ADB transport strategy

ASIAN Development Bank;s pipeline for transport projects for 2014-16 is projected to reach US$484 million (K1.1 billion) with  PNG getting the biggest slice of the funds.
Papua New Guinea has received the biggest investment in civil aviation, road, port, border and community water projects, according to the ADB’s latest Pacific Transport Update 2013.
ADB Pacific Department director of transport, energy, and natural resources Robert Guild said ADB’s transport strategy in the Pacific was focused on improving access to domestic and international markets, boosting linkages to health, education and other social services and providing integrated networks for inclusive development.
The report showed that ADB’s pipeline of transport projects for 2014-16 was projected to reach about US$484 million (K1.1 billion), building on an existing portfolio of ongoing projects worth US$1.8 billion (K4.3 bilion)
 “Transport development that is inclusive and sustainable is critical to meeting the development challenges of the Pacific,” Guild said.
The report highlighted the breadth of investments in land, sea, and air transport to support improved connectivity in the Pacific region.
It described country by country pipelines of projects and technical assistance that governments had prioritised for ADB assistance.
It also provided a summary of operations that includes 23 projects underway in 2013 in Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, PNG, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu, as well as regional initiatives.
Almost two-thirds of the financing of current operations is from ADB and more than one third from governments and development partners including Australia, New Zealand, European Union, World Bank and Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility.
Pacific Transport Update 2013 noted investment in transport was critical to addressing the vast distances and high production and market costs faced by remote and isolated Pacific communities.
Transport routes from the Pacific to overseas markets are among the worlds longest.
The report also featured ADB’s transport operations which had increased significantly in all the Pacific countries.

ADB operations in the Pacific also focused on the safety, security and maintenance of transport infrastructure as well as building climate resilient infrastructure.