The Government of New Caledonia has formalised the second phase of its state-guaranteed loan (PGE), following authorisation by the Congress on October 9. The agreement was signed on October 14 by Government President Alcide Ponga, High Commissioner of the Republic Jacques Billant, and the Regional Director of the French Development Agency (AFD) Safia Ibrahim.
Valued at one billion euros, the PGE was first released in March with an initial disbursement of €560 million. The second instalment will be released in two parts:
- €219 million to enable the New Caledonian government to manage its financial trajectory through to the end of 2025, with disbursement expected by the end of this week; and
- €21 million to support provinces and municipalities facing economic and financial pressures, to be disbursed by the end of November.
President Ponga expressed his gratitude to the French State for its continued support through the AFD.
“The State understood that the situation is very complex. This support is more than necessary to put New Caledonia on a trajectory and to ensure that Caledonian communities do not suffer from the current situation,” he said. “This is the whole point of the Durrieu mission — trying to capture this trajectory and make all stakeholders understand the urgent measures to be taken for New Caledonia.”
The signing was followed by a meeting of the Expanded Working Group of Executive Presidents (GTPE élargi), bringing together the presidents of the government, congress, and provinces, along with representatives from the two associations of mayors in New Caledonia.
This enlarged GTPE aims to define the procedures for allocating part of the loan known as the “Republican Solidarity Endowment”, amounting to €14 million, which will be distributed among local institutions to address pressing social and economic needs.
