Appropriate contract packaging, stakeholder involvement in project preparation, and reliable cost estimates are of particular importance to successful project implementation. This project encountered several weaknesses in design and preparation that made implementation challenging. These included (i) inappropriate packaging of consulting services, with too many small-value packages that were unattractive for qualified bidders; (ii) lack of involvement of the provincial government, the implementing agency, in project preparation which led to delays in counterpart funding and the approval of the redesign of wastewater treatment and the Mekong River embankment subprojects; (iii) underestimation of project costs during appraisal, which required revisions to all subprojects during implementation; (iv) overestimation of land acquisition and resettlement costs; and (v) complicated cost itemization that led to unnecessary reallocations. ADB project teams and counterpart agencies need to collaborate and strengthen coordination to minimize these weaknesses in future projects.
Greater Mekong Subregion East-West Economic Corridor Towns Development Project