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Transport problems in South Pacificcountries: a study of VanuatuSat ParkashPublished online: 13 Mar 2007.

To cite this article: Sat Parkash (1991) Transport problems in South Pacific countries:a study of Vanuatu, Transport Reviews: A Transnational Transdisciplinary Journal, 11:2,155-172, DOI: 10.1080/01441649108716780

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TRANSPORT REVIEWS, 1991, VOL. 11, No. 2, 155-172

Transport problems in South Pacific countries:a study of Vanuatu

By SAT PARKASH†

This paper addresses transport problems faced by small island countries, itdiscusses in some detail the situation in Vanuatu in the South Pacific and seeks tosuggest directions in which solutions might be sought. Some of the principal featuresof the country are: low income and lack of capital; low population density; longdistances between different islands and between the country and the rest of theworld; and a low level of human skills. The main problem is to find the financialresources and trained manpower to build and to maintain transport infrastructure.On account of low levels of traffic and low utilization of facilities, returns ontransport investments are low and it becomes difficult to justify investments instrictly financial or economic terms. This restricts the ability to secure funding fromexternal sources. Due to the Government's budgetary situation, even maintenanceof facilities becomes difficult. The main dilemma is how to achieve economicdevelopment without proper transport links. The author suggests that in thesedeveloping countries, returns from transport investments might be interpretedsomewhat broadly to take into account the contribution of transport to social andeconomic development such as health and education. The paper analyses theproblems of each mode of transport in Vanuatu. Both the problems and thesolutions suggested have relevance for many other small developing countries.

1. IntroductionIsland countries in the South Pacific, small in size, inhabited by small populations

and far from the rest of the world have transport problems, with special features of theirown. To provide transport to these islands requires large capital investment and largeresources in human skills and organization in relation to their populations. Since thescale of facilities required is small, benefits of large scale economies cannot be reapedand investments are difficult to justify in terms of financial or economic returns—thisconstrains the ability to secure funding from external sources and to repay loans. Thepossibilities of raising capital locally are also limited. It is extremely difficult to attemptto build transport infrastructure with borrowings obtained in the open market, as forexample from banks, on commençai terms. Thus, the process of transport developmentis throttled under economic and financial pressures and takes the form of a viciouscircle—transport restricting economic development and in turn constrained byfinancial and economic limitations.

The problems of these small countries can be broadly classified into the followingthree categories:

(a) finding funds for initial investment as well as for subsequent maintenance;

(b) finding manpower, building training facilities and developing required skills;and

(c) justifying investments in terms of returns by ensuring adequate utilization ofcapacities and by injecting the necessary measure of efficiency in theiroperations.

† The author has been working as Senior Transport Policy and Planning Advisor in theMinistry of Transport, Public Works, Communications and Tourism, Vanuatu, on assignmentfrom C.F.T.C., Commonwealth Secretariat, London. The views expressed in the paper are thoseof the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government of Vanuatu or C.F.T.C.

0144-1647/91 $300 © 1991 Taylor & Francis Ltd.

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Various problems, whichever mode of transport they relate to, be it maritime, civilaviation or road transport, have to be dealt with in terms of these three broaddimensions. For instance, it is not easy for small island countries to acquire funds tobuy ships or aeroplanes, to build seaports and airports and to buy equipment to buildroads in difficult terrain. Even if initial funds become available, there are not enoughresources to maintain these facilities so that they pay for interest and depreciation.

There is the problem of finding trained manpower, first to build these facilities andthen to operate them efficiently. It is difficult to establish training institutions, as it alsois to send sufficient numbers of students abroad for training. Moreover, some studentsreturning from training abroad wish to take advantage of their scarcity by demandingpay which the public service may not be able to afford. Furthermore, there is theproblem of finding sufficient utilization of the transport facilities in view of the smallsize of the countries and their limited purchasing power. Not many people can afford totravel by air, there is not enough cargo to fill the ships, and there are not enoughvehicles to ply the roads and to pay the road taxes. Thus, sufficient returns on theinvestments cannot be earned. Whether it is air fares or cargo handling rates at theports or bus fares in towns, they have to be set at high levels if they are to earnappropriate returns, which in turn discourages their usage.

The question therefore arises how the problems of (a) low economic returns and (b)low financial returns (financial cost recovery) on transport investments can beaddressed in these small developing countries. It needs consideration whether returnsshould not be interpreted somewhat broadly to take into account the contributions oftransport to the development of the community. An assessment of economic returnsfrom investment in transport might include not only increased production and savingsbut socio-economic benefits such as health and education. Again the costs to berecovered from the users of transport may not be full costs but only marginal costs, atany rate, in the short run till the benefits have been more fully established. Furtherindirect beneficiaries other than the direct users of transport (e.g. the farming sector inthe case of roads) may also be taxed to cover at least a proportion of the benefits whichthey receive. Such an approach would seem to be justified in principle and couldperhaps ease the problem of justifying transport investments on the basis of returns.

This paper attempts to study some of the transport problems pertaining to differenttransport modes in the Archipelago of Vanuatu, the directions in which solutions couldbe sought and the validity of these problems and solutions for other similar small islandcountries in the South Pacific. This paper is not intended to provide definitive solutionsto the problems; the aim, rather, is to try to identify the problems and to stimulatethinking on possible approaches to their solutions.

2. Geographic and economic featuresAll transport problems basically emanate from the advantages and disadvantages

of geographic locations. Transport activities essentially relate to overcoming thecontraints arising from geographic locations in moving human being and materials(and, when required, animals) from their points of origin to their points of destination.Before attempting to study the transport problems of Vanuatu, it is useful to take abroad view of the geographic and economic features of the country.

The Archipelago of Vanuatu comprises about 80 islands in a Y shape spread over adistance of 800 Km in the south west Pacific. It is located in a north south directionbetween the latitudes 13°S and 22°S and longitudes 166Έ and 172Έ.

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Transport problems in South Pacific countries 157

14«

16»

IS'

TORRES ISLANDS

VANUA LAVA0-MOTA LAVA

l o l a BANKS ISLANDSO

SANTA MARIA.

