OCDI has been commissioned by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to conduct a survey on “the Data Collection Survey for Improvement of Funafuti Port in Tuvalu on Funafuti Port.” The survey was launched in October 2025.

Tuvalu, located in Oceania, consists of nine coral reef islands over a range of about 1,000 kilometers. Tuvalu has a population of approximately 9,800, with 47% of the population living in the capital city of Funafuti.

The Port of Funafuti is the only international port in Tuvalu, handling not only most of the imported daily necessities and goods, including food and water, but also playing an extremely important role as a base for the movement of people and supplies on remote islands.

In 2007, with the help of Japan’s grant aid, the New Wharf entered service. However, the Old Wharf, which was built in 1980 with Australian assistance, is heavily deteriorated and is currently unable to handle cargo. Since it is impossible to provide a stable supply of food and other relief supplies if the new pier loses its function due to a disaster, it is important to restore the cargo handling function of the old wharf in the light of redundancy in the event of a disaster.

For this reason, this survey aims to grasp the current situation of the Port of Funafuti and at the same time collect and confirm information on the potential, necessity, and content of JICA’s cooperation projects, including grant aid. The survey will be completed in August 2026.