Regional : Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility Coordination Office—For Quality, Climate, and Socioeconomic Resilient Infrastructure

Energy / Energy sector development and institutional reform

Finance / Infrastructure finance and investment funds

Information and communication technology / ICT strategy and policy, and capacity development

Transport / Transport policies and institutional development

Water and other urban infrastructure and services / Urban policy, institutional and capacity development

The TA will support the implementation of Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility (PRIF) for a further 4-year period from 1 January 2024 until 31 December 2027. This will be the fifth phase of the PRIF. The TA design draws on independent PRIF Phase 4 mid-term review findings, preliminary findings of an independent review of the National Infrastructure Investment Plan (NIIP), and extensive consultations with its management committee of eight development partners.

PRIF is a multi-partner coordination and TA facility established in 2008 to improve the quality and coverage of infrastructure and service delivery for its 14 Pacific member countries. PRIF is managed by Pacific Region Infrastructure Coordination Office (PRIF CO).

During the proposed PRIF Phase 5, PRIF CO will continue to support the goal of improved quality and coverage of infrastructure with a new emphasis on infrastructure quality principles and greater climate and socioeconomic resilience. It will include an additional output focusing on climate resilience activities. Additionally, it will mainstream cross-cutting themes, including gender equality and social inclusion (GESI), regional integration, private sector participation, and sustainable infrastructure management across all PRIF activities and engagements.

People in the Pacific region have poor access to quality and climate-resilient infrastructure services. PRIF member countries are remote, have small populations, and have a narrow economic base. They face significant challenges in planning, managing, and meeting infrastructure needs. These challenges are exacerbated by climate change, frequent disasters, the need to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and increased geostrategic competition. Poor infrastructure compounds existing inequalities and socioeconomic exclusion, disproportionately impacting women and girls and vulnerable groups, and exacerbates gender barriers to education, skills, employment, and markets. Moreover, policy, institutional, and capacity constraints negatively affect the performance and sustainability of infrastructure investments.

The Phase 4 mid-term review found that PRIF performed strongly during the challenging COVID-19 period, was well managed and administered, and key stakeholders agreed that there was an ongoing need for high-quality donor coordination and targeted TA. PRIF provided practical and targeted support to member countries and played a central role in coordinating regional development partner efforts. The coordination function was a highly visible impact of PRIF and brought together a range of partners who contributed their combined experience, knowledge, and finance to the region. PRIF aligned with the priorities of member countries and development partners and exhibited a high degree of coherence without duplication of effort. PRIF effectively integrated cross-cutting themes, including climate change, disaster risk reduction, environment, and GESI. The preliminary findings of the ongoing independent review of PRIF's NIIP program show that NIIPs are generally understood, valued, and offer strong potential for strengthening infrastructure planning and management in member countries.

Overall, PRIF has been an effective vehicle to coordinate and support infrastructure provision in the Pacific, aligning with the PRIF member countries' knowledge needs and priorities as provided in the country knowledge plans and other relevant country or regional policies, strategies, and action plans. There is a strong need for PRIF Phase 5 to support the delivery of the region's unmet infrastructure needs and to build climate and socioeconomic resilience through development partner and regional coordination, capacity development, and finding solutions to the region's infrastructure issues. There are also opportunities to build and further integrate PRIF's approach to cross-cutting themes across all areas of PRIF engagement, collectively plan for and manage safeguards risks, and address gender-based violence and prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (PSEAH).

Quality, and climate resilient infrastructure and service delivery to support socio-economic development in PRIF member countries improved

Coordinated infrastructure investments and support provided by PRIF partners to PRIF member countries.

Climate resilience activities in key infrastructure sectors supported.

Coordinated development partner and other stakeholder infrastructure support to PRIF member countries provided.

Technical advice on sustainable infrastructure planning and management to PRIF partners and member countries provided.