ADB suggests steps to overcome start-up delays of project work
FE Report | Friday, 1 April 2011
FE Report
Asian Development Bank (ADB) asked the Bangladesh government to prepare bid documents and approve project proposals before signing loan deals for development schemes to get its continuous support, officials said Thursday. The Manila-based lender in a project review meeting in Dhaka also suggested for taking all necessary steps to cut the 'start-up delays' of the project works as it loses 15 months on an average to start implementation. "The review focusing on 'reducing start-up delays' intends to improve portfolio performance to deliver faster development results and benefits to the people of Bangladesh," said ADB's Bangladesh Country Director Thevakumar Kandiah. The ADB completed two-day review of nearly 40 of its funded projects Thursday where the government project implementing agencies and fund mobiliser, Economic Relations Division (ERD), took part. The review identified project implementation bottlenecks and constraints to achieving development objectives and prepared action plans to address these problems, Mr. Kandia said. "A major reason for the low utilisation of resources is start-up delays. It takes an average 15 months from loan approval to first disbursement of funds," said the Bangladesh's ADB chief. A top Economic Relations Division (ERD) official said the government side and lender discussed the impediments to the project implementation and work out ways of eliminating the obstacles. He said both sides have agreed on a plan of actions for overcoming the delays of project execution. The ADB Dhaka office said the review meeting provided firm agreement on actions to be taken by the government to deliver faster development results to the people of Bangladesh through quicker implementation of development projects. As per agreement, the project implementers are committed to reducing start-up delays, early preparation and approval of development project proposal (DPP), raising staff capacity for DPP preparation, and strict adherence to project readiness before loan approvals, the lender said. It said agreements were also reached on finalising plans for procurement of goods and services, appointment of project staff by executing agencies, completing preparation of bid documents, and completing land acquisition and resettlement plans before project approvals. The review is seen as a key test for the finance ministry and the government's project executing agencies two weeks after they passed similar assessment by Bangladesh's largest anti-poverty lender, World Bank. In the first half of the current fiscal 2010-11, ADB has disbursed $304 million credit to its ongoing projects in Bangladesh. As the second largest donor of Bangladesh, ADB's cumulative lending to Bangladesh amounts to $12 billion for 205 loans, while the technical assistance grants for 386 projects stood at $202.73 million until March 2011 since 1973.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) asked the Bangladesh government to prepare bid documents and approve project proposals before signing loan deals for development schemes to get its continuous support, officials said Thursday. The Manila-based lender in a project review meeting in Dhaka also suggested for taking all necessary steps to cut the 'start-up delays' of the project works as it loses 15 months on an average to start implementation. "The review focusing on 'reducing start-up delays' intends to improve portfolio performance to deliver faster development results and benefits to the people of Bangladesh," said ADB's Bangladesh Country Director Thevakumar Kandiah. The ADB completed two-day review of nearly 40 of its funded projects Thursday where the government project implementing agencies and fund mobiliser, Economic Relations Division (ERD), took part. The review identified project implementation bottlenecks and constraints to achieving development objectives and prepared action plans to address these problems, Mr. Kandia said. "A major reason for the low utilisation of resources is start-up delays. It takes an average 15 months from loan approval to first disbursement of funds," said the Bangladesh's ADB chief. A top Economic Relations Division (ERD) official said the government side and lender discussed the impediments to the project implementation and work out ways of eliminating the obstacles. He said both sides have agreed on a plan of actions for overcoming the delays of project execution. The ADB Dhaka office said the review meeting provided firm agreement on actions to be taken by the government to deliver faster development results to the people of Bangladesh through quicker implementation of development projects. As per agreement, the project implementers are committed to reducing start-up delays, early preparation and approval of development project proposal (DPP), raising staff capacity for DPP preparation, and strict adherence to project readiness before loan approvals, the lender said. It said agreements were also reached on finalising plans for procurement of goods and services, appointment of project staff by executing agencies, completing preparation of bid documents, and completing land acquisition and resettlement plans before project approvals. The review is seen as a key test for the finance ministry and the government's project executing agencies two weeks after they passed similar assessment by Bangladesh's largest anti-poverty lender, World Bank. In the first half of the current fiscal 2010-11, ADB has disbursed $304 million credit to its ongoing projects in Bangladesh. As the second largest donor of Bangladesh, ADB's cumulative lending to Bangladesh amounts to $12 billion for 205 loans, while the technical assistance grants for 386 projects stood at $202.73 million until March 2011 since 1973.