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Lesson
Governments and ADB should conduct a more detailed review of the studies to confirm soundness of assumptions and results. The pre-feasibility study that prepared the project design and appraised the viability of the subprojects had quality issues, given that two airport projects in Cambodia were cancelled due to poor market viability, the airport project in the Lao PDR had to be redesigned due to the need to expand scope, the site for the wastewater treatment plant in Siem Reap was not firmed up and substantial time was wasted looking for an alternative site, and others.

Project Number: 35282-013, 33434-013, 35345-013
Project Name: Greater Mekong Subregion: Mekong Tourism Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
No new lessons.

Project Number: 35225-013
Project Name: Small and Medium Enterprise Sector Development Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Importance of a strong commitment and ownership of the government to a reform and capacity building program such as the SMESDP.

Project Number: 33246-013
Project Name: Small and Medium Enterprise Sector Development Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Raising awareness of end-users is an important component of projects that streamline government administration. It helps increase demand for the systems, reduce misinformation, and support the overall change. The funding allocation to public awareness campaigns under the project could have been higher.

Project Number: 41544-072
Project Name: Investment Climate Improvement Program System Support Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Information technologgy training for government agencies' staff was expensive. It may be more efficient in future procurement plans to have a separate package for training in basic information and communication technology, as there are many institutions in the country that provide these services.

Project Number: 41544-072
Project Name: Investment Climate Improvement Program System Support Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Projects with significant information technology (IT) components require specific expertise in designing the software's technical specifications and bidding documents, and monitoring a software developer's work. The terms of reference for IT experts should have required candidates to have minimum experience in writing technical specifications for software development that were successfully tendered.

Project Number: 41544-072
Project Name: Investment Climate Improvement Program System Support Project
Report Date:
Lesson
It is unlikely that civil servants in the Kyrgyz Republic have the necessary incentives to manage complex projects as unremunerated, part-time project managers, even if they are highly competent. It is also unlikely that public procurement processes can be managed without specialized procurement skills. A fully dedicated project manager and a procurement specialist should have been appointed to the project.

Project Number: 41544-072
Project Name: Investment Climate Improvement Program System Support Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Implementation of a single window for foreign trade is an extremely complex process that requires a long-term commitment and high-level support. It also requires continuous dialogue with all concerned government agencies to lower resistance to change, including by middle managers and operational staff. The project should have had a longer implementation period and should have included a stronger communication and change management component. A project administration manual and a design and monitoring framework (DMF) at an earlier stage could have helped expedite implementation.

Project Number: 41544-072
Project Name: Investment Climate Improvement Program System Support Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Instead of three tranches of $2 million, a better design might have been two tranches of $3 million. Regardless of the size, securing a tranche release has certain fixed administrative costs. If the tranches are small, these costs are proportionally higher and diminish the incentives to implement the preconditions for tranche release.

Project Number: 39221-022
Project Name: Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprise Sector Development Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Although delayed, the Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprise policy paper made effective use of consultations. Several white papers preceded it, and they solicited broad feedback that produced a strong final product. In addition, the paper included a tangible strategy and action plan that gives the Department of Cottage and Small Industry a clear work program.

Project Number: 39221-022
Project Name: Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprise Sector Development Program
Report Date:
Lesson
ADB could have participated in the project steering committee. Without ADB's participation, the committee's decision making was constrained because its decisions were still subject to ADB's concurrence.

Project Number: 39221-022
Project Name: Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprise Sector Development Program
Report Date:
Lesson
The program included innovations that were new to Bhutan, so qualified local consultants were not available. Yet it was difficult to find foreign consultants who understood the Bhutanese context. The design and monitoring framework did identify �lack of qualified staff� as a risk. For future programs, however, ADB should further refine this risk to capture the tension between external expertise and local knowledge.

Project Number: 39221-022
Project Name: Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprise Sector Development Program
Report Date:
Lesson
There was strong continuity between ADB's earlier support to establish a credit information bureau and this project's support for a central registry. There are natural synergies between the two initiatives that increase the effectiveness and sustainability of each.

Project Number: 39221-022
Project Name: Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprise Sector Development Program
Report Date:
Lesson
The implementing agency should have been more involved in program design. The Ministry of Economic Affairs' Planning and Policy Division developed the program, but the Department of Cottage and Small Industry (DCSI) was responsible for implementation. The DCSI thought that some components could have been designed differently to improve their impact (e.g., the cost-sharing facility).

Project Number: 39221-022
Project Name: Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprise Sector Development Program
Report Date:
Lesson
The project had a much broader reach than merely providing credit to Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs). It invested in their capacities and enabling environment (e.g., the cost-sharing facility, a coordinated government MSME policy, the collateral registry) so that banks could provide and MSMEs could employ credit more efficiently. This broader reach is especially important in frontier markets where these supporting elements are generally less developed.

Project Number: 39221-022
Project Name: Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprise Sector Development Program
Report Date: