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Lesson
Mobilizing local project management expertise can be beneficial. The modification of the project management consulting contract to increase the inputs of national staff proved beneficial. Local and national staff who work closely with experienced international consultants as part of a team of a competitively selected consulting firm have the opportunity to acquire skills and hone them. This is good and in line with ADB's capacity development objectives in developing member countries.

Project Number: 42401-014
Project Name: Power Distribution Enhancement Investment Program (Multitranche Financing Facility)
Report Date:
Lesson
A rational tariff policy is essential for improving the financial viability of a distribution utility. Two tariff revisions (in 2016 and 2021) helped improve the financial viability of Azerishiq's distribution-strengthening projects. Although the upgrade of distribution systems is still not fully financially viable, an improving financial internal rate of return (into positive territory) illustrates the benefits of lifting tariffs toward full cost recovery.

Project Number: 42401-014
Project Name: Power Distribution Enhancement Investment Program (Multitranche Financing Facility)
Report Date:
Lesson
Sex-disaggregated data need to be accurate and usable for in-depth analyses to support policy development and program planning and implementation. The government has increased its focus on gender equality and has made significant progress on gender data tracking and transparency. Although there are a few publicly available national resources, they lack qualitative information.

Project Number: 55073-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Insufficient up-to-date macroeconomic data on government websites, which could hinder timely and effective planning especially during crisis periods, needs to be rectified. The State Statistical Committee (SSC) has numerous macroeconomic indicators on its website. However, in most cases, very recent data are missing. International organizations such as ADB, the IMF and the World Bank release forecasts of macroeconomic indicators for upcoming years, and SSC should consider following the same approach.

Project Number: 55073-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Accessibility of healthcare data in Azerbaijan needs to be improved. Reports from the Ministry of Health Care are not publicly available on its website. In addition, the State Agency for Mandatory Health Insurance considers healthcare information to be highly sensitive. Accordingly, this information is not contained on its website. Information related to daily coronavirus infections and vaccinations was released publicly. It would be useful for the agency to disseminate gender, age, and region-disaggregated information to the public.

Project Number: 55073-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Early engagement with stakeholders and design of subsidy programs responsive to the needs of vulnerable groups could expedite the implementation of complex policy reforms. The success of this program highlights the importance of the government's continuing commitment in improving the performance and sustainability of the Palau Public Utilities Corporation.

Project Number: 54151-001, 54151-003
Project Name: Palau Public Utilities Corporation Reform Program 
Report Date:
Lesson
Continued advisory support is required to sustain the momentum of reforms in Palau's energy sector. ADB provided substantial advisory support through ADB staff and by engaging experts through technical assistance operations to help the Palau Public Utilities Corporation (PPUC) implement the agreed policy actions and prepare background studies for both subprograms.

Project Number: 54151-001, 54151-003
Project Name: Palau Public Utilities Corporation Reform Program 
Report Date:
Lesson
Continued investment in policy dialogue is essential to ensure sustainability and the best resilience outcomes for the country. The policy actions identified in the program’s policy matrix, as well as future target actions identified in the follow-on program’s post-program policy framework, provide an opportunity to further strengthen DRM in Palau and to identify gaps and needs for future support in DRM. The program initiated a long-term policy dialogue with Palau for ADB assistance for DRM.

Project Number: 52018-001
Project Name: Disaster Resilience Program
Report Date:
Lesson
The success of the program highlights the importance of the government’s continuing commitment to improve disaster risk management (DRM), including disaster preparedness and response. Adopting a country-led set of policy actions, developed in an open, participatory manner, ensured strong ownership and commitment from the government and reinforced policy dialogue and coordination with various stakeholders.

Project Number: 52018-001
Project Name: Disaster Resilience Program
Report Date:
Lesson
The Shah Deniz Gas Field Expansion Project is transformational. It has expanded the development of one of the largest gas fields in the world, which will help (i) more than double gas production from the field; and (ii) increase the country’s gas production by 67% during the same period. This will help strengthen the Azerbaijani economy and create more fiscal space for economic diversification.

Project Number: 49451-002
Project Name: Shah Deniz Gas Field Expansion Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The partial credit guarantee (PCG) modality was a good choice for this transaction. It enabled ADB sovereign operations to come as close as possible to enabling the IA to obtain commercial financing for a commercially viable project in a country with a below-investment-grade rating. With a One ADB approach, it showed the way to achieve close and collaborative work between ADB’s sovereign and nonsovereign departments. Its 95% cover was important because it facilitated the raising of commercial finance.

Project Number: 49451-002
Project Name: Shah Deniz Gas Field Expansion Project
Report Date:
Lesson
ADB played an important role in country risk mitigation. ADB’s partial credit guarantee (PCG) to the Southern Gas Corridor Closed Joint-Stock Company (SGC) made possible SGC’s access to necessary private sector refinancing to meet its financial commitments to Shah Deniz Stage II (SD2) and the midstream pipelines. This reduced government dependence on the country’s dwindling oil and gas revenues held by the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) to meet expenditure obligations.

Project Number: 49451-002
Project Name: Shah Deniz Gas Field Expansion Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Development partners are a great source of assistance in designing and implementing crisis response programs. The program design and implementation benefited greatly from the presence in Palau of the EconMAP team in situ in the Ministry of Finance (MOF), analyzing economic trends and providing regular advice, and the program team’s coordination with the International Monetary Fund and the Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Centre team in Fiji. Given thin capacity in MOF, such support has been invaluable.

Project Number: 54245-001
Project Name: Health Expenditure and Livelihoods Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Flexibility during implementation enhances program responsiveness. The government made timely adjustments to ensure complementarities between two major assistance programs at the time—the United States’ Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act 2020 that provided unemployment benefits to citizens of Palau and the country’s own Coronavirus Relief One-Stop Shop (CROSS) Act of 2020 that provide relief to the private sector. Funding from the CROSS components with lower uptake were reallocated to those with higher demand.

Project Number: 54245-001
Project Name: Health Expenditure and Livelihoods Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Coordinating or shared reporting and the use of government’s own systems would ease the burden of monitoring and reporting the implementation of crisis response programs. Developing a monitoring system that can be effectively implemented during a pandemic when there are competing demands on the time of staff, who are already stretched, is problematic. This is accentuated when other partners impose similar reporting requirements. Coordinated or shared reporting and reliance on government’s own internal systems would lessen this burden.

Project Number: 54245-001
Project Name: Health Expenditure and Livelihoods Support Program
Report Date: