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Lesson
When designing and implementing rural infrastructure in remote areas with indigenous populations as potential workers and beneficiaries, there must be a careful review of local habits and customs to understand how these can accommodate the common modalities of civil contracting. The original project schedule was too optimistic and did not leave enough time for careful review and adjustment. In such a case, a component that does not suit the needs of a specific target population could leave that population unserved or bypassed.

Project Number: 32467-013
Project Name: Chittagong Hill Tracts Rural Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The adequacy of security arrangements at project sites in Afghanistan determines the pace at which projects can be implemented. Ultimately, protecting construction crews and facilities and equipment storage areas will be feasible only if an effective grassroots outreach program is mounted to win the support and goodwill of communities who live near construction sites and secure the collaboration of local government officials and village leaders.

Project Number: 37075-013
Project Name: Andkhoy-Qaisar Road Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The community's involvement in various project activities and its interactions with the government and project staff greatly enhanced the sense of ownership. Community participation and contribution was the key to successfully completing the village upgrading subcomponent. This was evidenced by the fact that the actual community contribution of $206,000, mainly in cash, exceeded the estimated amount of $200,000 expected at appraisal to be mainly as labor.

Project Number: 31352-013
Project Name: Small Towns Development Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The unilateral withdrawal of a relatively large amount of cofinancing by Danida (around 50% of the total amount allocated for the rural access component) after project approval considerably delayed implementation and created difficulties in meeting project objectives and targets. The cofinancing was unfortunately a condition of loan effectiveness. The project was declared effective in October 2002, after the cofinancing condition was declared void.

Project Number: 32467-013
Project Name: Chittagong Hill Tracts Rural Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
A major reason for the delay in project start-up was the variance between the report and recomendations of the president (RRP) and the government's PC-1 planning document. Draft RRPs and PC-1s for a project should be shared between ADB and the borrower well before loan approval.

Project Number: 27182-013
Project Name: North-West Frontier Province Urban Development Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Weak government commitment. Given the political environment and the likelihood that a significant lack of consensus might be a daily reality on this project, the design should never have been so complex, with four different subcomponents, leading to a much larger MFF expectation. Perhaps a lesson here is that to achieve early and committed buy-in to required reforms and institutional shake-up, smaller and simpler components could be tested through a small scale or project preparatory TAs, which may lead to visible and larger MFF commitments.

Project Number: 38405-013
Project Name: Mega City Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The improvement of connectivity and access between rural and remote areas of the CHT, especially with the market centers, was crucial for development. The project directly and indirectly affected all aspects of rural life in the CHT. During the project completion review mission and earlier missions, villagers asked whether more livelihood projects would be provided in their area.

Project Number: 32467-013
Project Name: Chittagong Hill Tracts Rural Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The project's geographical coverage posed a major challenge to monitor subproject implementation in 12 project towns located all over the country from the northern tip (Phongsali) to the south (Samakkhixai). Particularly during rainy season, it was time-consuming for project coordination unit (PCU) staff and consultants to travel to the project towns, as well as for personnel from UDAAs and project implementation units (PIUs) to attend meetings and workshops.

Project Number: 31352-013
Project Name: Small Towns Development Sector Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The annual hiatus in processing withdrawal applications by Ministry of Finance (MOF) for the 3-month budget approval period (end of the financial year on 21 March until the end of June) causes cash flow difficulties for the contractors and consultants, as this period coincides with the peak construction season. A streamlined coordination among MPW, MOF, and ADB should be developed to minimize the adverse impact on project progress and avoid interest claims on late payments.

Project Number: 37075-013
Project Name: Andkhoy-Qaisar Road Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The project was initiated and prepared in 1999-2000, only 2 years after the signing of the Peace Accord, ending 25 years of insurgency and instability. Many high-risk incidents during project implementation could therefore be expected. The executing and implementing agencies had just been established, and their institutional capacity to implement projects was still being developed and strengthened.

Project Number: 32467-013
Project Name: Chittagong Hill Tracts Rural Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Counterpart funding and incentive issues in TA loans. Despite the challenges in project implementation, the project support unit (PSU) and local support unit (LSU) had utilized close to $4 million in counterpart funding, while ADB disbursed only 15% of the TA loan. As a result, the actual split between ADB and the government was 15:85, when the agreement was 70:30. Thus, a key lesson is that there should have been far greater oversight on the utilization of counterpart funds, as the ADB-financed expenditures and activities and overall progress of the TA loan lagged far behind.

Project Number: 38405-013
Project Name: Mega City Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The design-build contract adopted for this project is not a turnkey type of contract in which prospective bidders will need to conduct significant site reconnaissance in order to prepare competitive bids, but a measurement contract based on financial unit rates with design carried out by the contractor as the road is constructed. This type of contract was intended to overcome local design capacity constraints and expedite commencement of works.

Project Number: 37075-013
Project Name: Andkhoy-Qaisar Road Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Consultant quality at entrance is critical, as top international consultants and contractors are less interested in projects in Afghanistan. Emphasis during selection should be on quality and past performance record of consultants, as this can easily result in both cost and time savings, given the prevalence of price escalation, time extensions, and cost overruns for projects in Afghanistan.

Project Number: 37075-013
Project Name: Andkhoy-Qaisar Road Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Problematic shifting of priorities. Continuing problems with government approvals, and constant changes in focus, scope, and direction caused major delays. ADB noted a range of concerns over the continuing delays on the processing of the Project in its previous incarnation, the Karachi Mega City Development Program, after developing the loan proposal to the point of loan negotiations in May 2008.

Project Number: 38405-013
Project Name: Mega City Development Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The policy reforms agreed on at appraisal were overshadowed by the broader reform agenda introduced under local government ordinance (LGO) 2001 before project approval. Where major changes occur in the external environment of projects before ADB approval, it is more efficient to revise the project design up front rather than postpone the major adjustments.

Project Number: 27182-013
Project Name: North-West Frontier Province Urban Development Sector Project
Report Date: