K775mil for energy access

The National Business

INTERNATIONAL donor partners have agreed to provide assistance as part of the 2018 Apec commitment to help 70 per cent of the population have access to reliable power supply by 2030.
This was announced by the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Treasury, Ian Ling-Stuckey, after a meeting with World Bank vice president Manuela Ferro in Washington, United States, last week.
“One of these key areas is reliable energy supply,” he said.
“The National Energy Access Transformation (Neat) project, worth US$204.2 million (about K775 million), will support 194,000 more people to be connected to the grid in urban areas by improving distribution networks and mobile substations.
“A further 232,000 people will be connected in smaller towns through mini electrical grids, and in remote areas, the financing of micro-grids,” Ling-Stuckey said.
He added that during the discussions, both PNG and World Bank have agreed to take this project through to NEC by the end of April, and commence negotiations by mid-May. This work will also help release funds for another large electrification project planned by Australia according to the Department of Treasury. As part of the agreement, the government also agreed to take forward its on-lending policy to NEC by the end of this month.
Meanwhile, Ling-Stuckey said the current World Bank programme in PNG covered three main activities:

  • 42 per cent of the programme is for infrastructure, in particular rehabilitation of the Ramu and Hiritano Highways;
  • 22 per cent of the programme covers job activities, such as the PNG Agriculture Commercialisation and Diversification Programme, as well as support for labour mobility programmes; and,
  • 36 per cent of the programme to cover health. As two health projects are nearing completion, the Covid-19 assistance project and the Emergency TB project, it was suggested that the next health project should be focused on hospitals.

“These were good discussions with a key international partner. Actions to support learnings on growth, actions to deliver electrification projects vital for growth, and planning ahead to support the Government’s hospitals programme,” Ling-Stuckey said.

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