The World Bank-funded Pacific Aviation Safety Office (PASO) Reform Project has been hailed as a success story at a completion workshop for the PASO Council and World Bank representatives in Vanuatu.

The workshop was held in Port Vila last Wednesday with the Council and World Bank representatives in attendance, including the PASO Council Chairperson and Samoa’s Ministry of Works Transport and Infrastructure C.E.O. Fui Mau Tupai Simanu.

During its eight years of implementation, the PASO Reform Project has seen the transformation of the Office to a high functioning and truly regional organisation spanning the Pacific, according to a media release issued by the Port Vila-based regional organisation.

The PASO Council unanimously acknowledged the successful delivery and completion of the Office's Reform Project and thanked the World Bank for its financial investment in PASO at the recent completion workshop.

“In recognising the progress PASO has made, we thank the World Bank for their support and collaboration to strengthen aviation across the Pacific,” said Fui. 

“Our partnership with the World Bank has enabled many positive actions which has increased PASO’s ability to be a robust, trusted, and effective regional aviation organisation.

“Through financial and technical support from the World Bank, the PASO Reform Project provided the PASO Council with the necessary resources and expertise to reform and effectively govern our organisation.

“We are indebted to the World Bank for their efforts and we look forward to continuing our partnership into the future.”

The PASO Reform Project achievements were showcased in a specially produced short video presentation to highlight PASO’s transformational journey via the catalytic World Bank funded project.

At the project’s inception in 2013, PASO was a very small organisation with limited capacity to support Member States with regulatory safety and security oversight due to limited resources, a lack of strategic direction, and unsustainable revenue to support operational activities.

Initial stages of the Project focussed on changes to management, improved policies, systems and procedures, preparation of business plans, and the introduction of models and frameworks to improve the financial sustainability of PASO.

As the Project gained momentum, confidence in PASO grew through project funded stakeholder engagement, updates to the PASO brand, vision and purpose, and Pacific States capacity development.

Now PASO has increased capability to deliver quality inspectorate services to Member States to effectively support State compliance with international aviation regulations to enable vital air transport connectivity for Pacific peoples.

More recently PASO’s regional leadership has been integral to establishing annual Regional Aviation Ministers Meetings, amending the Pacific Islands Civil Aviation Safety and Security Treaty (PICASST), and the introduction of the Pacific Regional Aviation Strategy 2022-32.

Throughout the project, the PASO Council were actively involved in the project’s implementation with key stakeholders taking part in assignments and planning to provide direction, feedback, and inputs.

“In a way, the last eight years could be described as a great case study in what a successful project looks like. Without the World Bank’s support, we would not be in the position we are in today. We thank the World Bank for supporting us,” said Andrew Valentine, PASO’s General Manager. 

“At its core, the World Bank funded Reform Project gave PASO the opportunity to be a successful and high-performing organisation with the tools, systems, and expertise that our Members have sought after for a long time.

“Success breeds success, and the investments made by the World Bank into PASO and our Member States have allowed us to have much more credibility, not only in a region for our Members, but also with our partners.”