Vanuatu: Pacific Islands Regional Oceanscape Program - First Phase (WB-P513248)

Countries
  • Vanuatu
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • World Bank (WB)
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
B
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
Jun 5, 2026
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
Republic of Vanuatu
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Agriculture and Forestry
  • 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)
$ 40.00 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.
Grant Amount (USD)
$ 40.00 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
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ WB website

Updated in EWS Oct 17, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Nov 6, 2025

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

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.

According to bank's website, the approved project aims to support three priority investment areas: i) tuna industry domestication, ii) small- and medium-size fisheries and aquaculture value chain development, and iii) fisheries governance and institutions' strengthening. Project themes and activities will evolve around: - Development of enabling infrastructure for efficient dockside inspections, offloading, and transshipment in Luganville, Espiritu Santo.- Work force professionalization through vocational training for fishers and fish industry workers. - Technology incubation to foster hands-on training, innovation support and enterprise development in seafood products development. - Food security through value chain development of small and medium scale fisheries, in particular through investments in cold chain systems and fish markets. - Strengthening of local fisher groups in Santo, to partake in sector management and development, including development of satellite distribution systems and inter-island fish trading. - Aquaculture development through upgrading hatcheries in Luganville and providing seed supply for development small-scale and semi-commercial commercial aquaculture in response to high protein demand.- Institutional strengthening including construction of VFD headquarter offices. - Monitoring, Control, Surveillance and Enforcement, including improved regional cooperation. The project will be implemented by the Vanuatu Fisheries Department under the Ministry of Fisheries, Oceans, and Maritime Affairs (MFOMA).

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.

Environmental and Social Risk: S

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

Total Project Cost: US$ 0.00 million

Commitment Amount: US$ 45.00 million 

IBRD + IDA Commitment: US$ 40.00 million 


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.

Task Team Leader: Xavier F. P. Vincent 

Title: Senior Fisheries Specialist 

Email: xvincent@worldbank.org 

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

To submit an information request for project information, you will have to create an account to access the Access to Information request form. You can learn more about this process at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/access-to-information/request-submission

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF THE WORLD BANK

The World Bank Inspection Panel is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by a World Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Inspection Panel, they may investigate to assess whether the World Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can contact the Inspection Panel or submit a complaint by emailing ipanel@worldbank.org. Information on how to file a complaint and a complaint request form are available at: https://www.inspectionpanel.org/how-to-file-complaint

How it works

How it works