Asian Development Bank

It has a road map which identifies major constraints for the delivery of urban services in the Pacific, including fragile economies, limited public land and capacity issues.

The bank also found women and girls having less access to services and resources.

The road map will be used to guide, among other things, the design and implementation of sustaining urban services, such as water supply, sanitation, hygiene, and waste management.

It will also improve spatial planning and help prepare for climate change including flood and drought management.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) says Pacific member economies contracted by 5.8 percent in 2020 due to Covid-19 but it forecasts a recovery by year's end.

The ADB tips 1.4 percent growth but notes that is contingent on a return of tourism, a start of delayed construction, and the resumption of labour mobility and international trade.

But the bank's Pacific economist Rommel Rabanal said not every country will return to growth and that there are ongoing risks.

The loan agreement was signed this week between the bank and Vanuatu government through the Ministry of Transport and Public Utilities.

The loan would cover a period of 13 years towards the cost of the Vanuatu Inter-Island Shipping Support Project.

Part of the funding would be used for the provision of services to Banks and Torres, the Northern part of Vanuatu.

A contractor will be selected by a bidding process to provide a monthly service between Luganville and specific points in Banks and Torres.

The Minister of Finance and Economic Management and ADB Governor, Johnny Koanapo Rasou, signed the US$1.5 million grant agreement Friday, at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management.

“While Vanuatu remains COVID-19 free, cases in the Pacific are still rising, and this grant will allow Vanuatu further strengthen its ability to mitigate and contain the disease from entering the country,” said Lotte Schou-Zibell, Regional Director of ADB’s Sydney office which is managing ADB operations in Vanuatu.

The cyclone affected Ambrym, Malakula, Paama, Ambae, Pentecost, Maewo, Malo, and the large island of Espiritu Santo, where the country’s second-largest city, Luganville, is located.

“As we grapple with the COVID-19 crisis, we must be vigilant and responsive to natural disasters that may occur at any time,” said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa. “Our Pacific developing member countries are among the most vulnerable countries, globally, to the effects of climate change and ADB stands ready to provide further assistance for Vanuatu to rebuild following the cyclone.”

Vanuatu’s Minister of Education and Training Jean-Pierre Nirua led the official opening ceremonies for the schools. Senior Country Coordination Officer from ADB’s Vanuatu Pacific Country Office Nancy Wells, Japan’s Ambassador to Vanuatu Harumi Katsumata, and the project team joined local communities in officially opening the Imaki, Ienaula, and Kwataparen schools.

The support includes loans, guarantees, and letters of credit aimed to overcome constraints to private sector investment in the renewables sector.

The ADB says the Pacific Renewable Energy Programme will support an estimated 5 separate renewable energy projects in its Pacific developing member countries over a 5 year period.

"The program will help to build urgently needed capacity for energy sector expansion and private sector interest in clean energy projects in the region," said the Director General of the ADB's Pacific Department Carmela Locsin

Up to $150,000 of the amount can be used for emergency and humanitarian costs, which the government has incurred to date in response to the disaster.

The agreement was signed by Executive Director Mr. In-chang Song representing Vanuatu on the ADB Board of Directors and ADB Pacific Department Director General Ms. Carmela Locsin at a ceremony at ADB headquarters.

The technology was inaugurated by Asian Development Bank Vice-President Stephen Groff, Vanuatu’s Minister of Education Jean-Pierre Nirua and Benjamin Lim from Zero Mass Water.

The technology, called SOURCE Hydropanels and developed by the US-based ZMW, is an off-grid, solar-powered innovation which extracts vapor into a proprietary absorbent material and produces drinking water from sunlight and air. In 2017, ADB installed a number of these Hydropanels at its headquarters in Manila, Philippines to demonstrate the viability of this technology.

In its latest Pacific Economic Monitor the Bank said changes were needed now to mitigate disaster risks to improve the region's economic growth and development prospects,

The ADB's director general of its Pacific Department, Carmela Locsin, said many Pacific countries had taken steps to improve resilience but she said more innovative approaches and greater institutional capacity could help the response.