Infrastructure Regulatory Review for Government of Vanuatu

The Government of Vanuatu requested
assistance from the World Bank to strengthen utility
regulation. The government wants a regulatory system which
will ensure that water, electricity and telecommunications
services are provided efficiently, to a good quality
standard, at reasonable prices. The public private
infrastructure advisory facility provided funding for
Castalia and network strategies to carry out an initial
diagnostic phase. This report is the result of that initial
diagnostic phase. The report: a) reviews performance of the
electricity, water and telecommunications sectors on
measures of cost, access, quality and efficiency,
identifying the areas in which Vanuatu is doing well, and
those aspects where the government might desire improvement;
b) reviews the current regulatory arrangements, industry and
market structures for the utilities against good
international practice, and suggests areas in which changes
to the current arrangements might help to improve
performance; and c) recommends specific regulatory and
institutional changes for the government's consideration.