INES was selected by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to support the Government of Fiji in identifying priority investments to strengthen the climate resilience of rural infrastructure, with a focus on rural roads and rural water and sanitation systems in Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. The assignment was conceived as an upstream diagnostic and investment preparation study to support AIIB’s technical dialogue with the Government of Fiji and inform the selection of priority investments.
The work involved a comprehensive diagnostic of rural infrastructure challenges, combining institutional and policy review, analysis of road and WASH datasets, geospatial assessment, field inspections, stakeholder consultations and climate vulnerability screening. For rural roads, INES assessed connectivity gaps, access to key services, vulnerability to river flooding, coastal inundation and landslides, and the impacts of infrastructure disruptions on communities through criticality and GESI assessments. For water and sanitation, the analysis focused on service gaps, reliability of rural water supply systems, sanitation deficiencies, public health risks, the operational capacity of community-managed systems, and exposure to drought, flooding and coastal hazards.
Building on this diagnostic, INES supported AIIB in moving from problem identification to investment prioritization and selection. The team identified infrastructure bottlenecks, assessed complementarities with ongoing initiatives financed by other development partners, developed a multi-criteria prioritization framework, prepared preliminary cost estimates, identified potential implementing agencies, and structured investments across short-, medium- and long-term implementation horizons.
The assignment culminated in the preparation of a prioritized investment pipeline and a set of recommended investments for potential AIIB financing, validated through structured engagement with Government of Fiji agencies, affected communities, development partners and other key stakeholders. The work provided AIIB with an evidence-based foundation for defining its first rural infrastructure investments in Fiji and advancing a pipeline of climate-resilient interventions.
