DHAKA, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The Bangladeshi government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have jointly reviewed the implementation progress of ADB-assisted projects to further improve development results.
Farida Nasreen, additional secretary of Bangladesh's Economic Relations Division (ERD), and Manmohan Parkash, country director of the ADB, co-chaired the Tripartite Portfolio Review Meeting (TPRM) in Cox's Bazar, some 392 km southeast of capital Dhaka, said ADB in a statement received here on Sunday.
The TPRM discussed the status of overall portfolio and prioritized actions to achieve development results timely. Special emphasis was laid on safeguards, financial management, and gender-related actions.
The government project executing agencies were briefed about and encouraged to use the new ADB procurement policy approved in 2017. Around 250 senior government officials, project directors, and ADB staff participated in the first such review meeting in 2019.
"The objectives of the review are further accelerating project implementation through early identification and quick resolution of project issues to help deliver faster development results and better outcomes," said Country Director Manmohan Parkash.
"We are encouraged by the record contract awards and disbursements in 2018, and look forward to achieving even better results in 2019."
In 2018, ADB committed the highest level of support of 4.8 billion U.S. dollars to Bangladesh, with eight sovereign projects totaling 2.2 billion U.S. dollars in loans and grants, 16.5 million U.S. dollars in technical assistance, and 2.6 billion U.S. dollars mobilized in co-financing.
ADB's current portfolio has 93 loans and grants for 52 projects with over 10 billion U.S. dollars under sovereign portfolio.
ADB focuses its cooperation in Bangladesh on six sectors, including energy, urban/municipal infrastructure and services, education, finance, natural resources, and rural development.
As of Dec. 31 2018, ADB's cumulative lending to Bangladesh stood at around 23 billion U.S. dollars for 284 loans, 269 million U.S. dollars for 429 technical assistance projects, and 932 million U.S. dollars for 44 grants.
