Gaining ownership from stakeholders and partners is paramount to the success of a project
vis-à-vis its long-term sustainability, mitigating effectiveness risk bottlenecks, and avoiding otherwise
foreseeable delays. The project had multiple benefits for stakeholders who were previously unserved
by basic urban services. It improved urban environment indicators in municipalities and contributed to
ADB’s 2030 operational strategies but was delayed nearly 2 years for various foreseeable technical
and operational issues. Part of the project’s lengthy delay emerged from the lack of community
participation and inclusion in urban infrastructure investments that would have directly affected communities. A plausible conclusion regarding not fully engaging communities and stakeholders is that
it was likely to lead to more systemic medium- to long-term sustainability issues for the project.
Integrated Urban Development Project