Early Warning System

Regions

East Asia and Pacific

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Countries

Marshall Islands

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Specific Location

Majuro city

Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.

Financial Institutions

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Approved

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Voting Date

Dec 10, 2024

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

Government of Marshall Islands

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Energy
Infrastructure
Law and Government

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Grant

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 19.70 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.

Grant Amount (USD)

$ 19.70 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.

Project Cost (USD)

$ 21.00 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.

Bank Documents

Other Related Projects

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS Jan 3, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Dec 10, 2024

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Can you contribute information about this project?
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Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

As stated by the ADB, the RMI consists of 29 atolls and five islands in the North Pacific with an average altitude above sea level of about 2 meters. The Marshall Islands depends heavily on external assistance, with an average 60% of gross domestic product being provided through annual grants - the most significant being the Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the United States that has recently been renewed for the period 2024-2043.

ADB's ongoing assistance in the energy sector in RMI covers interventions for the rehabilitation of the Majuro tank farm as well as for installation of new meters. ADB is supporting the government and MEC implement a multi-year management action plan to improve MEC's corporate performance. This is currently underway through a three-year Supplemental Management and Operations assistance (commenced in 2023) on policy, commercial, technical, regulatory and human resource aspects of the power system in Majuro as well as preparing priority investments for efficiency and reliability.

The proposed project will support energy distribution systems in Majuro city, low carbon renewable energy installations in the RMI and sector reforms, institutional strengthening as well as resilience on smaller islands.

The project supports the overall objective of improving energy delivery in the RMI as well as extending support for the long-term energy transition through infrastructure development, policy support and capacity building. The interventions meet the qualifying criteria for the Pacific Renewable Energy Infrastructure Facility namely (i) it includes support for renewable energy and supporting energy infrastructure for tank farms, diesel generation and distribution assets, (ii) it is in a PIC-11 country, (iii) the project components are based on national energy master plans and priorities in national documents, and (iv) it excludes environment category A projects. The design and implementation of the proposed intervention will align with best practices for interventions for small islands including a phased approach for renewable energy integration and diversification.

Early Warning System Project Analysis

For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The ADB categorized the project risks as follows:

- Environment: B
- Involuntary Resettlement: C
- Indigenous Peoples: C

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Private Actors Description

A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by the ADB, the Marshalls Energy Company (MEC) is a state-owned utility and is responsible for fuel imports into the Marshall Islands. It also generates, distributes, and retails electricity on Majuro to a population of about 28,000 (about half of the total country's population) and over 70% of the electricity generated and consumed in the country. Also, MEC provides fuel and electricity supply in a few islands outside Majuro.

Private Actor 1	Private Actor 1 Role	Private Actor 1 Sector	Relation	Private Actor 2	Private Actor 2 Role	Private Actor 2 Sector
-	-	-	-	Marshalls Energy Company - MEC	Contractor	Energy

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

ADB Team Leader:

Len V. George - Senior Energy Specialist, Energy Sector Office (SG-ENE), Pacific Regional Department

No contacts provided at the time of disclosure.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.adb.org/forms/request-information-form

ADB has a two-stage appeals process for requesters who believe that ADB has denied their request for information in violation of its Access to Information Policy. You can learn more about filing an appeal at: https://www.adb.org/site/disclosure/appeals

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF ADB

The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an Asian Development Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Accountability Mechanism, they may investigate to assess whether the Asian Development Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can learn more about the Accountability Mechanism and how to file a complaint at: http://www.adb.org/site/accountability-mechanism/main.