Modality

Focusing on downstream engagement in select areas through sector development programs and project investments could help unlock structural bottlenecks in service delivery at the local level. This would require follow-on collaboration with various sector teams, such as in agriculture, trade, information technology, health, education, energy, urban, and climate solutions. In other words, building on policies, laws, and institutional capacity to improve service delivery and overall client experience.

ADB has become more proactive in handling crises and providing support to its developing member countries (DMCs) by delivering emergency assistance. The process was defined further after the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing governments of DMCs to access and implement emergency programs smoothly and allowing ADB to provide resources more effectively and efficiently. The monitoring and reporting mechanism employed for collecting data was also streamlined and became more user-friendly after the experience with the COVID-19 Pandemic Response Option.

A flexible approach to respond to evolving priorities is important in maintaining the relevance of a policy-based loan (PBL) program. At the beginning of this program, further development in the oil and gas sector was a priority. However, during the 8-year program period, the government’s priority shifted to energy transition. Some of the policy actions in subprogram 3 were revised accordingly, in consultation with cofinancing partners, to reflect this development.

Well-planned integrated urban development investments—possibly including a South Tarawa-wide sewage collection and disposal system along with subsidized toilet and flushing facilities for low-income households— are necessary to substantially address the sanitation issue in South Tarawa. It was recognized from the outset that the project could only be the start of a comprehensive solution to the serious sanitation problem in South Tarawa.

Apart from offering concessional interest rates,ADB and China National Investment and Guaranty Corporation (I&G) could explore providing enhanced value-added services for ongoing and future financial intermediation loan initiatives in air quality improvement or climate change programs. The global economic slowdown dampened enthusiasm for green investments, while the rise in euro interest rates and the reduction of yuan lending rates since 2022 presented additional challenges for green financing eligible subprojects within the greater Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region.

Project preparation should have included better articulation of the need or logic for integrating a program loan and a project loan in a sector development program (SDP). Policy dialogue, which is essential to clearly establish an understanding among the executing agencies that policy reforms and project loan financed investments are interlinked, should have been undertaken; however, this was missing in this SDP. Two separate loans delivered in sequence may have been preferable and more manageable.

Financing a series of smaller projects within a broader financing structure can provide efficient infrastructure improvement support on a larger scale. Although the project completion report indicated that these types of projects should contain fewer districts to reduce the implementation burden, the report confirmed the efficacy of the project. Therefore, to provide large-scale infrastructure, it may be preferable to finance a series of smaller projects within a broader financing structure, such as a multitranche financing facility.

Introducing any new procurement modality, such as the complex performance-based management contract (PBMC), creates implementation capacity issues. Initially, a water loss management contract under this project adopted the design-build–operate modality and was tendered out. Due to poor market response, the contract package was rebid. The executing agency (EA) modified the contract provisions to align with market needs and a PBMC package was successfully awarded in October 2016.

Time overruns could occur because of (i) the introduction of a new contracting modality that require longer lead time and stronger staff capacity, (ii) rebids due to the termination of nonperforming contracts, and (iii) challenges in the management of contractual disputes.

A combination of policy-based lending (PBL) and technical assistance (TA) engagement, based on ADB's differentiated approach in small island developing states (SIDS), can further enhance the impact of ADB assistance to public sector management in Fiji. The design of this reflected ADB's differentiated approach in SIDS, spreading reforms across complementary areas and government units while combining policy actions that introduce or advance policy and legal frameworks with those that support their implementation.