ESPIRITU SANTO AMBAE

LuganvlU«

MALAKULA

South West B a y C*oi

MERE LAVA

MAEWO

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AMBRYM

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7 \ - L a m e n Bay

Port Vila

SHEPHERD

EFATE

\

Solomon H' · > , Tuvalu'·

^r, F|Ji __

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION

Dillon's Bay

ERROMANGO

TAFEA

j-, ANIWA

TANNA( C Herald Bay

\ ? FUTUNA

VANUATU

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Before the country got its independence in 1980 and became a Republic, it was ruledunder an Anglo-French Condominium known as New Hebrides. It became Vanuatuafter independence, which in the local language Bislama means 'land'. It is about2500 km to the north-east of Sydney, Australia, 2000 km north of Auckland, NewZealand, 400 km north-east of New Caledonia and 800 km west of Fiji. The countrycovers 450 000 km2 of sea within its 200 miles of exclusive economic zone.

The total land area of the country is estimated as 12190 Km2 of which about5500 Km2 or 45% is considered arable land. Ten islands account for about 90% of theland area, the two largest among them being Espiritu Santo (4150 Km2) and Malekula(2053 Km2). The population was reckoned as 111251 in the 1979 Census and wasestimated to be about 140000 in 1986 indicating a population growth rate of about3-4% per year. Over 95% of the population is Melanesian.

The isolation of the country from the rest of the world, the relatively long distanceswhich separate it from the neighbouring countries, the dispersal of the islands withinthe group, their small areas and population all taken together give rise to formidabletransport problems.

About 20% of the population lives in urban areas and the remaining 80% in ruralareas. The two towns are Port Vila (1986 population 14184) in the island of Efate andLuganville (1986 population 5183) in the island of Espiritu Santo. Port Vila is thecapital. While the overall density of population is about 10 to 11 persons per Km2, thedensity is much higher in the two urban areas where the growth of population in recentyears has been much higher than the rest of the country. There is a large migration ofpopulation from rural to urban areas.

The Decentralization Act came into effect in 1980. The purpose of the Act was todecentralize government authority from the national to the local governments and topromote economic and social development in the different regions in the country. TheAct provided for the establishment of 11 local Government Council regions in thecountry: Banks/Torres, Ambae/Maewo, Santo/Malo, Malekula, Pentecost, Ambrym,Paama, Epi, Shepherds, Efate and Tafea. The Local Government Councils areexpected to provide administration at local level and to involve local participation indevelopment.

Agriculture is the mainstay of the population and over 80% of the country's workforce is engaged in agricultural activities—mainly subsistence in nature. There are alsothe larger commercial plantations which form part of the agricultural sector. Theagricultural sector accounts for about 95% of domestic exports and about 27% of grossdomestic product. The main products are copra, cocoa, coffee, pepper, beef and timber,copra being by far the most important. While copra is produced in all regions,Santo/Malo and Malekula account for a major proportion of total copra production.There is an abundance of forests but valuable trees are scattered, logging is expensiveand carriage of wood to wharves for export presents a significant problem. There areplans to develop industrial forestry plantations on some of the large islands, whichwould be a source of foreign exchange earnings.

In the absence of adequate roads in the islands, collection of cash crops at centralpoints and their carriage to wharves is a difficult problem. Inadequacy of transportprevents the successful diversification of agriculture at which the government aims.

There are very few industries, and manufacturing is mainly oriented towards importsubstitution in the area of basic consumer goods. The small units that are there makeuse of imported raw materials and equipment. It is the government's aim to promoteindustries based on local raw materials. In small island countries, development of

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Transport problems in South Pacific countries 159

industries is constrained by a variety of problems including location of markets at longdistances, small local markets, non-availability of raw materials, lack of trainedmanpower and shortage of capital.

Commercial energy consumption in Vanuatu is entirely dependent on importedpetroleum products. The major consuming sectors are transport which accounts forabout 60% of total commercial consumption, and power generation which accounts forabout 30%. The major non-commercial fuel is bio-mass (fuelwood and agriculturalresidues such as coconut husks and shells) which accounts for about 80% of non-commerical energy consumption. A ten year energy plan has been prepared and it isexpected that in years to come, more and more indigenous energy resources would beexploited. The forestry programme would help to extend the supply or renewablesources of energy but this would again require provision of access roads.

Vanuatu's imports currently far exceed the exports. In recent years there has been asevere decline in the value of exports while the value of imports has remained more orless at the same level. In 1984, the value of exports including re-exports was 4638 MVTfand imports 6811 MVT. In 1987, the exports declined to 1942 MVT while the importsstood at 7638 MVT. The exports cover only a very limited range of commoditiesincluding copra, cocoa, fish, beef and timber. Copra is the most important amongstthem. It accounted for about 70% of the exports in value in 1985. Imports, on the otherhand, cover a variety of goods including food and beverages, machines and transportequipment, manufactured goods, mineral fuels and chemicals. A portion of the importsis re-exported including marine and aviation fuels and frozen fish.

With its need for imports and small amount of exports, the country is heavilydependent on foreign ships for transport. For exports, the outer islands of Vanuatu aremainly dependent on international seaports at Port Vila and Luganville. With gradualexpansion of containerization, the number of overseas ships call only at the twointernational ports. The need to provide sufficient inter-island shipping and feederservices has increased and the problems of remote and distant islands have alsoincreased.

Vanuatu has an excellent potential for tourism with its scenic beauty, tranquility,pollution free natural environment, fine beaches and tourism resorts. In terms offoreign exchange earnings, tourism ranks next only to agriculture. It thus is a significantsource of government revenue and of private sector employment in the urban areas. Atpresent, tourists come mainly from Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand.Cruise ship passengers normally stay for one day only while visitors by air stay forabout ten days on an average.

There was a decline in the number of tourists visiting Vanuatu between 1983 and1987. The number of all visitor arrivals in Vanuatu was 32374 in 1983 and it came downto 14642 in 1987. Several factors accounted for this decline in tourism includingprogressive weakening of the Australian dollar against the vatu during this periodwhich made Vanuatu less competitive in the Australian tourist market, discontinuanceof the services of Air Vanuatu in 1986, occurrence of a severe cylcone 'Uma' in 1987.Tourist traffic picked up in 1988, the number of visitor arrivals being 17 544, and isestimated to have further gone up to about 22000 in 1989. Restablishment of AirVanuatu as a national airline in 1988 and a vigorous tourist promotion campaigncontributed to this.

† MVT = Million Vatus; Vatu (VT) is the currency of the country: the exchange rate inDecember 1989 was about 115 VT = 1 US $.

