The Legislative Assembly has approved a $992 million national budget for the 2025–26 financial year, the Prime Minister said. Key investments include infrastructure upgrades, renewable energy projects.
Budget details reveal $748.9million will be the portion managed by the Ministry of Finance, while $243.9 million comes directly from development partners and is earmarked for projects like the new parliament building. PM Dr ‘Aisake Eke emphasised that “focusing on the development of the private sector is what makes this budget special.”
Parliament also passed a Community Road Maintenance Fund, allocating TOP 100,000 to each of Tonga’s 17 constituencies.
This is Tonga’s largest-ever budget, representing a significant increase from previous years’ allocations of about $899 million . The government projects a deficit near $29 million and will issue $30 million in local bonds to finance the gap, available to private sector investors.
In line with development partner funds such as those for the new parliament building, the budget allocates externally sourced financing directly to priority infrastructure. This ensures greater transparency and efficiency for targeted spending.
The overarching priority is promoting the private sector, reducing Tonga’s dependency on foreign aid and remittances. Economic experts and the IMF have hailed this as a major shift toward self‑reliance.
Parliament also approved the schedule for the annual constituency visits in July 2025, ahead of the general election set for November.
