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Bangladesh and the Asian Development Bank at a tripartite portfolio review meeting on Thursday agreed on an action plan to further accelerate the implementation of ADB-assisted projects in 2021-2022 to promote faster socio-economic recovery.
Kenichi Yokoyama, Director General for ADB’s South Asia Department, appreciated policies and programs for expeditious socio-economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
He also urged for building a stronger project pipeline, ensuring higher project readiness and improved implementation discipline for better portfolio performance to boost the ongoing socio-economic recovery process in Bangladesh.
Economic Relations Division Secretary Fatima Yasmin and ADB Country Director for Bangladesh Manmohan Parkash co-chaired the virtual meeting.
Around 250 senior government officials, project directors, and ADB staff participated in the second such review meeting in 2021 for resolving project implementation issues and formulating strategies to quicken project implementation.
“The enhanced focus for expediting project implementation reflects our reoriented program priorities for accelerating the ongoing socioeconomic recovery process,” said Manmohan.
“We are emphasising faster and compliant procurement of goods and services to increase contract award and fund disbursement,” he added.
Complementing the government’s initiatives for creating jobs and increasing public investment, Manmohan underscored the need for making additional efforts to tackle the adverse impact of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
“We must rise to the occasion and ensure the quality of our work through innovation and taking the advantage of technologies,” he added.
The meeting reviewed the progress of actions agreed in March 2021, and the readiness status of 2021-2022 pipeline projects. Specific actions were agreed for slow-moving projects to utilise the project money expeditiously.
The meeting discussed 43 projects with 118 different issues and agreed on 132 time-bound actions with specific responsibilities for the respective agencies.
ADB’s current sovereign portfolio has 52 projects with $12.03 billion.
ADB operates in Bangladesh in six sectors—energy; transport; water and urban/municipal infrastructure and services; education; finance; and agriculture, natural resources, and rural development. The cumulative lending to Bangladesh stands at over $40 billion in loans and grants, including co-financing.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.
