Govt to hold review meeting with ADB next March

The government will hold a tripartite portfolio review meeting with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in March next year to review the progress of the ADB-assisted projects as well as to speed up their implementation, reports UNB. The meeting will be held among the Economic Relations Division (ERD), the ADB and the concerned executing ministries and agencies, said a top official at the ERD. The official said that there are 40 ongoing projects under the financial assistance of ADB amounting to around $5 billion, of which about 50 per cent still remains to be disbursed. The previous tripartite portfolio review meeting was held September 18-19 in the capital between the representatives of the ERD, Planning Commission and ADB. During that meeting, the ADB had asked the government to speed up implementation of the ADB-funded investment projects and appointment of efficient project directors to complete these on time. (Related news on page 19)