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The geographic and economic features of Vanuatu underline the heavy dependenceof the islands on satisfactory inter-island shipping and suitable road links to connectpopulation settlements. Self reliance and the promotion of trade and tourism are theimportant goals of economic development plans. If copra, which is the main cash cropof the village communities, is to be profitably marketed, shipping services should beavailable not only between the bigger islands but also to the smaller, outer, remote anddistant islands. It is the economic and administrative problems involved in theprovision of such services which constitute the crux of the transport problem for themajority of the people. It is equally important that the shipping services are available atreasonable cost and that they are also viable. At the same time, it is necessary to keeppace with technological developments in the shipping field such as containerizationand the size of ships.

Provision of road links in the islands is of equal importance to reach the humansettlements in the interior, to link areas of agricultural production and to providehealth and education services to the people. Air services are necessary not only betweenthe islands but also for providing links with the neighbouring countries like Australiaand New Zealand and with distant countries like Japan and the United States ofAmerica. The airports have to be upgraded to meet the requirements of jet aircraft likeB-737 and B-767, to enable the tourists in increasing numbers to visit the country, andto offer competitive air fares comparable to other tourist destinations.

It is necessary to take a coordinated and integrated view of the transportrequirements. The various elements in the transport system, wharves and ports, inter-island and international shipping, airstrips and airports, rural and urban roads must allbe developed in a suitably balanced and integrated manner. Only an integrated andwell planned programme of development can help to reach these goals through steadyand well organized efforts by way of provision of capital, management skills andtraining facilities.

3. Roads and road transport

3.1. RoadsIn small island countries, roads are the only quick means of land transport and a

way to link village communities on the islands with each other and with the coast andair strips which in turn help to connect the islands with the outside world. Althoughfoot tracks serve many of these functions, roads are an important prerequisite for socio-economic development.

The total road length in Vanuatu is estimated at 1689 km with 977 km or surfacedroads, 364 km of earth roads and 348 km of seasonal tracks. A total length of about256 km is estimated to have been added during the period of the First Five YearDevelopment Plan (1982-86). The road density for the country as a whole is014 km/km2 of land area. While several developed countries have a density of about1 km/km2, among the developing countries in Africa and Latin America the density isless than 0-1 km. It would not be wrong to say that low road density is a sine-qua-nonof underdevelopment. Apart from overall low road density in Vanuatu, there isconsiderable disparity in road density among different regions as shown in table 1. In afew of the islands, road density is far less than that in the country as a whole. Thecountry needs a substantial addition to the road network.

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Transport problems in South Pacific countries 161

The Public Works Department (PWD) is responsible for construction andmaintenance of major roads. The Department maintains four workshops on the islandsof Efate, Santo, Malekula and Tanna. It also has mobile teams for construction andmaintenance of roads on the islands. The responsibility for roads other than majorroads is generally shared between the Department of Agriculture, Local GovernmentCouncils (LGCs) and Municipal Councils.

There has been a considerable demand for decentralization of road constructionand maintenance by the Local Government Councils. There appears to be a goodjustification for this in so far as the Local Government Councils wish to have a greatershare in the administration and they expect to have a better appreciation of local needs.They are also in a better position to mobilize local contributions. The Local Councils,however, suffer from lack of financial resources and technical capability and they haveto be helped to build these up.

The cost of road construction in different islands varies according to localconditions—terrain, rainfall, soil conditions etc. On an average, the cost of construc-tion of earth roads is about 1 to l-5MVT/km. Sealing would require an additional2-5 MVT/km.

An inventory of roads and formulation of long-term road plans are prerequisites forimplementing proper road development programmes and for mobilizing donorassistance. Studies have recently been completed in Vanuatu to fill in some of the gapsin the transport data and a Long Term National Transport Plan for the country hasbeen prepared.

Road maintenance is an area which is commonly accepted as vitally important butis sadly neglected. Budgetary allocations fall far short of requirements. This isunfortunately so in most developing countries. Lack of road maintenance gives rise toseveral problems. As a result of continued neglect of road maintenance, roads haveeventually to be rebuilt at a much heavier cost. Road vehicles are damaged, vehicles'operating costs increase and there is loss of time and inconvenience for the travellingpublic.

Table 1. Estimated roads inventory by Local Government Council and vehicle registration 1986.

Local GovernmentCouncil area

Banks/TorresAmbae/MaewoSanto/MaloMalakulaPentecostAmbrymPaamaEpiShepherdsEfateTafea

Total

Landarea

(km2)

882699

42482053499666

60446

86923

1628

12190

Population(000)1986

6-211525-318-311-47-82-43051

27-321-7

140-2

Road(km)1981

3095

250100112505

5520

150195

1062

Length(km)1986

3510725519013055

56359

216203

1318

Road density(km/km2)

1986

00400-15300600-0930-2610083008301410-6860-2340-125

0108

Km/Population1986

000600090-010001000110-0070002002100120-0080009

0009

Number ofvehicles

1985

1117971240

62320

2522

3102282

4854

Source: Second National Development Plan (1987-1991), Vanuatu.

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Issues and commentsRoad planning and road finance. On account of hilly and rugged terrain and

difficulty of access, roads are hard to build in in the islands. The population settlementsto be linked are small. Financial resources are difficult to mobilize. Road projects donot easily attract donor assistance and in the country's own budgetary management,whenever economy is sought to be made, road activity is often the first target.

It should greatly help in road programming and in mobilizing finance if well-formulated long-term road plans and well worked out road projects are available.Road plans should form part of overall economic development plans since develop-ment in various other areas such as agriculture, health and education is to an extentlinked with availability of roads. Benefits from roads could be conceived in broadsocio-economic terms. Even in strictly economic terms, impact of roads could be farreaching such as in terms of increased production, improvement of quality of produce,reduction in spoilage, increased offtake of cattle etc. Then there are benefits in terms ofimproved ability to provide education and health facilities and increased accessiblity tothe people.

Road maintenance. To a considerable extent, maintenance is even more importantthan construction of new roads. Neglect of existing roads in relation to newconstruction means allowing existing assets to go to waste while seeking to create newones. The road authorities in the developing countries should do well to have carefullyprepared programmes of road maintenance and to analyse periodically for the benefitof their own governments, the repercussions of neglecting road maintenance. If aproper study of road maintenance and improvement requirements were available, itmay help to elicit assistance from international aid agencies.

