ADB Approves $5 Million Loan to Support Electricity, Water, and Wastewater Utility Reform in Palau

MANILA  — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $5 million loan to boost electricity, water, and wastewater in Palau.

The support will help Palau’s utility sector more financially sustainable by addressing inefficient regulation and tariffs, improving the corporate governance and financial management of Palau Public Utilities Corporation (PPUC), and providing an enabling environment for private sector participation in the electricity, water, and wastewater subsectors.

The loan agreement was signed today in Koror by Palau Minister of Finance Kaleb Udui, Jr. and ADB Director General for the Pacific Leah Gutierrez participated in the signing ceremony from ADB headquarters in Manila.

“Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, it is encouraging to see that the Government of Palau is committed to reform actions developed under this ADB-supported program which is helping transform PPUC, the country’s largest state-owned power and water utility,” said Ms. Gutierrez. “Reform actions developed and implemented under this programmatic approach is making PPUC sustainable, more reliable, and resilient.”

The ADB-supported program builds on previous ADB policy-based operations and public sector management work in Palau, while supporting ADB’s Strategy 2030 of strengthening governance and institutional capacity.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.