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Laos: Development focus as ADB, WB review in-country efforts
A review of Asian Development Bank and World Bank support for Laos in the form of 28 loans and grants and 10 technical assistance projects took place in Vientiane yesterday.
Assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) amounted to US$760 million while the World Bank (WB) was involved in 18 projects with a value of US$503.35 million.
The figures were reported at the Annual Joint Country Portfolio Review Meeting by Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, Dr Kikeo Chanthaboury.
“The government acknowledges the ADB’s and WB’s Official Development Assistance in contributing to the nation’s economic growth,” Dr Kikeo said.
“Some 28 loan and grant funded ventures and 10 technical assistance projects were supported by ADB, with a total value of about US$760 million, while the World Bank’s Official Development Assistance to Laos is funding 18 projects worth about US$503.35 million.”
“These projects were considered key drivers and crucial contributions in stabilising GDP growth at 7.0 percent in 2017 and lowering household poverty incidence to 5,580 families.
“Most of the economic and social indicators have been achieved and greatly improved and, most importantly, the livelihoods of multi-ethnic people in Laos have gradually improved.”
“More people have access to improved social and economic infrastructure and better public service delivery,” Dr Kikeo said.
The objective of the Joint Country Portfolio Review (JCPR) is to identify issues and potential solutions to improve portfolio performances based on challenges and issues identified by the government and its partners.
The principal output of these efforts includes the JCPR Background paper, Joint Action Plan and Memorandum of Understanding that set agreed action to improve portfolio performance in 2018.
The 2017 JCPR covers ADB project performance from January to December 2016 and from July 2016 to June 2017 for the World Bank Groups (WBG) projects.
While the 2016-2017 JCPR captures implementation issues across the entire ADB and WBG portfolios, this year’s exercise focused particularly on four sectors including education, agriculture and natural resources management, transport and urban development, and water management, which account for the majority of active operations.
During the meeting, participants reviewed the implementation efforts of the Lao government, ADB and WB over the past year as well as challenges and issues.
Participants discussed critical issues that could affect the progress of disbursement plans such as project management, financial management, interpretation and application of tax regulations and requirements for procurement, gender and related safeguards, organisational capacity, and staff turnover.
The overall ADB administered active loans and sovereign grant portfolio of 30 projects was valued at US$838.8 million in 2016, including direct value-added co-financing.
The loan portfolio comprised 20 active products and increased by 6 percent to US$402 million.
The grant portfolio comprised 23 active products and increased in value by 14 percent to US$437.15 million.
The two most significant areas supported were agriculture and natural resources, accounting for 24 percent, and water and urban infrastructure at 21 percent.
Source: http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/FreeContent/FreeConten_Development.html