Vanuatu: Supporting the Vanuatu Project Management Unit and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Utilities

Transport / Transport policies and institutional development

The proposed CDTA will review in detail VPMU's project management role as envisaged in the VPMU Charter and as executed during project preparation, detailed designs, procurement, construction, and defects liability stages of infrastructure projects. The review will look into any duplication of roles and resources between VPMU, PWD, MIPU, and other government ministries or agencies. The review will also assess the effectiveness of the coordination role of VPMU and other ministries including MIPU and PWD in managing projects in light of an increasing public investment portfolio. It will map out the current arrangement and propose changes to strengthen Vanuatu's project management capacities.

The TA will supplement the implementation capacity of VPMU in the short-run (e.g. two years) by recruiting a national consultant to work with international project management experts in the VPMU financed by other sources (by ADB and WB). The national consultant will gain project management expertise through on-the-job training and provide project management and implementation advises to MIPU and VPMU and subsequently will be eligible for absorption into PWD or VPMU.

The CDTA will address the following issues:

(i) the increasing number of projects is stretching VPMU and MIPU's implementation capacity;

(ii) the expanding work in public investment calls for an assessment of the suitability of the currently centralized system;

(iii) there is a need to clarify and optimize the responsibilities on project management between VPMU, MIPU, and line ministries

1. Infrastructure Portfolio and Institutional Review,

2. Employing national consultants and staff at VPMU, MIPU and PWD for on the job training to improve project management capabilities enabling them directly undertaking project management advisory role.

The CDTA will be implemented over 24 months, from November 2016 to November 2018. The CDTA will mobilize and engage 2 person-months of an individual international consultant and 24 person-months of a individual national consultant over the 2-year CDTA period under output based contracts.

All experts shall be recruited by using ICS method following ADB's Guidelines on The Use of Consultants (2013, as amended from time to time). Proceeds of the CDTA will be disbursed in accordance with ADB's Technical Assistance Disbursement Handbook (2010, as amended from time to time)