PORT MORESBY, 12 AUGUST 2026 (THE NATIONAL) —The country can access up to K300 million (US$67.40 million) in financing from World Bank to assist the worsening El Nino-induced drought conditions, says Papua New Guinea Treasurer Ian Ling- Stuckey. He made the announcement after meeting with the World Bank’s new regional office in Singapore recently. “Work with the World Bank over recent years has deliberately built in the option to obtain disaster assistance,” Ling-Stuckey said. “Thinking ahead, Papua New Guinea attached a US$50 million (about K220 million) optional financing facility to help with disasters (the Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option) as part of its 2025 budget support loan. “The meeting confirmed that PNG could use these funds in this emerging El Nino crisis. “PNG is facing a new crisis, getting worse day by day. “My visit to the new regional office was an opportunity to discuss how the World Bank could assist with PNG’s El Nino disaster. “K300 million (US$67.40 million) in good, cheap, concessional support options, building on the hard work of the entire Government, was a productive result.” The exact amount of funding would depend on whether the El Nino continued, he said. In addition, the meeting covered the Rural Service Delivery Project Phase 2 project. This project was going to the World Bank’s Executive Board the same day as the meeting. Within this project, a disaster resilience mechanism has been included (the Contingent Emergency Response Component). This will enable some of the project funds to be directed towards El Nino relief. The intent is to ask for 20 per cent of these project funds, or K80 million (US$18.01 million), to be available to assist amid the prolonged dry conditions. “Together, these two facilities can provide up to K300 million (US$67.40 million) in El Nino disaster relief financing,” Ling-Stuckey said. “These funds will be on highly concessional terms, with the average interest rate being below 1.5 per cent and repayments over 30 years. “With such good financing terms, and the growing urgency of the El Nino crisis, the Government will look at finding space within the 2026 budget by slowing down some activities and finding savings elsewhere. “This could allow use of this K300 million in El Nino funding all within the budget deficit target. “This option will be considered as part of the Supplementary Budget being considered, noting the high costs of the fuel subsidy, and the poor performance of Kumul dividend payments. “This is part of good, adaptable, responsible budgeting. “Discussions also focused on options for dealing with PNG’s ‘youth bulge’, the challenge of finding enough jobs for our young people. “Two projects were discussed. “Support for the ‘Enhancing Labour Mobility from PNG’ project provides opportunities for PNG youths to go overseas and gain practical work experience in well-paying jobs. “The Urban Youth Employment Project Two provides training and practical work experience for urban youths to find jobs. “There was discussion on options for merging the two projects, with a key focus on ensuring that any programme is cost effective and can be geared up to the national level.” Ling-Stuckey said discussions also covered the recent World Bank report on supporting investments in human capital, including options for social protection programs, and how these could be integrated into strategies once the budget surplus is achieved next year. The El Nino is already starting to have severe impacts nationwide….PACNEWS