Mid-year: Not even half the target of ADB-funded projects could be met

The Asian Development Bank has managed to award only 27 percent of its mid-year target for contracts and 47 percent of its half-year fund disbursement target as of June 30, in an indication of the magnitude of slowdown in project implementation caused by the pandemic.

In the first six months of 2021, the ADB, which is one of the biggest lenders of Bangladesh, has set a target of awarding contracts worth $826 million and disburse $1,027 million, showed an internal document.

Pandemic has affected most of the projects' implementation, said the Manila-based multilateral lender, adding that the delays in awarding contracts and disbursing funds have seriously impacted the projects' performance.

All project teams need to make the best effort to improve the contract award and disbursement situation in the next six months, the document said.

Against such a backdrop, the Tripartite Portfolio Review Meeting (TPRM) for the ADB-funded projects was scheduled to be held today, where a realistic and measurable action would have been developed to achieve the contract award and disbursement targets for 2021.

But the meeting, which was supposed to discuss the impacts of Covid-19 on project implementation and procurement review the status of agreed actions in the last TPRM meeting in March, was postponed yesterday to next month.

The performance issues with the ongoing projects that need immediate attention would have been assessed at the meeting.

Currently, 52 investment projects in six sectors are being implemented with ADB's funds worth $12.3 billion.

Of the projects, 12 are in the transport sector; 11 in education and health; nine in energy; nine in water, urban infrastructure and services; six in agriculture, natural resources and rural development; and five in the finance sector.

PROJECTS HIT HARD BY PANDEMIC

The physical works of almost all the projects came to a near halt last year for more than two months after the government announced countrywide shutdown from March to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

In June last year, the ADB had said the pandemic has slowed down the implementation of at least 40 of the 49 projects it has been providing funding to.

With the view to giving momentum to the retarded project implementation rate, in July last year, the Manila-based multilateral lender had prepared a guidance on Covid-19 health and safety protocol for use by the executing and implementing agencies, contractors and consultants.

Then in the last TPRM held in March, a 141-point time-bound action plan were agreed.

As of June 15, 61 percent of the action plan has been fully complied with within the deadline, while 9 percent were met but missed the deadline; 16 percent have not been complied with at all.

To compound matters, the finance ministry in April has asked all ministries except health and agriculture not to issue work orders for any physical work until June as part of the government's austerity measures for the pandemic.

TRANSPORT SECTOR: THE BIGGEST AND WORST AFFECTED

The ADB is currently funding 12 projects in the transport sector with 19 loans and one grant totalling $2.98 billion, which is 28 percent of the country's profile and the highest in a single sector.

Of the 12 projects, five each are being implemented by the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) and the Bangladesh Railway (BR), one by Dhaka Mass Transit Company and another jointly by RHD, Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) and Local Government Engineering Department (LGED).

As of June 15, the sector's contract award and disbursement achievements have been $24.99 million and $161.93 against the annual targets of $169.66 million and $357.46 million respectively.

Eight projects are 'on track' while three need 'attention' and one is 'at risk', according to the ADB.

One of the projects that needs "attention" is Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Project, under which a dedicated bus line -- formally known as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)-- is being built from the Dhaka Airport to Gazipur.

RHD, BBA and LGED are jointly implementing the projects.

The Tk 4,268.38 crore-project, which has witnessed several revisions in both cost and deadline, came to the fore again lately as commuters using the roads suffered immensely due to the construction works.

The project authority is unlikely to meet the latest deadline of June 2022.

The ADB mentioned that Railway Rolling Stock Operations Improvement Project is at risk.

Under the Tk 3,602.07 crore-project, the BR will procure 40 broad gauge (BG) locomotives, 75 MG and 50 BG luggage vans, 400 MG and 300 BG bogey-covered wagons, and 180 MG and 120 BG bogey open wagons.

Approved in June 2018, the project was supposed to be completed within June this year. As of June, the progress stands at 8 percent, shows BR documents.

The other ADB-funded projects are SASEC Road Connectivity Project and SASEC Dhaka Northwest Corridor Road Project, under which two-lane road from Gazipur to Rangpur is being upgraded to four lanes; SASEC Rail Connectivity: Akhaura-Laksam Double Track; SASEC Chittagong-Cox's Bazar Railway Project.

WHAT AUTHORITIES SAY

Contacted, RHD's Chief Engineer Abdus Sabur said although they continued with the project works amid the pandemic, full-fledged works were not possible.

For foreign-funded projects, contractors from different countries take part in the bidding process, so their physical participation is required.

"So, the procurement processes got delayed during the Covid situation," he told The Daily Star yesterday. 

Besides, the approval process for procurement is taking more time than usual during the pandemic.

"You can't blame any particular person or agency for the poor contract awarding or disbursement. You have to blame the total process," Sabur added.

Contacted, BR's Director General Dhirendra Nath Mazumder said: "It's true that railway projects got affected by the pandemic, but it is not immediately possible to state the extent of the holdup."

He, however, said BR fared well in the outgoing fiscal year regarding the implementation of the Annual Development Programme.