Organization of Public Works Department. Road development programmes cannotbe properly implemented unless the Public Works Departments are well organized,have manpower with planning capability, workshops and last but not the least are costconscious and have personnel with accounts qualifications. Even when the workshopsare government owned and funded, they should be managed as though they wereindividual enterprises and their financial viability ensured. All works should beproperly costed to ensure that outputs match inputs.

Decentralization of road responsibilities. Under the Decentralization Act of 1980,the duties of the Local Government Councils include, inter alia, the location,construction and maintenance of bridges and roads excluding those which are theresponsibility of the Government or a Municipality. It will be of considerableadvantage if the Government helps the local bodies to develop the capabilities toundertake these tasks.

Role of the private sector. Private sector enterprise could be used to advantage forroad activities. Local private sector builders could be helped in various ways such as byproviding them with loans, getting them concessions in international competitivebidding, training of their personnel etc.

Economy in road construction. To economize on costs of road construction, it isdesirable that local materials are used so far as possible and construction methodsemployed are labour intensive to the extent feasible.

Manpower training. There is a general shortage of technical personnel in smalldeveloping countries, which is largely due to only a very small number of studentswanting to go in for engineering and technical education and insufficient educationopportunities. Possibilities of giving special incentives to students to get technicalqualifications could be considered.

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Transport problems in South Pacific countries 163

Land ownership issues. In Vanuatu (as also in some other island countries), land isthe property of 'custom owners', that is, villagers or village communities. This canprevent or delay availability of land for projects. It would be useful to have effectivemachinery to resolve land issues through consultations and 'give-and-take'.

3.2. Road transportAccording to the Second National Development Plan (1987-1991), the total

registered vehicle fleet in Vanuatu in 1985 was 4845 which represents about threevehicles per km of road or one vehicle per 29 persons. The vehicle fleet included 2402cars, 1205 utilities or landrovers, 698 trucks and the balance, tractors, mini-buses andmotor cycles. About 63-9% of vehicles are concentrated in Efate and 20% inSanto/Malo where combined vehicle density is relatively high at one per 12 persons.They include a wide range of vehicle types of which a large proportion are in poor shapeand not well maintained.

Public passenger services are available in the urban centres of Port Vila andLuganville and are provided by privately owned and operated mini-buses and taxis.

There are about 100 mini-buses in Port Vila. The buses are largely Toyota but someare Nissan 11 to 15 seaters. Most of the buses are not very old. The cost of a mini-bus isabout 2-5 MVT which is considered to be high. The bus operators find their ownresources to buy a bus or borrow from commercial banks. No institutional financeseems to be available to them. There are no fixed time-tables for buses which run sevendays a week. The fares are high compared to the average income levels of people.Notwithstanding the high level of fares, bus operation is not considered a veryprofitable business. This can be attributed largely to low level of traffic and lowoccupancy ratio.

There are more than 100 taxis operating in Port Vila. Taxis change hands fairlyfrequently as the owners do not find the business sufficiently profitable. Taxi operationis becoming less and less viable due to increasing costs, lack of clientele and competitionfrom buses. Garaging services and spare parts are very expensive. There are not enoughtrained mechanics. Although the average age of vehicles operating as taxis isunderstood to be only about 3 years, several of them are not in good condition and theyconsume more fuel than necessary due to poor maintenance.

Trucks for carriage of freight are concentrated in the two urban centres of Port Vilaand Luganville, Santo. These are mainly used for the carriage of copra or for transportof building materials, machinery and equipment, hardware etc. These are owned eitherby some big business firms or by logging enterprises. Heavier trucks are considered tobe particularly responsible for causing damage to roads in the towns. The question ofimposing restrictions on these trucks during peak traffic hours has been considered butno such regulation has yet come into operation. Apart from large trucks operating inthe two main urban centres, four wheel drive (4 WD) utility pick-up trucks operate insome of the islands.

Issues and commentsConsidering the wide range of vehicle types on the road, there may be some

advantage in limiting the types of vehicles imported into the country. This would helpin better maintenance and in better provision of spare parts.

Some control on the garages, improving their level of competence and introductionof a scheme of compulsory inspection of vehicles would seem to be desirable.

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Vehicular traffic in the towns, specially in the capital Port Vila is growing and so iscongestion on the roads, specially during peak hours. There appears to be a need for areview of the regulatory procedures and for improvement of traffic signs on the roads.

Considering the uneconomic nature of bus operation and high fares, a review oftheir operation seems to be called for. So also the operation of taxis needs to beimproved by organizing taxi stands and making available name cards and telephonenumbers of taxi operators. A review of financing facilities for public service vehicles,buses and taxis is needed.

4. Ports and shippingPorts and shipping are of key importance. They help to connect the country's

islands with each other and the country with the rest of the world. Inter-island tradingactivity and the country's imports and exports depend on the provision of satisfactorymaritime services. Small island countries, because of their locational handicaps andconstraint of resources, suffer from several disadvantages in the efficient organizationof these services. Small ports, small amount of cargo and absence in several cases oftheir own sea-going ships cause these countries to be placed in a severely disadvantagedposition in international shipping. Constraints of resources make it difficult for them tokeep pace with technological developments, such as containerization.

Most of the small countries have only one or two international sea-ports for exportand import and hence feeder services have to be organized to link the smaller islandswith the bigger ports. This adds to the shipping costs and consequently to the costs ofimports and exports. The countries lack trained manpower and shipbuilding and repairfacilities and all these factors taken together weaken their position.

In the case of inter-island shipping, the main problem is to provide regular and atthe same time viable services to distant and remote islands. In many cases ships are oldand not suitable, thus increasing costs. Lack of funds prevents replacement of old andobsolete ships.

Efficient shipping services require suitable ports, wharves or at least landing jetties.Capital is required to build these facilities and capital in these countries is scarce. Toattract capital from international donor agencies or from friendly countries, it isnecessary to establish the viability of the projects which is far from easy, particularly forsmall projects. It is difficult to build and upgrade these facilities and even more difficultto maintain them. In several cases, small wharves and jetties are not maintained andbecome useless. It is hard for the Governments to raise revenue at the small wharvesand, because of the small amount of cargo, the revenue that can be collected is small. Attimes, to avoid having to pay user charges, boats prefer to use open beaches rather thango to specially constructed wharves.

