Economic Impact of World Bank Aviation Investment in Pacific Island Countries

Abstract

The World Bank Group (WBG) has provided grant and credits to support projects related to aviation and air transport including capacity building, policy and regulation, safety and security, infrastructure rehabilitation, and institutional strengthening for over 60 years. Today, the WBG remains actively engaged on aviation related project in every region of the world including the Pacific Island Countries. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the economic impact of WBG investments in aviation infrastructures in Pacific Island Countries. The preliminary results of this study show a serious deficiency in the areas of aviation infrastructure, safety and security, management efficiency, and airport environmental sustainability in the Pacific Island countries. Without a dynamic aviation industry, most developing countries would see a drastic reduction in tourism, resulting in an economic slowdown. In Pacific Island countries, if these aviation infrastructure deficiency continued to go unaddressed, they would likely lead to the end of international flight operations to the airports in this region. Therefore, the WBG investments in aviation infrastructure is necessary in this region to support tourism, economic development, job creation, and higher standard of living in for Pacific Islanders.