Ningxia Irrigated Agriculture and Water Conservation Demonstration Project

Regular policy dialogue and project readiness can reduce the likelihood of scope changes. Project implementation did not progress during 2015 to 2017 because of the
unforeseen scope change, which resulted in the reallocation of about 63% of the original loan amount. While the scope change did not substantially alter the project outcome and outputs, significant efforts and additional staff resources were required to conduct the necessary due diligence and secure the approval of the government and ADB. The change was caused by the cancellation of planned project components that either have already been implemented after loan approval using available domestic funds or were not to be implemented because of the change in the government land use plan. It could have been avoided or minimized if these new developments were brought much earlier to ADB’s attention through policy dialogue. In addition, had procurement started promptly and effectively, it would have helped minimize the likelihood of unforeseen changes and this could have been secured through well-established project readiness at approval.