“Traditional financing models do not work in island states," Jingmin Huang, Director for ADB's Water and Urban Development Sector Office, said during the special session titled “Inclusive Urban Resilience, Blue Economy and Sustainable Tourism in Small Island Developing States” held within the framework of WUF13, APA-Economics reports.
She stated that the small size of markets, high construction costs, limited budget opportunities and recurring natural disasters in small island states reduce the effectiveness of traditional financing mechanisms.
Jingmin Huang noted that concessional loans, grants, technical assistance and blended financing instruments should be applied together in these countries.
According to him, housing issues should be approached not only as construction projects, but as an integrated system covering land governance, infrastructure and climate risks.
The ADB official emphasized that international partnership is of particular importance for solving the problems of small island states, and many projects are implemented with the joint support of various financial institutions.
She added that tourism, housing and urban services should be considered not separately, but as components of a unified development strategy.
