Countries and Regions

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p. 3 of 4 BACK | NEXT I. Current Development Trends and Issues II. Implementation of the Country Strategy and Program III. Portfolio Management Issues IV. Country Performance and Assistance Levels

Country Strategy and Program Update 2003-2005: Bangladesh

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III. Portfolio Management Issues

A. Portfolio Performance

29. As of 31 December 2001, ADB's total public sector lending to Bangladesh amounted to $6.4 billion for 141 loans and $145.6 million for 272 TAs. Of the 33 ongoing loans, two loans (6%) received highly satisfactory classifications, one (3%) was rated unsatisfactory, and three (9%) were rated partly satisfactory. The overall portfolio ratings were broadly in line with regional and ADB-wide averages. At the end of 2001, in terms of implementation progress, 88% of ongoing projects were rated highly satisfactory/satisfactory compared with 86% in South Asia and 83% ADB-wide. During this period, 21% of the portfolio was considered as "at risk", which is lower than the ADB-wide average of 24%. The disbursement ratio was 17.3%, somewhat lower than in the preceding year. This was essentially due to the political transitions involved in the rule of three governments during the general election year of 2001.

B. Performance Monitoring and Evaluation

30. Bangladesh Resident Mission has institutionalized quarterly review meetings with project directors for early identification of implementation bottlenecks and measures for improvement. ADB, with the World Bank, is also providing assistance to the Government to enhance its project monitoring capabilities, including addressing procurement-related issues. Efforts are also being made to harmonize the Government's procurement procedures and to improve the transparency of bidding, bid evaluation and contract awards processes. Project completion reports prepared for two delegated projects in 2001 in the agriculture sector were given a satisfactory rating.⁴

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