Palau - Infrastructure, power, and communications

There are 61 kilometers (38 miles) of roads, of which 36 kilometers (22.4 miles) are paved. The road round Babeldaob, 100 kilometers (62 miles) in length, is a major improvement in the road system. The unpaved roads are coral-surfaced roads and provide practical, if bumpy, highways. There are no railways. The main port is on Koror, and this is the only port that is able to receive large ocean-going vessels. The mountainous terrain makes the construction of airports a problem, but there are 3 airports. The only one with a paved runway is the international airport located across from the capital Koror on Babeldoab island.

Palau's electricity is supplied mostly by diesel generators (85 percent in 1996), but the terrain does allow for the construction of dams, and 15 percent of electricity comes from hydroelectricity. In 1996 the Palau generated 200 million kWh. There is some domestic use of bottled gas for cooking. Water supply is adequate.

In 1988, there were an estimated 1,500 land line telephones in use and no mobile telephones. It is to be expected that provision of telephones, both land lines and mobiles, have increased substantially since then. International links are provided by an Intelsat satellite earth station.

The islands had 1 AM radio station and 1 shortwave station in 1998, and in 1997 there was 1 television station, and 11,000 television receivers. The Palau Gazette is published monthly by the government, and Tia Belau is published bi-weekly in both English and Palauan.