Announcement of Papa New Guinea Public Sector Training Project on February 1, 1991

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.* Telephone: (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 91/40 Contact: Richard Kollodge Tel: (202) 473-1792 PAPUA NEW GUINEA PUBLIC SECTOR TRAINING PROJECT Following are details of a project approved by the World Bank's Board: DATE: February 1, 1991 WORLD BANK GROUP SUPPORT: World Bank loan: $20.8 million. The loan is for 20 years, including five years of grace, with a variable interest rate, currently 7.73 percent, linked to the cost of the Bank's borrowings. It also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.25 percent on the undisbursed balance. TOTAL COST: $23.1 million OTHER FINANCING: Government of Papua New Guinea, $2.3 million IMPLEMENTING AGENCY: Department of Personnel Management ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: 1998 PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The objective of the Public Sector Training Project is to support the government's National Training Policy (NTP), which aims to strengthen in-service training in the public and private sectors, increase the supply of specialized high-level personnel in government policy and planning agencies, and help meet the shortage of technical skills. The project includes: (a) strengthening the capacity of the Department of Personnel Management (DPM) to promote, coordinate, monitor, and evaluate training in the public sector and strengthen*the capacity of the Department of Labor and Employment (DLE) to play a similar role in the private sector; (b) upgrading and reorienting the Administrative College toward its new role, as defined under the NTP, namely, to focus on short, intensive skill development courses, executive development programs, research, curriculum development, and training of trainers; and (c) financing an overseas fellowship program for training in the policy and planning fields and in specific technical fields that are not presently available in Papua New Guinea. The project will finance civil works, equipment, teaching and consumable materials, fellowships, and consultants.