Methodologies and approaches

As the government continues the reform program with assistance from other development partners and the private sector, detailed ongoing assessments of government budget commitments and financing needs, and capacity development are required, with related work plans. This support needs to include working with the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry as a key partner, expanding the SME Service Centers and outreach, and enhancing access to finance. It will also require government decisions on legal, regulatory, and financial aspects, to fully operationalize an e-commerce platform.

implementation of environmental and social management system, capacity building and skills training, gender mainstreaming, and additional funding support for small businesses. In addition to strengthening the capacity of the PFIs to lend to small businesses, capacity building can also help prepare PFIs without previous experience working with IFIs for future partnerships with international agencies.

The experience and knowledge gained by the PFIs—especially Davr Bank and the UzbekLeasing International A.O., which subsequently attracted other development partners—added value to the project. The areas that were particularly beneficial across the PFIs were project analysis, formulation, and

A multisector approach, backed by an implementation arrangement that addresses the logistical challenge of working in remote areas, is suitable for improving livelihoods in the protected areas. The project location within a protected area required a design that considered the links between communities, tourism, ecological values, park management objectives, and compliance with national and ADB safeguard requirements for protected areas.

Climate change risks need to be carefully considered in the design of rural infrastructure. There was inadequate integration of disaster and climate change risks into the design of subprojects in the highly vulnerable project provinces. This was highlighted by the collapse of a 450-meter section of the Trieu Dai–Trieu Do commune road (Quang Tri) during severe storms and flooding in 2011.

With climate change exerting new and increasing demands on road and bridge networks, future economic analyses for transport projects should take a broader perspective in calculating economic benefits. The economic analysis for this project compared with-project and without-project scenarios to derive its economic benefits. The definition of the with-project scenario assumed time and vehicle operating cost savings from less traffic congestion and improved traffic flow. The benefits from less congestion accounted for 93% of the total net benefits.