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Lesson
Future sector strategies and projects seeking to modernize agriculture in Uzbekistan will require a thorough analysis of the markets and an evaluation of the sustainability of previous interventions. The new sector reform strategy seeks to reduce farm quotas, support other high-value crops (including horticulture), and introduce more resource-efficient agricultural methods (e.g., drip irrigation).

Project Number: 37536-013
Project Name: Land Improvement Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Small targeted technical assistance can have a significant impact on institutional capacity. The project supported the enhancement of the GIS capabilities of the Hydrogeological Melioration Expeditions (HGMEs), primarily through the GEF grant. Local HGMEs have benefited from the institutional capacity building provided through the project. Through the use of GIS, they are able to map drainage and irrigation infrastructure and facilities in the project areas, to support their O&M planning and implementation.

Project Number: 37536-013
Project Name: Land Improvement Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Agricultural drainage projects will yield greater benefits if they are coupled with complementary support for irrigation and other agricultural support mechanisms. In this case, the farms achieved more efficient drainage through the project, but the project did not pay enough attention to ensuring the prudent use of water. Overwatering is still practiced by farmers, exacerbating the inefficient transfer of water from sources to farms (40% reported water loss).

Project Number: 37536-013
Project Name: Land Improvement Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Regular monitoring and early course correction are required to mitigate poor project readiness and weak baselines. The project suffered from project readiness issues that resulted in significant cost overruns and delays. While ideally these would be captured before project approval, if they are not, it is imperative that identified flaws are acted on as soon as possible during implementation to allow for course correction.

Project Number: 37536-013
Project Name: Land Improvement Project
Report Date:
Lesson
It is essential to carefully study and consider less socially and environmentally disruptive options in investment decision making in hydropower. Possible alternatives in future cases, for example, could include river offtake, run of the river, small decentralized hydro systems, and backup from solar and wind power. The choice should be made through a participatory assessment that gives the same weight to social and environmental dimensions as to technical and economic aspects.

Project Number: 37734-013, 37910-014
Project Name: Greater Mekong Subregion - Nam Theun 2 Hydroelectric Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Biodiversity conservation in the context of hydropower projects requires an approach whereby “conservation forest” is balanced with “production forest” as a source of income for affected people. To date, ADB, the World Bank, and international organizations consider many of the village forest activities as failures (e.g., trees are being cut down to the roots) with government advisors having little understanding of forestry practices in relation to biodiversity conservation and sustainable practice.

Project Number: 37734-013, 37910-014
Project Name: Greater Mekong Subregion - Nam Theun 2 Hydroelectric Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Overly prescriptive approaches limit the scope for adaptive management of livelihood restoration programs for project-affected people. Clear recognition of the many risks associated with implementing a complex project in partnership with a relatively inexperienced and limited-capacity government led to a concerted effort to “get everything right,” as it were, before the project even started. That is reflected in the negotiation of a comprehensive and highly detailed concession agreement, a 1,362-page legal document.

Project Number: 37734-013, 37910-014
Project Name: Greater Mekong Subregion - Nam Theun 2 Hydroelectric Project
Report Date:
Lesson
It is important to avoid overly ambitious objectives in project design. The enhancement of biodiversity conservation in NNT-NPA was an overly ambitious objective. The area to be protected involved the entire watershed and an area downstream. Its size challenged the capability and capacity of a number of agencies to plan, implement, and sustain conservation requirements.

Project Number: 37734-013, 37910-014
Project Name: Greater Mekong Subregion - Nam Theun 2 Hydroelectric Project
Report Date:
Lesson
A large, complex development project requires a commensurate and substantive long-term commitment. The exceptionally long preparation and implementation periods (2003–2019) were essential to provide sufficient time for analysis, appraisal, and supervision of a complex project and ensure an eventually successful outcome in a high-risk context.

Project Number: 37734-013, 37910-014
Project Name: Greater Mekong Subregion - Nam Theun 2 Hydroelectric Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Quality project sponsors are essential for success, but their limitations and country capacity constraints also need to be considered. The selection of a well-qualified developer as the primary equity holder in the NTPC consortium appears to have played a major role in the efficient construction and operation of the dam and power facilities with very modest cost and time overruns.

Project Number: 37734-013, 37910-014
Project Name: Greater Mekong Subregion - Nam Theun 2 Hydroelectric Project
Report Date:
Lesson
IFI collaboration can yield a major developmental contribution with a high-risk project in a limited-capacity country. The close and effective collaboration of ADB, the World Bank, and other IFIs from an early stage provided the necessary confidence for the private sector to undertake a pioneering, complex, and large-scale project in a limited-capacity country. Although the total IFI loans and guarantees were modest in scale, the independent evaluation team established that they had been a necessary requirement for the international dollar financiers to extend loans to NTPC.

Project Number: 37734-013, 37910-014
Project Name: Greater Mekong Subregion - Nam Theun 2 Hydroelectric Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Nonrevenue water will remain a neglected issue without serious government and development partner support and targeted project actions. The project’s high target levels for NRW, at 70%, reflected a low priority given by both government and ADB. There were no specific actions outlined in the project design to achieve reductions in NRW. Metering should have improved the ability to monitor and control losses. Although impressive results in metering were achieved, the priority appears to have been to improve collection efficiency rather than seriously address NRW.

Project Number: 40296-013, 45299-001
Project Name: Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
A simplified monitoring and evaluation system, with direct reporting to the executing agency, would have led to better assessment of the project’s performance. The ability to evaluate project performance and benefits was seriously compromised when the collection of performance data was discontinued even though collection was required under the loan agreement. The PPMS for the project was complex and was maintained only for the duration of each loan’s implementation period.

Project Number: 40296-013, 45299-001
Project Name: Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Long-term engagement is needed to foster private sector participation in water supply provision. Along with other development partners, ADB has contributed significantly to the development of an enabling environment for private sector engagement in the provision of WSS services in Armenia. This would not have been possible without ADB’s long-term engagement in the sector through this project and other interventions. ADB support to draft the PPP law (approved in June 2019) and continuing support on regulations will further enhance the enabling environment.

Project Number: 40296-013, 45299-001
Project Name: Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The riverbank erosion management system can play a crucial role in sustaining the adaptive approach beyond the life of the project. Greater clarity is needed on what a riverbank erosion management system (REMS) consists of and what institutional setting is required to make it sustainable. Effective operation of a REMS needs to be based on a crystal-clear consensus on the roles of local stakeholders, implementation arrangements, and Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) coordination and financial commitment.

Project Number: 34038-013
Project Name: Jamuna-Meghna River Erosion Mitigation Project
Report Date: