EAP - The Pacific Infrastructure Challenge - World Bank (2006).pdf
EAP - The Pacific Infrastructure Challenge - World Bank (2006).pdf
EAP - The Pacific Infrastructure Challenge - World Bank (2006).pdf
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5 How well are <strong>Pacific</strong> Countries Performing<br />
‘<strong>Infrastructure</strong> Performance’ describes how effectively infrastructure services are provided<br />
to consumers over the long term.<br />
We measured infrastructure performance by comparing sector specific indicators of<br />
service coverage, quality, cost and economic viability for <strong>Pacific</strong> and comparator 6<br />
countries. This allowed us to establish whether sector performance is relatively good or<br />
relatively poor in each country.<br />
Detailed benchmarking by infrastructure sector is presented in Appendix A, based on<br />
publicly available data. Overall, we observe that although some utilities perform well, and<br />
infrastructure access is adequate in some (mainly urban) areas, <strong>Pacific</strong> countries do not<br />
perform as well as comparator countries on most key performance indicators. This section<br />
represents a summary of our observations.<br />
5.1 Some Evidence of Good Performance<br />
Some service providers perform very well<br />
<strong>The</strong> Fiji Electricity Authority (FEA) became one of the best performing electricity utilities<br />
in the <strong>Pacific</strong>, following the appointment in 2001 of a Board with significant private<br />
business experience and a mandate to run the utility as a commercial entity. FEA has<br />
improved efficiency, reduced production costs and system losses, improved labor<br />
productivity, become financially self-sufficient, and introduced private sector participation<br />
in power generation.<br />
Vanuatu’s privately owned electricity and water operator, UNELCO, performs better than<br />
any of the other <strong>Pacific</strong> utilities we reviewed, on measures of quality and efficiency in<br />
water and electricity. <strong>The</strong> utility recovers all operating and capital costs, as well as the costs<br />
of loss-making rural electrification, through its tariff.<br />
Apia Port in Samoa and Lae and Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea have some of the<br />
highest TEU throughput rates. <strong>The</strong>y also have relatively low port charges. All of these<br />
ports are profitable.<br />
Teledensity has improved, and internet tariffs have dropped in some countries<br />
Tonga’s mobile penetration levels have increased significantly since competition has been<br />
introduced. Within a year of introducing competition for mobile services, the tariff for<br />
almost all services dropped by more than 20% and the numbers of mobile subscribers and<br />
internet users both doubled. <strong>The</strong> result of competition has been that “telephones are easier<br />
to get, cheaper to buy and communication is faster”. It has also resulted in the two<br />
competing companies upgrading their infrastructures for further use in communications<br />
and broadcasting.<br />
In Papua New Guinea, competition between ISPs has reduced internet tariffs. In Samoa,<br />
the introduction of competing ISPs resulted in a price reduction of 50% in the incumbent<br />
ISP and an increase in internet traffic of over 100% 7 .<br />
6 Comparator countries included: Jamaica, St Lucia, St Kitts & Nevis, Grenada, Dominica, Barbados, Mauritius, New<br />
Zealand, the Philippines,<br />
7 Castalia interview with Grant McGough, Acting CEO SamoaTel in September 2004<br />
14