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Displaying 136 - 150 of 229

Lesson
Project implementation encountered land acquisition and resettlement challenges. ADB amended the Loan Agreement, which allowed construction to start on the sections where land issues had been resolved. ADB needs to make the government well aware of ADB's safeguard policy and prepare a more feasible loan agreement under future projects.

Project Number: 34333-013
Project Name: Balochistan Road Development Sector 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
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
Due to frequent restructuring within the government agencies, the PIU team was unstable throughout implementation. For future projects, permanent technical staff within the project implementation unit (PIU) team should be retained as much as possible to ensure continuity of key knowledge and information throughout the project. To further mitigate this situation, future projects could include strong procurement and project management support to the PIU to ensure smooth project implementation.

Project Number: 37265-013
Project Name: Domestic Maritime Transport Project
Report Date:
Lesson
There were initial start-up delays due to re-advertising of the institutional development and capacity building component and rebidding of the infrastructure investment component (IIC). The latter impacted the implementation schedule most and resulted in a one-year delay in completing the IIC. This also necessitated extending the loan by one year to December 2010. In the future, it would be beneficial to undertake more robust feasibility studies.

Project Number: 37265-013
Project Name: Domestic Maritime Transport Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Although the project cost estimate was made in 2002, procurement for the civil works was during 2008-2009. Due to price escalation, the bid prices received were much higher than originally estimated. Eventually, the implementing agency reduced the project scope so as to fit the project costs within the original cost allocation. In the future, it would be beneficial to shorten the time between detailed design and procurement and to use advance procurement to minimize start-up delays. Price escalation should also be factored into the project cost estimate.

Project Number: 37265-013
Project Name: Domestic Maritime Transport Project
Report Date:
Lesson
There are limits to what could be done during preparation for the highway upgrade project which itself will likely experience some difficulty during the early years of commercial operation. Several aspects of the ensuing project, which justify some concern at the time of TA loan implementation, relate to (i) the importance of financial sustainability of the expressway and of VEC more generally—for maintenance of the road, management of operations, and fulfillment of debt-service obligations (PCR para.

Project Number: 33307-023
Project Name: Greater Mekong Subregion: Kunming–Haiphong Transport Corridor—Noi Bai–Lao Cai Highway Technical Assistance Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Special measures need to be taken with respect to timing, cost estimations, and availability of contractors in a difficult conflict environment. Lessons learned from the resettlement component needed to be included.

Project Number: 37136-012, 37136-013
Project Name: Regional Airports Rehabilitation Project (Phase 1)
Report Date:
Lesson
No additional lessons

Project Number: 32467-013
Project Name: Chittagong Hill Tracts Rural Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
There were some difficulties in contract administration between the DOC and UNCTAD. Although the contract for the ASYCUDA was signed between DOR and UNCTAD, DOC was the main agency to supervise UNCTAD’s work. DOC felt that it was less effective in the UNCTAD contract implementation because it was not a party to the contract. Contract provisions should have clearly stated the role, responsibilities, and implementation arrangements of DOC.

Project Number: 37027-013
Project Name: Subregional Transport Facilitation Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The practice of international joint venture partners not actively participating in the implementation of the contracts awarded was observed during project implementation. To ensure involvement of all joint venture partners in contract administration, it would be necessary for each partner to issue a guarantee against the collateral for their individual and joint liability. Issuance of individual and joint liability along with a performance bond would ensure liability for the work among all joint venture partners.

Project Number: 37027-013
Project Name: Subregional Transport Facilitation Project
Report Date:
Lesson
An additional lesson identified by this validation relates to regional projects: all parties should agree on uniform standards covering, in this case, vehicular movements across international boundaries. Both Thailand and the PRC have higher legal axle load limits than the Lao PDR. This creates enforcement issues on permissible axle load limits and should have been resolved early on in project preparation.

Project Number: 34231-013
Project Name: Lao People’s Democratic Republic: Greater Mekong Subregion: Northern Economic Corridor Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The project-commissioned monitoring inadequately reported the actual implementation issues at field level. Third party monitoring on an annual basis would improve project performance. The reporting could be in the form of back-to-office notes that outline issues in need of attention and make recommendations.

Project Number: 37027-013
Project Name: Subregional Transport Facilitation Project
Report Date: