Countries and Regions

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p. 3 of 4 BACK | NEXT I. Development Situation II. Implementation of the Country Strategy and Program III. Portfolio Management Issues IV. Country Performance and Lending Level

Country Strategy and Program Update 2002-2004: Cambodia

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III. Portfolio Management Issues

A. Portfolio Performance Implementation

22. Lending to Cambodia was resumed in 1992 and steadily increased until the political turbulence in 1997 caused a one-year suspension of lending. From 1992 to 30 June 2001, ADB approved 16 loans amounting to $483.6 million, all from ADF resources. With the completion of Loan 1199-CAM: Special Rehabilitation Assistance Project, Loan 1345-CAM: Power Rehabilitation, and Loan 1445-CAM: Agriculture Sector Program in 2000, there are currently 13 active loans with a net loan amount of $257.7 million, of which about $188.3 million or 73 percent remains to be disbursed. As of 30 June 2001, ADB’s 76 TAs to Cambodia have amounted to about $57 million.

23. Overall portfolio ratings of the ongoing ADB-assisted projects have generally been good (Appendix 3). Of 13 ongoing projects, 2 are classified as highly satisfactory in terms of both implementation progress and development objectives.² The remaining 11 were rated as satisfactory in both implementation progress and development objectives. Start-up activities such as loan signing have generally been as scheduled, but loan effectiveness has been slipping recently. In 2000, contract awards amounted to $114.4 million, which was about 123 percent of the year’s projection compared with about 19 percent in 1999. Disbursements as of 31 December 2000 reached $50.8 million or 100 percent of the year’s projection, compared with about 56 percent in 1999 and 72 percent in 1998. As of 30 June 2001, contract awards amounted to $12.4 million, or about 29 percent of this year’s projection. Disbursements in the same period were $20.8 million, representing 37 percent of projections.

24. Overall, the Government has been successful in eliminating many systemic issues that had been hampering efficient project implementation. Areas identified in the last Country Portfolio Review Mission Action Plan that need further attention include (i) delegation of contract awards approval authority within line ministries, (ii) delegation of direct access to imprest accounts to the project directors/project managers within line ministries, (iii) effective use of international consultants, and (iv) effective transfer of knowledge from international consultants to counterpart staff. Compliance with loan covenants, particularly the timely submission of audited project accounts and financial statements, has generally been satisfactory.

B. Counterpart Funding

25. In Cambodia, there are no issues regarding counterpart funding.

C. Monitoring and Evaluation

26. Given the limited duration of ADB assistance to Cambodia, it is still too early to systematically assess the impact of its interventions. However, since ADB was the first major funding agency to return to Cambodia, its interventions came at a critical time and undoubtedly have had a positive impact. The Special Rehabilitation Assistance Loan³ is the only project that was postevaluated. The project had several components: support for road, rail, agriculture, and education sectors. The project was rated successful. The performance of both the Government and ADB was rated successful. ADB contributed to smooth project implementation through intensive supervision by review missions, while the Government generally complied with loan covenants, except for two relating to timely provision of counterpart funds and maintenance of project facilities.

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