4.1. PortsVanuatu has two deep-sea international ports, Port Vila and Luganville, Santo.

Since the northern islands enjoy a predominant position in the production of copra,about 75% of copra production is exported through Santo port. Port Vila accounts for65 to 70% of the country's imports and 35 to 40% of total exports. For the country as awhole, imports exceed exports; in 1985, imports amounted to 67 359 tonnes and exportsto 56 454 tonnes. There has been an increase in containerization in recent years. At PortVila during 1985, 1537 containers were discharged and 1242 loaded; the comparablefigures for Luganville are 886 and 803 respectively.

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The Port Vila deep water wharf together with the transit shed, open storage areasand port office building were commissioned in 1972. There is a small back up wharf(Ardimani or Star wharf) which is used when the international wharf is occupied.Adjacent to the international wharf, there are facilities for storage of tankers.

The main problem with the present wharf is its inability to handle heavy fork-lifts onthe wharf surface, which results at times in slowing down of loading and dischargingrates and shortage of space to stow large containers.

The main wharf at Santo, constructed in 1955 is 140 m, and as mentioned before it isvital for the country's export of copra. The existing wharf is nearing the end of itseconomic life and is vulnerable to earthquakes. The problems of development of Vilaand Santo ports were examined in 1984 in a report prepared by Maunsell and PartnersPty Ltd. The report recommended construction of a new wharf at Santo. The projecthas been formulated and is under implementation under assistance from the AsianDevelopment Bank.

At Vila, the report recommended that in the initial stages, the existing 50 m Starwharf should be upgraded and a new 40 m extension to the existing wharf may beconstructed. It has been further recommended to develop the Star wharf. The projectinvolves some reclamation. A new copra shed is to be part of the initial development.Some issues relating to the development of land remain to be resolved.

The management of ports in the country is the responsibility of the Ports andMarine Department which is mainly responsible for collection of port dues, implement-ation of marine regulations, operation of Government vessels, running the MarineSchool and maintaining navigational aids.

In addition to the two international ports, there are 24 inter-island wharves in thecountry. These include six new wharves recently constructed under assistance from theAsian Development Bank and two under assistance from Japan. As a matter of policy,it is proposed that the Local Government Councils should be responsible for themaintenance of the wharves. At present, however some of the old wharves are in adilapidated condition. Their proper upkeep and maintenance is a major problem sincefinance is a constraint.

Inter-island commercial shipping is essentially provided by the private sector.There are about 32 privately owned vessels operating at present each being 10 tonnes ormore. Of these, about 10 have a gross registered tonnage (GRT) of 100 tonnes or more.Most of the ships are engaged, most of the time, in operating in the core area betweenPort Vila and Santo.

Anne Dunbar, in her study of inter-island shipping in Vanuatu (1981), divided theislands into core, fringe and outer areas and concluded that the fringe and outer areassuffered from infrequent and irregular shipping.

The Government has been making various efforts to resolve the problem ofproviding adequate shipping services to the distant and remote islands. The mainproblem is one of reconciling the interests of ship-operators who would operate todistant islands if they got sufficient cargo to make it viable with those of shippers whocan offer only small amount of cargo, but must have shipping services to handle theirexports and imports. Some time back, the Government ordered that licences for shipsbelonging to the islands south of Epi, (the southern groups of islands) would be issuedonly if these ships visited the southern islands once every four weeks and similarlylicences for ships belonging to the islands north of Paama (the northern groups ofislands) would be issued if these ships visited the northern islands once every four weeks.The main problem however, is one of monitoring the shipping activities and ensuringthe viability of shipping operations.

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The Government owns about ten vessels with a total tonnage of more than 600tonnes. Their basic role is to provide service to various government Departments suchas Lands, Education, Public Works, Agriculture, Health, and Local GovernmentCouncils. They are used for Government touring, pilotage, tug service, etc. Several ofthese are more than 15 years old. Their operations are largely for public service andtheir annual expenditure far exceeds the revenue earned by them, particularly if intereston capital and depreciation are also reckoned. The problem is to find resources for thereplacement of obsolete vessels and to minimize the losses incurred by them.

There is a Vanuatu Marine School for training of marine personnel. The level oftraining in the school is, however, rather elementary. Training facilities for Ni-Vanuatus(Vanuatu nationals) are also available in the maritime schools in Fiji, Solomon Islandsand Papua New Guinea. Practical training is sought on overseas vessels. It is necessaryto provide for more adequate training facilities to match with expanding requirements,particularly for persons seeking sea-faring careers in the private sector.

There is one slipway in Vanuatu for ship repairs at Palekula, northeast ofLuganville. It is operated by the South Pacific Fishing Company Limited, now whollyowned by the Government. The slipway is about 30 years old and is in need of majorimprovements and upgrading.

Cargo ships handled by about 16 international shipping companies visitedVanuatu in 1986. Four companies brought cruise ships. According to the SecondNational Development Plan (1987-1991), the number of annual calls into Port Vilaincreased from 45 in 1982 to 55 in 1986.

4.2. Marine legislationVanuatu has a system of'open registry' for foreign-going ships belonging to foreign

countries or foreign nationals. The arrangement is subject to the Maritime Act No. 8 of1981. The latest United Nations Conventions on conditions for Registration of Shipsrequire that there should be a link between a ship and the flag of the flag state. There isa need for a review of the present system in the light of the United Nations Conventions.

Registration of inter-island ships is governed by various laws and regulationsformulated before independence. The need for replacing these by concise and practicallegislation has been recognized. This legislation would need to cover comprehensivelyall aspects relating to control of shipping in Vanuatu waters including in particularmanning and safety. The matter is under review by the Government.

Issues and commentsShipping requirements of distant islands. Excessive regulation and control can

adversely affect the viability of shipping services and can act as a discouragement. Afirst step to find a solution to the problem of viable services to distant islands is to havedetailed information on the extent of unsatisfied demand and surplus capacity and alsoon the costs and revenue of inter-island shipping. Trade route licensing combiningprofitable and unprofitable routes has been suggested as a possible solution. Acombination of main line operations and feeder services is another option; the lattermay require an element of subsidy.

