Lack of baseline data hampered evaluation. Higher priority should have been given to ensuring that baseline data was collected and reported during project implementation. The data that should have been collected includes (i) benchmarking data, to provide MPAF management with objective reference points for impact evaluation corresponding with the needs of the port users and consumers; (ii) benefit monitoring data, to ensure that the project benefits actually accrue to the port users; and (iii) post-project performance evaluation data, to assess overall effectiveness of the project. The PCR identified this as a lesson, and this is reconfirmed at the evaluation stage. Subsequent to the PCR, Fiji Ports Corporation Limited and Ports Terminal Limited have introduced a more systematic performance management system, but port statistics provided to the IEM were still insufficient. The absence of these baseline data targets made independent evaluation of the project considerably more difficult.
Fiji Ports Development Project (Loan 1902-FIJ)