Better Project Implementation Will Support Growth

Better Project Implementation Will Support Inclusive, Sustainable Growth - ADB

PORT VILA, VANUATU (30 November 2011) – Better project implementation will support inclusive, sustainable growth, delegates at a workshop organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) heard today.

The workshop on project implementation and administration, held in Port Vila, was attended by senior officials from Ministries of Finance and Economic Management, Infrastructure and Public Utilities, and Lands and Natural Resources, and the Port Vila Municipal and Shefa Provincial Councils.

The ADB Project Implementation and Administration Workshop was held in preparation for two planned major infrastructure projects in Vanuatu to be co-funded by ADB. The three-day event provided training on procurement of works, goods, and services; contract management; and disbursements as well as operational policies and procedures for ADB financed and administered projects

“The expansion of ADB’s activities in Vanuatu, especially in the areas of infrastructure investment, private sector development, and renewable energy, calls for strengthened engagement with the government and other development partners,” said Eugenue Zhukov, Regional Director of ADB’s Pacific Liaison and Coordination Office in Australia. “ADB, in partnership with co-financiers, has begun preparations for an inter-island shipping project in cooperation with New Zealand Aid Programme and an urban development project with AusAID.”

Vanuatu is one of the fastest growing economies in the Pacific. However, it still faces enormous challenges such as vulnerability to natural disasters and to the fluctuations in the global economy. Economic growth has been largely confined to urban areas and has generated few jobs in rural regions.

Since joining ADB in 1981, Vanuatu has received nine loans totaling $51.3 million and technical assistance for 59 projects amounting to $19.215 million. More than 50% of the loans were for infrastructure rehabilitation and more than 40% of the technical assistance was for institutional support and training..

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members — 48 from the region. In 2010, ADB approvals, including co-financing, totaled $17.51 billion. In addition, ADB's ongoing Trade Finance Program supported $2.8 billion in trade.

ENDS

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