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Lesson
It will be essential to find a balance in future TA projects between continuing support for the whole region and having activities and outputs focus on a subset of countries to allow for more granularity in analyses and deeper engagements. This was the first TA for the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) in the field of disaster risk financing (DRF), and as such, was designed to cover all 11 CAREC countries.

Project Number: 53198-001
Project Name: Developing a Disaster Risk Transfer Facility in the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Region
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Lesson
Land acquisition issues in PNG are more difficult to resolve than in other countries, as 97% of land is customarily owned. In this project, In this project, In this project, they were harder to contend with than expected at design stage due to changes in weather patterns that affected travel plans, with many of the sites located at sea. In a project as widely dispersed geographically as this one, more time will also have to be allowed for site access and community engagement activities.

Project Number: 44375-013
Project Name: Maritime and Waterways Safety Project
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Lesson
In turbulent times, projects must formulate comprehensive contingency plans for major emergencies such as (i) strengthening risk management with flexible plans to address unpredictability, (ii) developing adaptable resource plans, (iii) enhancing supply chain transparency to mitigate delays, (iv) improving remote team collaboration, and (v) leveraging digital technology to monitor projects during emergencies. This project was affected by the pandemic and required a loan extension until 30 June 2022, necessitating a corresponding extension of the implementation period.

Project Number: 45022-002
Project Name: Jiangxi Ji'an Sustainable Urban Transport Project
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Lesson
All the output and activity requirements to achieve planned outcomes need to be identified and mapped out in a clear implementation plan with well-defined targets and a definite timeframe. The original project design overlooked securing donor funding as a key output for establishing the Facility. The proposed timeline for stakeholder consultations was overly optimistic.

Project Number: 54344-001
Project Name: Supporting the Establishment of a CAREC Regional Infrastructure Projects Enabling Facility
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Lesson
Guidance for completing CPRO DMFs underscored the dynamic nature of a crisis operation and the need to be prepared to strengthen, amend or add DMF indicators during implementation. The fact that this was not followed reflects a built-in lack of flexibility with DMFs (and perhaps the difficulty of making changes in accordance with existing Project Administration Instructions).

Project Number: 54178-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Rapid Response Program
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Lesson
The design and monitoring frameworks (DMFs) of the COVID-19 Pandemic Response Option (CPRO) extracted aspects of the government’s response plan that were important to ADB and restricted the number of indicators and targets in order not to burden the government. However, this made demonstrating outcome-level achievement difficult because it relies too much on one or two indicators and targets (weak horizontal logic) and is narrowly and inadequately supported by a minimal number of outputs (weak vertical logic).

Project Number: 54178-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Rapid Response Program
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Lesson
Extensions in project implementation period provide opportunities not only to fully achieve but also enhance project results. In this case, the agreement on TA extension was premised not only on overcoming delays due to COVID-19 but also to facilitate additional safeguards and technical studies which provided better upstream guidance to the detailed design phase of the ensuing project the TA supported.

Project Number: 51249-003
Project Name: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Water Resources Development Project
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Lesson
Close communication and timely adjustments in implementation arrangements help minimize the impact of disruptions and ensure TA completion within the original or revised timeframes.

Project Number: 52070-001
Project Name: South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Regional Energy Cooperation
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Lesson
Frequent review missions are crucial to overcoming implementation challenges. The TA was administered by staff located in head office with good support from the Pakistan Resident Mission. However, ADB staff assignment changed during the TA implementation period; and the limitations and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic induced challenges to consultant management and client interaction. Frequent review missions significantly helped address these challenges.

Project Number: 51249-003
Project Name: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Water Resources Development Project
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Lesson
An exogenous shock such as the COVID-19 pandemic can significantly affect TA execution and associated plans and government priorities. When that happens, it will be useful to pause TA implementation, revisit the processing timeline, take sufficient time to observe and discuss with the executing agency, and make adjustment where possible. The TA was well aligned with strategy documents at national and ADB level.

Project Number: 52013-001
Project Name: Research University Sector Development Program
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Lesson
Construction timelines in climate-affected areas need to be reliably assessed to minimize completion delays. The construction timelines for Karamyk BCP, located at altitude of 2,300 meters above sea level, were tight. The contractor faced various issues due to the harsh weather, electricity supply interruptions, and delays with the supply of materials and equipment. Combined with the contractor’s relatively low financial capacity, this resulted in a 4-year construction period versus the originally planned 15-month implementation timeline.

Project Number: 46124-001
Project Name: Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Regional Improvement of Border Services Project
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Lesson
It is important for projects engaging many consultants to have a clear record of what was delivered and why the scope of contracts was changed or reduced. The firm’s final report should summarize the key deliverables and their usage. It is also important to undertake a structured turnover process especially to submit TA documentation sharing insights, best practices, and lessons from the TA experience.

Project Number: 52013-001
Project Name: Research University Sector Development Program
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Lesson
Despite odds, it is not impossible for TA projects to collect the necessary information to prepare ensuing projects. The TA scope and implementation arrangements had been changed to adapt to the changing context arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, it was able to gather all the requisite information to prepare the ensuing project.

Project Number: 52013-001
Project Name: Research University Sector Development Program
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Lesson
Unforeseen events could significantly impact project implementation.

Project Number: 43316-012
Project Name: Pakse Urban Environmental Improvement Project
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Lesson
Trade facilitation reforms and national single window (NSW) development are complex undertakings requiring much time to be completed. This project's timelines were very ambitious with regard to the NSW component given that it required institutional and regulatory reforms; business process reengineering across multiple government agencies; as well as design, development, and integration of the SWIS.

Project Number: 46124-001
Project Name: Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Regional Improvement of Border Services Project
Report Date: