New potential sites identified for major centres around Luganville
August 29, 2024 3:57 am | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook
SANMA Province has identified four economic clusters and begun preliminary planning. These hubs will serve as regional centres for the development of small-scale residential, commercial, and governmental services.
Officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MoIA) and the Ministry of Lands (MoL) have visited development areas around Luganville and identified several potential sites for major centres.
Additionally, sizable areas, such as the Naoneban area, which has a large Milai lease, hold the potential to develop into a high-class residential and marine centre/township that could attract key investors.
After reaching out to various locations, the two ministries have established that the Naoneban area has major potential for development into a prestigious residential and mixed-use area that can be connected to the town of Luganville.
This was disclosed as Minister of Internal Affairs Andrew Napuat and Minister of Lands Rick Tchamako Mahe visited the proposed mini-town site in Luganville, Santo, on 27 August 2024, with the support of other Members of Parliament (MPs) and the taskforce for the two townships.
The Vanuatu Government has opted to build new towns and regional hubs to improve access and decentralise service delivery to Provincial, Urban, Ward, and Area Councils throughout the country, due to the large number of rural-urban migrants living in Port Vila and Luganville.
Municipal management and planning fall under the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning (DUAP). DUAP advises and supervises the three local councils administratively and assists local, provincial, and area authorities in fulfilling their responsibilities under the Foreshore Development Act and the Physical Planning Act.
According to the Decentralisation Act [CAP.230], the Department of Local Authorities (DLA) is responsible for overseeing provincial governments and area councils. In the process of creating a regional planning framework, DLA is assisting with the preliminary regional hub identification and the creation of provincial regional growth plans.
The regional framework will integrate everything and provide a national perspective on the expansion of development and settlement in various centres once the provincial regional growth plans are in place.
To ensure that Vanuatu explores not only alternative avenues for sustaining service supply but also vital income hubs for the nation, the government, through MoIA, will continue pursuing other areas to be designated as regional hubs and mini-townships.