Licensing of new ships. A system of licensing of ships that would meet the needs andaspirations of local people is a requirement. Local people wish to have increasingopportunity in the shipping business. They should however be able to operate viablyand concentration in a few hands is not favoured. Suitable criteria for ship licensing,which would include broad conditions regarding size, type, age and physical condition

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of the vessels are required. Machinery such as an inter-Ministerial Committee could beconsidered to assist in taking decisions about licensing. The prospective ship ownersshould be able to consider and study the viability of the proposed ship operations,costs, availability of cargo, likely earnings to safeguard their future prospects.

Shipping technology. It needs to be considered what type of ships and shippingtechnology will best suit the requirements of island countries. Fuel saving devices willcontain the costs of operation.

Ship building and repair facilities. Small countries with small fleets find it expensiveto develop facilities for building and repairing ships. To import ships requiresconsiderable foreign exchange. With regard to repairs there is another problem. Evenwhen there are repair and dry docking facilities on one island, moving the shipsfrom another distant island is time consuming and expensive and hence the need formore than one facility. The available options require consideration. For developingship building facilities, a regional approach could be commended. For example, a yardowned jointly by a few neighbouring countries in the region could be considered.

Training facilities. In several South Pacific Islands, marine training facilities aredeficient. Where there are marine training schools, they are not up to standard andcertification procedures are not satisfactory. Training facilities are required not only inshipping operations but also in overall port and shipping management. Here again, aregional approach deserves to be considered.

Provision of wharves and landing stages. Construction of wharves and jetties requiresubstantial investment. With the constraint of resources, priorities have to be carefullydrawn up. Further, wharves need to be suitably linked by road with the hinterland. Anintegrated programme of development therefore needs to be drawn up. It also needs tobe considered if ships or barges of such design can be introduced as can go right up tothe beaches in shallow water, without need for a proper wharf. This could help toeconomize on resources.

Maintenance of wharves and jetties. Maintenance of existing wharves and jetties isas important as building new ones (as in the case of roads). This should be based on anassessment of the existing status and a properly drawn up programme for maintenanceand improvement.

Port development priorities. Development of maritime transport requires invest-ments of multifarious types such as in construction and extension of ports and jetties,landing stages, dredging, improving oil terminals, building light houses and navig-ational aids, acquiring ships and boats, equipment and machinery etc. Investmentsshould be based on priorities and guidelines which should follow from proper costbenefit studies.

Reorganization of port administrations. The proper set-up for port administrationsis often debated, in particular, whether they should be managed departmentally or asautonomous authorities. The question will perhaps have to be related to particularsituations, keeping in view the size and scope of port operations. There is much tosupport the argument that the ports (whatever the form of management) should as faras possible, function on commercial lines and should have financial accountability.

Statistics and information. A basic requirement for proper planning is to havedetailed information about the operation of inter-island shipping services, their routingpattern, the cargoes carried, the frequency of operations to different islands, their costsand earnings, sources of finance, the demand for shipping services in different islands,etc. The Governments of small countries will do well to carefully consider how suchdata can be collected, maintained and anlaysed without too much expense.

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5. Air transport

In the island countries with their special geographical characteristics, air transporthas a significant role to play. Air transport though more expensive than other modes oftransport offers fast transit of passengers and goods, and offers saving in time whichcannot be matched by sea transport. Air transport also has a special role in tourismwhich is important for the economies of small island countries.

As in the case of sea transport, small countries suffer from disadvantages in the fieldof air transport. Small size of population, limited economic capacity and low per capitaincome put constraints on the operation of viable air services on inter-island routes andthe need for utmost ecomony and efficient planning becomes imperative. Air serviceson international routes demand expensive infrastructure and because of smalldistances, low volumes of traffic and lack of resources, modern and appropriatetechnologies cannot be availed of. Fares and freight charges to the island countries turnout to be relatively high, which discourages air travel. There is also the element ofcompetition from bigger international airlines. The main thrust in air transportplanning has to be on overcoming these constraints in a viable manner.

Vanuatu has two international airports. They are Bauerfield International Airportat Port Vila (with runway 2000 m χ 45 m) and Pekoa Airport at Luganville, Santo (withrunway 1600 m χ 35 m). A third aerodrome Burtonfield Airport at Lenakel, Tanna is adesignated international aerodsome and is licensed to operate aircraft up to Twin Otterclass with the prior permission of the Minister responsbile for Civil Aviation.

Prior to 1987, Bauerfield Airport was licensed to operate aircraft up to B-737standard. During 1987, B-727 operations were introduced and runway strengtheningwas completed. In view of the growing world wide and regional role of B-767 aircraft,the need for further developing the airport to enable it to handle operations by B-767aircraft is recognized.

Measures are being taken to develop the airport together with the terminalbuilding, with assistance from Australia, Japan, the UK and the European Community.The terminal building constructed in 1982 does not meet all the essential requirements.

Pekoa Airport is located about 5 km from Luganville and is used mainly by smallaircraft. This airport with a single runway, 2000 m long and 30 m wide, is located at agood site with clear approaches. Pavement strength does not allow regular operation ofaircraft with a gross operating weight of more than 20 tonnes.

Santo is the largest island in the country and is Vanuatu's main copra producingregion and is also the centre of the country's cattle industry. There is also a limitedamount of cocoa and coffee production. Three quarters of the population of thecountry is concentrated in the northern half for whom Luganiville is the nearestcommercial centre. Santo has a good potential for tourism development. There are finebeaches, many spots of natural beauty and a number of World War II relics of interestto tourists.

Considering the context in which Santo is located, it is considered to have apotential for being developed as the second major international airport. There isenough space available and terrain is not a problem. There is a proposal underconsideration to have a techno-economic feasibility study of developing Pekoa airportfor handling wide-bodied jet aircraft and to have an integrated development of tourism.

There are 26 domestic airstrips (in addition to the international airports) whichhandle domestic traffic. These are predominantly grass strips varying in length from70 m to 100 m. A number of present airstrips are in a state of disrepair and needreconstruction and upgrading. There is also a need to build some new domestic

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airstrips to improve accessibility to the outer islands. In considering improvement andupgrading of the existing airstrips, it is necessary to take into account factors like theoperational safety and maintenance of regular services, present condition, utilizationand the population in the hinterland. It is also necessary to improve the approach roadsto the airstrips.

