ADB to accelerate project implementation for faster socio-economic recovery
43 projects with 118 different issues and agreed 132 timebound actions with specific responsibilities for the respective agencies were discussed at the TPRM
The government and Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed an action plan to further accelerate implementation of ADB-assisted projects in 2021-2022 to promote faster socio-economic recovery.
The decision was made at a tripartite portfolio review meeting (TPRM) on Thursday, says a press release.
At the meeting, Kenichi Yokoyama, director general for ADB's South Asia Department, appreciated policies and programmes for expeditious socio-economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. He also urged for building 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.
Fatima Yasmin, Secretary, Economic Relations Department, and Manmohan Parkash, ADB country director for Bangladesh, co-chaired the virtual TPRM. 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. We are emphasising faster and compliant procurement of goods and services to increase contract award and fund disbursement," said Manmohan Parkash.
Complimenting the government's initiatives for creating jobs and increasing public investment, he underscored the need for making additional efforts to tackle the adverse impact of the ongoing pandemic. "We must rise to the occasion and ensure quality of our work through innovation and taking the advantage of technologies," he added.
The TPRM reviewed the progress of actions agreed in March 2021, and readiness status of 2021-2022 pipeline projects. Specific actions were agreed for slow moving projects to utilise the project money expeditiously. The TPRM discussed 43 projects with 118 different issues and agreed 132 time-bound actions with specific responsibilities for the respective agencies.
ADB's current sovereign portfolio has 52 projects worth $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.