PRIF Week 2025: Building Forward Better
14-17 October 2025
The Pacific region faces a unique set of infrastructure challenges associated with intensifying climate risks, dispersed geographical dispersion and scale, limited capacity, and financing coordination, exacerbated by evolving development demands, procurement and delivery challenges. In 2023, Pacific leaders formally endorsed the Pacific Quality Infrastructure Principles during the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Tonga. This endorsement marked a significant step toward strengthening regional infrastructure standards, aligning with the broader goals of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.
PRIF development partners recognize that quality infrastructure development is crucial to progressing the priorities of Pacific island countries. PRIF Week 2025 will provide an opportunity for infrastructure stakeholders to join conversations on the theme “Build Forward Better”.
To address infrastructure challenges, PRIF partners recognize that a robust pipeline of projects provides an opportunity to build greater resilience through infrastructure investment. Approximately US$2 billion worth of projects are expected to go the market in the next 12 months and up to US$10 billion may come to fruition in the next 5 years. Delivery will require a considerable level of local capacity and focus on building resilience into design.
The strategic focus on building forward better aims to address vulnerability, integrate climate resilience and disaster risk reduction and promote inclusive infrastructure development. Infrastructure policy response and delivery provides a pathway toward more adaptive, inclusive, and sustainable infrastructure outcomes.
| Time | Session Title | Speaker | Presentations | Video | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00-12:10pm (Fiji) | Welcome and Overview |
Robert Guild, Team Leader PRIF CO |
|
|
|
| 12:10-1:20pm | Setting the Scene |
Susana Waqainabete, Vice President, Pacific Islands & Oceans Program, Conservation International Finau Soqo, General Manager, Pacific Resilience Facility, Pacific Forum Islands Secretariat Bikenibeu Ieremiah, Secretary, Vanuatu Engineers' Association Filimoni Tagicakibau, Senior Specialist, IRIS, Pacific Region, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure Sesimani Lutui, Acting Executive Director, Civil Society Forum of Tonga |
|
|
|
| 1:30pm-3:00pm | Session 2: Pacific Quality Infrastructure Principles - A Framework for Building forward Better |
Elizabeth Wright-Koteka, Secretary, Ministry of Infrastructure, Cook Islands Rusetaneti Taaloga, Project Manager, Project Support Team, Samoa Aviation Investment Project Joseph Maeke, Director, Economic and Productive Sector Division, Ministry of National Planning and Development Coordination, Solomon Islands |
|
|
|
| 3:00pm | Pacific Infrastructure Pipeline Update |
Tim Houghton, Australian Trade Commissioner to the Pacific and Timor-Leste Amin Saskai, Procurement Specialist, World Bank Paul Wright, Defense, Australia Jenny Chu, Procurement Specialist, ADB SPSO Jim Binney, Infrastructure Economist, PRIF Coordination Office |
|
|
| Time | Session Title | Speaker | Presentations | Video | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00-12:10pm (Fiji) | Welcome and Overview |
Robert Guild, Team Leader, PRIF Coordination Office, PRIF |
|
||
| 12.10-1:30pm | Shark Tank - Innovation in Nature-based Solutions |
Susana Waqainabete, Vice President, Conservation International's Pacific Islands and Oceans Program Vinay Singh, Nature-based Solutions Programme Coordinator, IUCN Kasia Mazur, Senior Environmental Economist, World Bank Tim Gill, Australian Infrastructure Investment Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) |
|
|
|
| 1.30-3:00pm | Maintaining Resilience of Existing Infrastructure |
Rory Hunter, Environmental and Social Safeguards Lead, Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) Jerome Tura, Asset Officer, Infrastructure Cook Islands Jonathan Fong, Manager, Procurement and Programme Division, Land Transport Authority of Samoa Doris Susau, Development Practitioner, Live and Learn Fiji Alipate Kete, Acting Manager for Project Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, Strategic Planning Office, Ministry of Finance, Fiji |
|
|
| Time | Session Title | Speaker | Presentations | Video | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00-12:10pm (Fiji) | Welcome and Overview |
Robert Guild, Team Leader, PRIF Coordination |
|
||
| 12:10pm-12:30pm | Cross over to the Tonga hub |
Mandie Finau, Deputy CEO, Ministry of Infrastructure, Tonga |
|
||
| 12.30pm-2:00pm | Pacific Approaches to Building Back Better |
Stan Ahio, Director for Communications, Ministry of Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications (MEIDECC), Tonga Frederic Petit, Managing Director, UNELCO ENGIE, Vanuatu Teea Tira, Programme Advisor, Resilient Development Finance, Pacific Island Forum Secretariat, Fiji |
|
|
|
| 2:00-3:30pm | Session 2: Building Forward Better in Pacific Atoll Countries |
Melvin Dacillo, PMU Planning and Contract Specialist, MPWIU, RMI Alan Resture, National Project Manager, Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project Arthur Webb, Atoll Coastal Adaptation Specialist |
|
|
| Time | Session Title | Speaker | Presentations | Video | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00-12:10pm (Fiji) | Welcome and Overview |
Robert Guild, Team Leader, PRIF Coordination Office |
|
||
| 12:10pm-12:30pm | Cross over to the Samoa Hub |
Meapelo Maiai, Technical Assistance Officer, (GEDSI and Safeguards), PRIF Coordination Office |
|
||
| 12:30pm-2:00pm | Session 1: Capacity Development for Gender Responsive and Inclusive Infrastructure |
Evonne Kennedy, Executive Director, PNG Business Coalition for Women Kisa Kupa, GEDSI Specialist, Tautai Program, Government of Samoa and Australia Preeya Leli, Women's Economic Empowerment Programme Specialist, UN Women, Multi-country office, Suva Faiamio Agaiava, Manager, Corporate Services, Samoa Water Authority Prabhjot Rehan Khan, Senior Social Development Specialist, ADB (Moderator) |
|
|
|
| 2:00pm-3:30pm | Session 2: Building an Enabling Environment for Gender Responsive and Inclusive Infrastructure |
Sauoaiga Olive Kaio, Assistant CEO, MWCSD, Samoa Philip Turner, Chief Executive Officer, NZ Disability Employers’ Network, New Zealand Claire Bretherton, Director, Ministry of Disabled People / Whaikaha Tait Brimacombe, GEDSI Specialist, AIFFP/DFAT, (Moderator) |
|
|