The Air Vanuatu Company was established soon after independence and startedoperating air services between Port Vila and Sydney in September 1981. Its majorshareholder was the Vanuatu Government with 60% shareholding, the remaining 40%was owned by Ansett Transport Industries (ATE) of Australia. The company did notown a fleet and Ansett Airline provided commercial services under the name 'AirVanuatu'. The management agreement between Ansett and Air Vanuatu terminatedearly in 1986 as in the Government's view the agreement had not been properlyadhered to. Air Vanuatu ceased operating at the end of March 1986. Air Vanuatu wasre-established as a national airline (100% Government owned) in 1988.

In 1990, air services to Vanuatu were being provided by five airlines (Air Caledonia,Air Pacific, Air Nauru, ANG SI A and Air Vanuatu) with at least 17 international flightsa week to and from Vanuatu. Efforts are being made to increase the frequency of flightsand to provide better connections to Japan and United States of America.

Internal air services were provided until 1 November 1989 by two airlines: AirMelanesiae and Dovair. Then Air Melanesiae was replaced by a company called'Vanuatu Internal Airlines' or 'Vanair Ltd', fully owned by the Vanuatu Government.Dovair has also been wound up, so that the domestic air services are now operated byonly one government owned airline.

5.1. Civil Aviation DepartmentThe responsibility for the management of civil aviation falls to the Civil Aviation

Department. Some of the important functions of the department relate to air trafficcontrol, airports and airstrips, supervision of airlines, commercial aspects of intern-ational and domestic aerodromes, etc. At present revenues generated by civil aviationservices form part of the general budget. Suggestions have been made that the CivilAviation Department should have a separate budget and it should be able to use theresources generated by it for its own activities. In other words, an element ofindependent financial accounting and management may be introduced in its function-ing. This requires careful examination.

There is also a keen demand in the country for entrusting management andoperation of the Civil Aviation Department and air services at all levels to local people(Ni-Vanuatu). This has to be kept in view in formulating training programmes andemployment policies for the future.

Issues and commentsThe need for developing the country's principal Bauerfield airport to handle the

larger B-767 aircraft has been aptly recognized. Re-establishment of Air Vanuatu as anational airline should provide a fillip to tourist traffic to and from the country. It isnecessary to consider how the frequency of flights to and from the country can beincreased and connections to distant tourist centres like USA and Japan improved.More bilateral air traffic agreements with other Pacific countries could be considered.

It is time to give thought to the development of Pekoa as the country's secondmajor international airport. The tourist and economic potential of Santo regionin the north requires to be more fully exploited.

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Possibilities of improvement of internal movement of goods by air andreduction of air freight need to be explored.

Better maintenance of domestic aerodromes (as of roads and wharves) whichhas suffered mainly on account of lack of funds needs greater consideration.

The suitability of types of aircraft on domestic routes needs to be studied,having regard to distances, volume of current and projected traffic andlimitations of the aerodromes.

The level of fares on domestic routes is considered to be generally high anddeserves to be reviewed with regard to the economics of domestic air services andof the domestic aerodromes.

The domestic aerodromes should be adequately linked by road with thehinterland. In fact the road linkages to all aerodromes require to be reviewed.

The question of providing greater financial autonomy to the Civil AviationDepartment requires consideration from all aspects.

6. Transport coordinationIn the light of discussion in the preceding sections, there are two aspects of transport

which in particular need emphasis. One is that proper development, organization andmaintenance of all the different modes of transport—road, sea and air are importantand are a prerequisite for economic and social progress. In most developing countries, asignificant proportion of total development expenditure (at least 25 to 30%) is devotedto transport. The other important aspect is the complementarity of different modes oftransport and the need for coordination.

Although road transport, shipping and ports, and air transport have their owncharacteristics, areas of operation and management problems, yet on careful analysis itwould be seen that there is a close underlying relationship amongst them. For instance,one important justification for building roads arises from the need to link wharves andjetties, aerodromes and airstrips with the interior. Road development cannot beplanned without taking into account the configuration and needs of seaports andairports. Ports, wharves, jetties and shipping cannot be adequately used if they are notproperly linked to the hinterland.

In certain situations, there is also a certain amount of substitutability amongdifferent modes of transport. In some islands where the terrain is very rough andrugged, and there is only one seaport, instead of trying to build road links from allparts of the island to that one port, it may be more economical and justified to buildanother port. Likewise, in certain cases it may be more economical to build a secondairport in an island than to build roads across the island.

It may even be justified to provide a small boat service along the coast of the islandto reach the airport rather than to build roads. There has also to be a certain amount ofcoordination and uniformity in the principles governing the regulation, tariffs andmanagement of different transport services. The development of different modes oftransport has to be viewed and planned in totality, as parts of a composite whole andnot in isolation.

Transport coordination is an important matter which is engaging attention inmany countries of the world. In Canada, the government has statutorily set up aCanadian Transport Commission with wide ranging powers. The Commission isintended to recommend measures to assist in sound development of the various modesof transport and to undertake studies and research into the economic aspects of all

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modes of transport, within, into or from Canada. The Commission may investigatevarious problems relating to transport and recommend measures bearing on operationor regulation of transport.

In Australia, there is a Federal Bureau of Transport Economics which undertakesresearch into all modes of transport and reports directly to the Minister of Transporton its programme of research work. The Bureau is responsible for 'independenteconomic research into Australian Transport Systems. Work is undertaken in suchareas as applied economics, engineering, systems analysis, sociology and other social orphysical sciences'.

Canada and Australia are much bigger countries and the dimensions of theirproblems are much bigger too. But the basic nature of problems and the need for takinga total and coordinated view of the transport system are the same everywhere. It is mostdesirable that the transport problems are tackled in a coordinated and rationalmanner.

In Vanuatu, both the Second National Development Plan (1987-91) as well as theVanua-aku Pati Platform, 1987 (pre-election manifesto of the ruling Party) refer to theimportance of transport coordination at the national level. In March 1989 a Minsitry ofTransport, Public Works, Communications and Tourism was constituted and allmodes of transport are dealt with by this single Ministry. The recent Report on theNational Transport Development Plan commended this ministerial arrangement as aright step towards achievement of transport coordination. In short, the need for acoordinated approach to the development of different modes of transport cannot beover-emphasized.

