Chinese Government provides RMB 100 million grant for Police Academy Construction Project (Linked to Record ID#65332)

Project narrative

In January 2016, the Chinese Government provided a grant worth RMB 100 million ($15 million) to the Government of Samoa for the Police Academy Construction Project. The grant proceeds were at least partially drawn from an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) that the two governments signed on October 12, 2016 (as captured via Record ID#65332). The purpose of the project is to construct a police academy in Tafaigata (where an old prison was located) and thereby raise the standards of policing in Samoa. The academy will include a driving track course, sports field, classrooms, among other facilities. The design specification plan for the project was revealed in 2018 in Shanghai. Then, on June 26, 2018, a project implementation agreement was signed by the CEO of Samoa’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). Construction was originally scheduled to commence in May 2019. However, the project implementation start date was later pushed back to March 2021. Then, in June 2022, a Samoan Government Minister explained that the delay in project implementation was due to New Zealand banning flights from China. One month later, in July 2022, the Government of Samoa announced that project implementation would begin as soon as 100 workers from China arrived at the project site in Tafaigata. Construction for the project finally began on October 25, 2022, with a groundbreaking ceremony held on the site at Tafa'igata. The Police Academy was later opened on August 23, 2024.