What works in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea has pursued infrastructure and service improvements across communications, environmental management, and government administration. The Rural Communications Project expanded mobile coverage from ~20% to ~90% in rural areas, giving an estimated 500,000 residents first-time telephony access through 59 solar-powered base stations built in 2014–15. The National REDD+ Programme verified 17 million tCO₂e of avoided deforestation across 1.4 million hectares, generating USD 63.4 million in climate finance with 60% (~USD 38 million) directed to customary landowners and communities. More recently, the MyICSA Analysis Engine deployed generative AI to reduce visa processing from two weeks to under four minutes and auto-process 95% of applications, though all metrics trace to vendor reporting without independent audit.