tonga’s recovery from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption and tsunami has boosted Tonga’s foreign reserves. The official foreign reserves held by the National Reserve Bank of Tongavin April 2022, had increased considerably by $22.6 million to (from March) to $884.0 million, and by over $204 million since April last year.

In Tonga, the price of petrol will decrease, while kerosene and diesel increases start from Wednesday, 18 May.