Foreign summariesDans le cadre des problèmes de transport que connaissent les pays constitués par une petite

île, le cas du Vanuatu, dans le Pacifique-Sud, est l'occasion d'une analyse et de la recherche desolutions possibles. Les traits à souligner sont le faible revenu, l'absence de capital, la faibledensité de population, les grandes distances entre les îles constituant le pays et, encore plus, avecle reste du monde, le niveau peu élevé de technicité de la main d'oeuvre. Le problème le plus graveest l'accès aux ressources financières et la main d'oeuvre qualifiée, indispensables pour construireet entretenir les infrastructures de transport. Les niveaux de trafic, les taux d'activité desinstallations et les rendements financiers sont trop bas pour justifier des investissements entermes stricts d'analyse financière et économique. Le recours aux capitaux extérieurs est donctrès limité. La situation financière du pays est telle qu'il est difficile de faire face aux seuls besoinsd'entretien courant. Mais comment réaliser un développement économique sans capacités detransport appropriées ? L'auteur propose que, pour les pays en développement, la notion derendement des investissements soit interprétée largement, en tenant compte de la contribution audéveloppement économique et social, comme on le fait pour les dépendes de santé et deformation. Les problèmes spécifiques à chaque mode de transport du Vanuatu sont examinéssous cet angle, et des solutions proposées. Tant les problèmes que les solutions peuvent êtretransposées à d'autres petits pays en développement.

Der Artikel beschäftigt sich mit Verkehrsproblemen, wie sie in kleinen Inselstaaten auftreten;es wird die Situation in Vanuatu im Südpazfik dargestellt und ein Versuch gemacht,Lösungsrichtungen aufzuzeigen. Einige der wesentlichen Merkmale des Landes sind: geringesEinkommen, Kapitalmangel, geringe Bevölkerungsdichte, große Entfernungen zwischen denInseln, Abgeschiedenheit vom Rest der Welt, geringe handwerkliche Fertigkeiten derBevölkerung. Das Hauptproblem ist die Erschließung finanzeiller Ressourcen und dasAufspüren geschulter Arbeitskräfte für den Bau und die Unterhaltung der Verkehrsinfrastruk-tur. Wegen der geringen Verkehrsmengen und der spärlichen Auslastung der Verkehrsanlagensind die Nutzen von Verkehrsinvestitionen gering, und es ist schwierig, diese Investitionen nach

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streng finanziellen oder ökonomischen Gesichtspunkten zu rechtfertigen. Deshalb ist die sichereFinanzierung durch externe Quellen stark eingeschränkt. Wegen der staatlichen Haushaltssitu-ation stellt sich selbst die Unterhaltung der vorhandenen Anlagen als besonders schwierig dar.Das Dilemma besteht darin, wie man wirtschaftliche Entwicklung ohne ein gut funktionierendesVerkehrssystem erreichen kann. Der Autor des Artikels schlägt vor, die Nutzen von Verkehrssy-stem erreichen kann. Der Autor des Artikels schlägt vor, die Nutzen von Verkehrsinvestitionenin Entwicklungsländern weiter zu fassen, indem der Beitrag des Verkehrs zur sozialen undökonomischen Entwicklung wie beispielsweise zum Gesundheits- und Erziehungswesenberücksichtigt wird. Der Artikel untersucht die Probleme jedes Verkehrsmittels in Vanuatu.Sowohl die Probleme wie auch die Lösungen haben Bedeutung für viele andere kleineEntwicklungsländer.

Este trabajo considera los problemas de transporte enfrentados por pequeñas naciones isleñas,discute en algún detalle la situación de Vanuatu en el Pacífico Sur y sugiere direcciones debúsqueda de posibles soluciones. Algunas de las características distintivas principales deVanuatu son bajo ingreso y falta de capital, baja densidad poblacional, largas distancias entreislas y entre el país y el resto del mondo, y bajo nivel de preparatión de la fuerza de trabajo. Elproblema más importante es encontrar los recursos financieros y mano de obra entrenada paraconstruir y mantener una infraestructura de transporte básica. Debido a los bajos niveles detráfico y baja utilizatión de la facilidades, los retornos de inversiones en transporte son bajos, y sehace dificil justificar su factibilidad en términos financieros o económicos estrictos. Estorestringe la capacidad de obtener financiamiento externo para los proyectos. Por otro lado, dadala situación presupuestaria del gobierno, es dificil incluso mantener las facilidades existentes. Unserio dilema es, por tanto, cómo lograr desarrollo económico sin enlaces de transporteadecuados. El autor sugiere que en estos países en desarrollo los retornos a inversiones entransporte deben incorporar elementos relacionados con la contributión del sector al desarrolloeconómico y social, por ejemplo, salud y educación. El trabajo analiza los problemas de cadamedio de transporte en Vanuatu. Tanto los problemas, como las soluciones sugeridas sonrelevantes para muchos otros pequeños países en desarrollo.

ReferencesDUNBAR, A. C., 1981, Inter-Island Shipping. Report to the Government of Vanuatu on Shipping

Needs and the Organization and Operation of the Domestic Fleet.INSTITUTE OF PACIFIC STUDIES, 1980, University of the South Pacific Social Sciences Association,

Vanuatu.KISSLING, C. C. (editor), 1984, Transport and Communications for Pacific Microstates-Issues in

Organisation and Management.MAUNSELL AND PARTNERS PTY LTD, 1984, in association with Dwyer Leslie Pty Ltd, Vanuatu:

Port Development Study (Published by Australian Development Association Bureau).NATIONAL PLANNING AND STATISTICS OFFICE (NPSO), 1982-86, Republic of Vanuatu, First

National Development Plan.NPSO, 1984, Republic of Vanuatu, The Mid-Term Review of Vanuatu's First National

Development Plan.NPSO, 1987-91, Republic of Vanuatu, Second National Development Plan.NPSO, 1983, Regional Development Profile.POSFORD, PAVRY, PARTNERS, 1982, in association with Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and Co., London,

June 1982. Outer Island Wharves Feasibility Study (under assignment by OverseasDevelopment Administration).

VANUA-AKU PATI 87 -- PLATFORM, 1987, Published by Vanuaku Party of Vanuatu.WILBUR SMITH ASSOCIATES, 1989, National Transport Development Plan -- Final Report prepared

for the Republic of Vanuatu, Ministry of Transport, Public Works, Communications andTourism (Asian Development Bank Technical Assistance).

There are no editorial suggestions for further reading.

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