The Government’s highest priority in Budget 2021 is to boost Vanuatu’s economic growth and improve the wellbeing of all Ni-Vanuatu, in a way that is financially sustainable and does not jeopardize future economic growth. On this note, the 2021 Budget Policy Statement incorporates the Government’s economic and financial policies and priorities to achieve the policy objectives of the National Sustainable Development Plan (NSDP) 2030 and at the same time address the current challenges and activities in preparing for COVID-19 and responding to and recovering from TC Harold. These policies are essential because they will also increase investment, increase employment, boost revenue, manage state debt and at the same time enhance economic growth, improve service delivery and wellbeing for all the people in Vanuatu.

March, 2019 The latest round of economic surveys focused on the outer islands and included the provinces of Tafea, Shefa, Malampa and Sanma. The surveys were conducted during the period of March - April 2019. The survey focused on key sectors such as agriculture, industry, tourism, retail and wholesale, real estate and cooperatives.

Vanuatu’s economy is projected to slowly pick up from the first quarter of this year with GDP growth projected at 4.0 per cent in 2021 and 4.5 per cent in 2022. These projections were lowered by 1.0 percentage points and 0.2 percentage points respectively from the previous forecast. Growth in 2019 and 2020 are estimated at 3.9 per cent and -2.9 per cent respectively, with the 2020 growth being an improved revision from the -4.1 per cent projected in the previous forecast. The downward revision for 2021 reflects the prolonged closure of international borders to tourists, the slow implementation of Tropical Cyclone (TC) Harold recovery plans, delayed infrastructure projects, and weak domestic economic activities in-country. Growth in 2021 will nonetheless be driven by expansionary fiscal policies, loan repayment holidays being extended to mid-2021, the implementation of the 11^th EDF (European Development Fund), and the export of certain commodities.

The result of the analysis shows that there are substantial advantages in the construction of the new road projects and the performance of most of the indicators, especially the economic assessment with the option of the free of charge user roads. Traffic on the new road projects are much higher and as consequences both users and societies are better off, as total time savings are higher and externalities lower than the user fee option.