MAJURO — Marshall Islands leaders signed a multi-million dollar loan with the Asian Development Bank on Wednesday that aims to greatly improve transportation services to the remote islands in this widely scattered central Pacific nation.
ADB is funding $7 million of the total package that is worth $9 million. The agreement was signed here by Finance Minister Mike Konelios, Transportation Minister Brenson Wase and Manila-based ADB official Tilak Sen.
The loan aims to dramatically improve shipping access to outer islands by building or expanding docks, jetties, storage facilities and cargo handling equipment, and placing navigational aids for vessels servicing different islands.
“The aim is to enable the transport of goods and services to the outer islands more quickly,” Sen said.
A component of the loan will also focus on outer island airstrip improvements for selected atolls. Sen said the runway improvements would be dictated more by social benefit than economic opportunities.
“We want to minimize government operations by shortening the turn-around time for vessels,” Wase said.
Sen said there would be opportunities for private sector involvement in the shipping side of the loan.
The outer island infrastructure loan is one of two major loans from the Asian Development Bank that will be targeting needs in the outer islands over the next several years, according to Sen.
Negotiations are now in progress on a second loan focused on the outer islands for 2004. That loan will address outer island social services and needs, said Sen.
