The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has appointed Said Zaidansyah as the Country Director for Papua New Guinea (PNG). Mr. Zaidansyah, who assumes office today, will oversee ADB’s country partnership strategy for PNG and wider engagement in the country.
“Working with the Government of Papua New Guinea, we are committed to, among other things, helping rehabilitate the Highlands Highway and other transport infrastructure, improve civil aviation safety, respond to climate change, promote private sector development, and increase access to health and financial services in the country,” Mr. Zaidansyah said.
A national of Indonesia, Mr. Zaidansya graduated with a master of laws (LLM) degree from Queen Mary College of University of London under the British Chevening scholarship, and obtained bachelor of laws (LLB) from the University of Indonesia. He joined ADB under the Young Professional Program in 2002 and spent many years in the Office of the General Counsel. Mr. Zaidansyah held most recently a senior management role as the Deputy Country Director for Indonesia.
ADB is financing large-scale infrastructure investments in transport and energy sectors, including the ongoing $1 billion program to rehabilitate and maintain 430 kilometers of highway in the highland areas. The program is also upgrading bridges, improving road safety, establishing logistics platforms and services for agricultural production, and supporting transport sector reforms. An electricity grid project to expand the transmission and distribution grid in the national capital was approved in 2022.
The ADB-supported Civil Aviation Development Investment Project (Phase 2) is rehabilitating five more remote PNG airports. Weather observation and navigation services will be installed at the sites, and the power supply at Port Moresby International Airport will be boosted by the project. This will further enhance connectivity in PNG. Women will be the major beneficiaries of civil aviation training.
The Improved Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) for Employment Project, cofinanced with the governments of Australia and PNG, will strengthen the country’s TVET program and help prepare students to be more competitive and responsive to employment and industry demands.
ADB has also supported reforms in the health sector, through technical assistance and better public financial management.
For almost 17 years, the Sydney-based Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI), cofinanced by the governments of Australia and New Zealand, has been helping improve the region’s business environment and promoting private sector investment.
ADB is one of PNG’s largest sources of official development assistance, with an average annual lending of $399 million over 5 years from 2017 to 2022. To date, ADB has committed 268 public sector loans, grants, and technical assistance totaling $4.7 billion to PNG. Cumulative loan and grant disbursements to PNG amount to $3.44 billion. These were financed by regular and concessional ordinary capital resources, the Asian Development Fund, and other special funds. ADB’s ongoing sovereign portfolio in Papua New Guinea includes 16 loans and 1 grant worth $1.53 billion.
