Pacific Infrastructure Advisory Centre (PIAC) Activities

The Pacific Infrastructure Advisory Centre (PIAC) is the main contact point for discussions on PRIF assistance and PIAC has engaged with all countries covered by PRIF to inform them of the services offered.

PIAC provides technical assistance for advisory and project preparatory support to partner countries. This practical support comes in the form of: analytical studies and research, policy advice, preparation of technical assistance (TA) and investment proposals, asset and utility management, capacity building and institutional strengthening support, and coordination and harmonisation of external assistance provided by PRIF partners and regional organisations. PIAC has four staff – Mr John Austin (Manager), Mr Jan Overbeek (Deputy Manager), Ms Cori Yap (Research Officer), and Ms Nina Mines (Operations Officer).

Following discussions with country government officials, PIAC has received a number of requests for assistance to date.

The progress of these is detailed below:

Completed TA projects

Pohnpei Port Scoping Study (download the report here - PDF 3,294 KB)
Tonga National Infrastructure Investment Plan (download the report here - PDF 1,441 KB)
Samoa National Infrastructure Plan (download the report here - PDF 2, 449 KB)
Institutional Assessment of Road Construction and Maintenance Services, Tonga (download the stage 1 technical assessment report here - PDF 5, 038 KB & download the final report here - PDF 2,079 KB)

TA projects underway

Action Plan for Water and Sanitation for South Tarawa, Kiribati
Nauru National Infrastructure Strategy and Investment Plan
Solomon Islands Water Authority (SIWA) financial and operational strengthening.
Tuvalu Infrastructure Strategy and Investment Plan
Vanuatu Infrastructure Master Plan
Implementation Plan for the draft Cook Islands Renewable Energy Chart (CIREC)

Other support being provided by PIAC

PIAC is also undertaking some analytical work on behalf of the PRIF partners to determine how PRIF can best provide support to the water and sanitation and waste management sub-sectors, particularly in the areas of rural water and sanitation and water security in fragile atoll environments. This work will look to define key issues and directions for future support and an overview of assistance being provided by all donors active in the sector. In particular, in Kiribati PIAC is providing support to the Ministry of Public Works and Utilities and to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development for the evaluation and strengthening of South Tarawa's Water Supply, Sanitation and Solid Waste Management sector. In November 2011 PIAC supported a workshop devoted to this issue and led by the Task Force on Water and Sanitation: more information on this workshop can be found on the Kiribati W&S Workshop page.

In addition, PIAC has initiated performance benchmarking for utilities in the power and water sectors of Pacific island countries. A framework for benchmarking has been developed in close coordination with the PRIF partners, regional organisations such as the Secretariat for the Pacific Community (SPC), Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), Pacific Power Association (PPA), Pacific Water and Wastes Association (PWWA), and power and water utilities in Pacific island countries. Benchmarking Steering Committee meetings were held for Pacific power utilities in April and again July 2011 and 'sustainable annual benchmarking' has been endorsed as a management tool for improving the performance of Pacific power utilities.A similar Benchmarking Steering Committe meeting was held for the Pacific water utilities in April 2011 and September 2011.

PIAC is also working with the PRIF Secretariat, PRIF partners, partner country governments and regional organisations on developing Pacific Infrastructure Performance Indicators (PIPIs) for PRIF’s Monitoring and Evaluation framework.

For further information on how to request technical and advisory assistance through PIAC see the "Requesting Assistance" page or feel free to contact PIAC directly via email: piac@theprif.org.

Fast Fact #1

PRIF is an initiative jointly supported by:

Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)
European Commission (EC)
European Investment Bank (EIB)
New Zealand Government via the New Zealand Aid Programme (NZMFAT)
World Bank Group (WBG)

Fast Fact #3

PRIF aims to help improve infrastructure outcomes in the following economic infrastructure sectors:

Energy
Telecommunications
Transport (land, sea, air)
Waste Management
Water and Sanitation

Fast Fact #2

PRIF provides support to:

Cook Islands
Federated States of Micronesia
Kiribati
Republic of Marshall Islands
Nauru
Niue
Palau
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu

Fast Fact #5

Partner countries are encouraged to engage with the PRIF partners by having:

a single government agency responsible for the coordination of other agencies and for contact with PRIF development partners.
a process to sort out infrastructure priorities and lead development partners
a roadmap for future investment in economic infrastructure

Fast Fact #4

PRIF has eight priority principles to support improved infrastructure services which are:

long-term support to countries
country-led support
sector-based approaches
institutional support
supporting private sector development
use of appropriate technology
strengthened coordination
performance incentives