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Lesson
Growth rates in traffic forecasts in conflict affected areas should be conservative when preparing project designs

Project Number: 42533-022
Project Name: Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif Railway Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Where there is a risk of incurring losses as in the case of the project, it is essential to define sustainable sources of funding to cover those losses when designing projects, to ensure project economic viability and long-term sustainability

Project Number: 42533-022
Project Name: Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif Railway Project
Report Date:
Lesson
O&M costs should reflect actual conditions

Project Number: 42533-022
Project Name: Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif Railway Project
Report Date:
Lesson
In a project of this nature, where there are serious security risks, and a potential for contractors' or consultants' suspension of works, or expected contract variations due to type of terrain, prompt decision making becomes critically important. This can be achieved through exceptional involvement of donors. ADB provided enhanced supervision both from headquarters and Afghanistan Resident Mission (AFRM). Staff were closely involved in identifying and promptly resolving issues.

Project Number: 39467-013
Project Name: North-South Corridor Project
Report Date:
Lesson
In future projects, both the government and donors should prepare realistic project schedules by carefully taking into account (a) the security situation and the time and resources required to carry out remedial actions for the safety of project teams throughout the projects; (b) actual construction period available in a year considering the altitude of the project areas and inclement weather conditions; (c) probability of rebidding due to lack of interest, competition, or exorbitant costs (beyond acceptable limits) offered by some interested bidders; (d) delays in contractor mobilization;

Project Number: 39467-013
Project Name: North-South Corridor Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Scrutiny of contractors and consultants before their selection is critical to the success of any project. In particular, in projects like this, which draw minimum interest because of security hazards, lack of oversight may jeopardize project implementation. Therefore, in Afghanistan, specifically in projects like this, such risks may be averted by giving more emphasis to quality and the performance record of both the consultants and the contractors, and not just the lowest price.

Project Number: 39467-013
Project Name: North-South Corridor Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Adverse security issues and project start-up delays are two main factors that have adversely affected and delayed almost all previous projects in Afghanistan, except those where these issues were carefully handled in advance. Furthermore, insufficient surveys during project processing, and major changes in the technical design parameters during project implementation, can also cause serious implementation delays and significant cost overrun. The project suffered security issues until the situation was fixed with the help of additional security arrangements.

Project Number: 39467-013
Project Name: North-South Corridor Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Experience on several ongoing and completed projects in Afghanistan has shown that project implementation is delayed due to two main factors: start-up delays and adverse security issues. Taking advance actions before grant or loan effectiveness can easily address these problems, as demonstrated on this project. Timely actions were taken to speed up implementation readiness, such as advance procurement of works and consulting services, award of contracts, site handover, and timely establishment of a fully staffed project implementation unit.

Project Number: 42533-022
Project Name: Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif Railway Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Implementing a project of this magnitude and in a strict timeframe was quite challenging. However, this can be achieved through exceptional involvement of donors. ADB provided enhanced supervision both from headquarters and the resident mission. Staffs were closely involved in identifying and promptly resolving issues. Any matter requiring ADB's internal approval was expedited and funds were released with fast-track processing. Furthermore, a fulltime implementation consultant was mobilized by ADB on site to provide coordination, implementation assistance, and independent reporting.

Project Number: 42533-022
Project Name: Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif Railway Project
Report Date:
Lesson
For projects where multiple government agencies are involved in decision making, it is important to establish coordination through an executive committee made up of representatives of the concerned agencies, chaired by a high-level government official and/or champion. Such a committee can facilitate the provision of overall guidance, ensuring expeditious approvals from various agencies, and in places where security is a major concern, could ensure that the project is implemented uninterrupted with sustained security arrangements.

Project Number: 42533-022
Project Name: Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif Railway Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Combining the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) and operation and maintenance (O&M) into one package may yield more efficient and cost-effective outputs. On this project, this would have given all the parties a clear understanding of the requirements from the beginning, and risk-mitigation measures could have been built into the contract appropriately. The contractor would also have been particularly vigilant in ensuring the best quality of works during construction.

Project Number: 42533-022
Project Name: Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif Railway Project
Report Date:
Lesson
For implementing large-scale and complex projects with a strict timeframe, the preferred form of contract can be engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) turnkey. For this project, works were awarded under the EPC turnkey contract using a fixed-price and fixed-delivery schedule with penalties for nonperformance and a bonus for early completion. This provided reasonable economic stimuli for timely project completion.

Project Number: 42533-022
Project Name: Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif Railway Project
Report Date: