Vanuatu Affordable and Resilient Housing

Project Summary:

The objective of this grant is to assist the government of Vanuatu to respond to its urban housing challenges in a systematic way and with a view to addressing the longer term issues in the urban land and housing sector to make affordable and resilient housing available for the population. Since October 2012, the World Bank also has been supporting the Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction (MDRR) Project in Vanuatu, financed through a Japanese PHRD grant, whose aims are to strengthen urban planning and tsunami preparedness in the main urban areas.  Under component 1 of the MDRR, hazard risk probability mapping is being incorporated into urban planning processes and policies for the urban/peri-urban communities of Port Vila/Efate and Luganville/Santo, in particular targeting the extra-legal/informal settlements and lower income households living in the urban and peri-urban areas.  The associated TA contract, for about $490,000, is at the inception stage, with the consultants very recently mobilized. The consultants are expected to analyze urban growth trends, carry out a risk assessment of the 2 major cities, and prepare an urban risk management strategy, including drafting Development Control and Zoning (Master) Plans and providing inputs to the zoning and development control legislation (the TOR for the consultants are attached to this application).   

This grant would build on and complement the activities being implemented under the MDRR project, with a focus on housing policy and land management. The goal would be to establish the basis for increasing the availability of affordable serviced land and housing, particularly for the poor, and reducing the risk of urban populations to natural hazards and climate change. 

List of Activities:

1. Housing needs and affordability analysis (HH income & expenditure review)
2. Identification of potential sites for housing development
3. Legal and institutional analysis 
4. South-South Knowledge exchange 
5. Development of detailed plans of selected areas 
6. Project Concept Note

Outcomes:

Output 1~3:

• Reports

Output 4:

• Visits

Output 5:

• Plans

Output 6:

• Report

Outcomes:

• Improved laws and regulations and planning standards that promote sustainable and efficient use of low hazard urban land, and lead to improved resilience of the housing stock 
• Improved formulation of policies, programs and eligibility criteria related to housing and land allocation to enable more efficient and better targeting of benefits to lower income populations  

• Identification and preparation of land that can be made available for housing development (actual release of land will depend on whether funding is available for land purchase if land purchase is necessary) 
• Improved capacity of government staff to address land management and housing needs 

Collaboration with K-Partners and Others:

• Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS)                 
• Seoul Metropolitan Government
• Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH)
• Land and Housing Institute (LHI)