Australia’s support includes an AUD91.9 million financing package for the Laitim Hauslain project to improve national power infrastructure. This investment will connect 30,000 to 40,000 households, schools and clinics in Morobe and East New Britain provinces to electricity, many for the first time.

Australia’s financing forms part of the PNG Electrification Partnership, which supports a key Papua New Guinean Government priority to achieve 70 per cent electrification by 2030. Improved access to electricity will improve economic and development outcomes in Papua New Guinean, support economic development in local communities, and improve the delivery of vital services for the people of Papua New Guinea.

Australia has also invested AUD76.3 million to support the national road network, connecting communities and supporting improved access to markets. The investment will support the Papua New Guinean Department of Works and Highways to undertake long-term rehabilitation and maintenance of approximately 359 kms of roads along the Wau Highway in Morobe Province and the Sepik Highway in East Sepik and West Sepik (Sandaun) provinces.

Funding will contribute to designs for the proposed Trans-National Highway. This will assist the Papua New Guinean Government progress their priority Connect PNG Strategy, a plan to increase strategic connections across Papua New Guinea’s four regions over the next 20 years.

Both investments will provide employment for Papua New Guinean people and use local materials where possible, to help stimulate Papua New Guinea’s economy and recovery from COVID-19.

Laitim Hauslain Project

Wau and Sepik Highways 

For more information, contact aiffp@dfat.gov.au

*Updated AUD figure based on exchange rate: 1.0AUD/0.70USD

The upgrade, to be delivered by AIFFP in partnership with the Nauru Department of Transport, includes resurfacing of the runway and upgrade of some critical air traffic control equipment. The funding will also enable climate-resilient upgrades to sections of the Nauru ring road.

As a small and remote island-state, Nauru is heavily dependent on the airport to connect Nauruans with their families overseas and deliver fresh food, medicine and other critical supplies.

The airport upgrade is a major infrastructure priority for Nauru, and its people, and will ensure the airport continues to operate safely and meet international standards.

Joint statement: Australia-Nauru cooperation on critical transport infrastructure | Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Minister for Women (archived link)

Nauru airport refurbishment 

Australia, through the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific, is providing a USD22 million financing package to Solar Pacific Pristine Power for a landmark solar and battery energy storage facility in Palau.  

The financing was announced by the Minster for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women, Marise Payne during her visit to the Republic of Palau in December 2021. The agreements were signed on Monday 31 January 2022.

The project will deliver high-quality, renewable and sustainable energy infrastructure for Palau. It is anticipated to provide approximately 20 per cent of the country’s energy needs reducing dependency on imported diesel for power generation.

Palau Solar Plant Investment | The Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP)

For more information contact aiffp@dfat.gov.au

From some of the most remote islands on earth to the world’s biggest climate stage, REnew Pacific is taking the Pacific and Timor-Leste’s clean energy stories to COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye.

Launched at COP29 by Minister for Climate Change and Energy, the Hon Chris Bowen MP, REnew Pacific is the Australian Government’s $75 million investment delivering off-grid renewable energy to some of the Pacific and Timor-Leste’s most remote communities. Two years on, and building on earlier pilots, the program is changing how essential services are powered and sustained across the region.

At COP31, we’ll be hosting Keeping the lights on, a session at the Australian Pavilion that looks beyond the technology to what makes off-grid renewable energy endure. Installing solar in remote communities is challenging. Keeping it running for years, in communities prone to natural disasters, is the real test, and this session shares how Pacific communities and partners keep the power on through quality, maintenance, local ownership and financing that lasts.

Joining the panel will be:

• Mohammed Angawi, Team Leader, REnew Pacific. Mo leads REnew Pacific and will open the session, setting out what the program has delivered two years on and how our projects are built to last, by design.
• Lindah Keremoi-Elton, Portfolio Manager (Vanuatu), REnew Pacific. A ni-Vanuatu leader who heads REnew Pacific’s Vanuatu portfolio, Lindah will speak to keeping systems running long after installation, through local technician training, remote monitoring and government-backed maintenance.
• Christopher Fruean, Chief Engineer, Electric Power Corporation (Samoa). As chief engineer at Samoa’s national electricity provider, Christopher will share how a utility owns, runs and funds the upkeep of off-grid solar, paying for maintenance through electricity payments so remote households and islands keep reliable power for years to come.
• Elke Puritau, Pacific Regional Director, Save the Children Australia. Elke will make the case that enduring energy depends as much on people as on hardware, with inclusive governance, child safeguarding and local ownership keeping systems used, trusted and maintained over time.

Here are the details:
Wednesday 11 November 2026
Australian Pavilion, COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye
9.00 to 9.45am (TRT - local time)
Register here: https://events.humanitix.com/keeping-the-lights-on-sustaining-solar-systems-beyond-the-technology

The event will also be livestreamed. Register to receive the link to your inbox.

REnew Pacific is delivered by the Australian Government’s Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) and implemented by Palladium.

Find out more: https://renewpacific.com.au/

The Climate Infrastructure for Resilient Coastlines and Riverbanks (CIRCAR) initiative – jointly announced during the Pre-COP31 meetings by Australia's Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Trade, for Climate Change and Energy, and for the Pacific – will invest $3 million to integrate nature-based solutions into infrastructure investments across Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea and Tuvalu.

With AIFFP’s support, the NGO Live & Learn Environmental Education is working in partnership with engineering firm ARUP, governments, state-owned enterprises and communities across the four countries to support nature-based solutions to help protect AIFFP’s infrastructure investments. Through locally led consultation and co-design, the initiative applies a wide range of approaches such as mangrove restoration, revegetation, coral reef protection and riverbank stabilisation to complement traditional infrastructure, strengthen climate resilience and support more sustainable outcomes for infrastructure and the communities they serve.

Projects include:

• Strengthening the resilience of the Wau-Bulolo Highway in Papua New Guinea

  Working with communities and stakeholders in Morobe Province, CIRCAR is exploring opportunities to address erosion and strengthen resilience of riverbanks along the Wau-Bulolo Highway through nature-based solutions that complement traditional infrastructure approaches.

• Supporting Fiji's Kings Road and Queens Road upgrade

  CIRCAR is working closely with the Fiji Roads Authority to strengthen coastal resilience at sections of the Kings and Queens roads that are vulnerable to coastal inundation and erosion, helping to reduce climate risks and protect surrounding communities.

• Protecting the East Micronesia Cable landing site in Kiribati

  The initiative is exploring how nature-based solutions can support the resilience of telecommunications infrastructure and surrounding coastal environments at the East Micronesia Cable landing site in Nanikaai, Tarawa.

• Building resilience around the VAKA undersea telecommunications cable project in Tuvalu

  CIRCAR is implementing nature-based solutions to provide additional protection at the landing site of the VAKA cable, delivered by AIFFP through the Falepili Union, to help manage climate risks facing coastal communities and telecommunications assets.

The initiative forms part of the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific's broader commitment to building climate-resilient infrastructure. Through innovative blue-grey-green approaches, CIRCAR implements nature-based solutions integrated with traditional engineering solutions to improve infrastructure performance, strengthen resilience to climate impacts and support more sustainable outcomes for Pacific communities.

Media release:

Australia backs stronger coastlines and communities in the Pacific | Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs