Early Warning System

Countries

Tonga

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Specific Location

Fualu

Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.

Financial Institutions

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Proposed

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Borrower

Government of Tonga - Ministry of Finance

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Energy

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Grant

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 1.00 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.

Bank Documents

Project Disclosure PDF

Other Related Projects

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS May 13, 2024

Disclosed by Bank Apr 16, 2024

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Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the project will construct a new 12-kilometer of 33-kilovolt transmission line from Fualu to Popua power station, and installations of necessary substations and interconnections; install protection systems and control equipment to mitigate the risk of power system failures; and rehabilitate 7.5 kilometers of the existing 11-kilovolt medium-voltage transmission network feeder running to the western part of Tongatapu. The project will also provide capacity building and training for the staff of Tonga Power Limited (TPL).

To achieve the goal of 70% renewable energy by 2025, Tonga Power Limited (TPL), a government-owned public enterprise in Tonga responsible for electricity generation, transmission, and distribution, will enter a power purchase agreement with an independent power producer (IPP) to purchase electricity from a 20-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaics and 20 MW / 50-megawatt hour (MWh) battery energy storage system to be built and located at Fualu. ADB is supporting the government of Tonga, particularly TPL, to evacuate energy from the IPP's 20 MW solar PV and 20 MW / 50 MWh BESS located in Fualu. The 12-kilometer of new 33-kilovolt transmission line constructed from Fualu to Popua power station will enhance scaling up renewable energy share in Tonga, while strengthening a portion of the existing 11-kilovolt transmission line will improve reliability and stability of clean electricity.

Early Warning System Project Analysis

For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

Environment: B

Involuntary Resettlement: C

Indigenous Peoples: C

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Asian Development Fund: US$ 1.00 million

Private Actors Description

A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Tonga Power Limited (TPL): a government-owned public enterprise in Tonga responsible for electricity generation, transmission, and distribution.

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

No contacts available at the time of disclosure.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.adb.org/forms/request-information-form

ADB has a two-stage appeals process for requesters who believe that ADB has denied their request for information in violation of its Access to Information Policy. You can learn more about filing an appeal at: https://www.adb.org/site/disclosure/appeals

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF ADB

The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an Asian Development Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Accountability Mechanism, they may investigate to assess whether the Asian Development Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can learn more about the Accountability Mechanism and how to file a complaint at: http://www.adb.org/site/accountability-mechanism/main.