Countries and Regions

	Table of Contents
p. 19 of 22 BACK | NEXT I. Country Performance Assessment II. Poverty Reduction and Country Operational Strategy III. Sector Strategies IV. Regional Cooperation V. Donor Activities and Aid Coordination VI. Cofinancing and Catalyzing External Resources VII. ADB’s Operational Program A. The Proposed Program B. Strengthened Role of ADB’s Cambodia Resident Mission VIII. Economic and Sector Work IX. Local Cost Financing

Country Assistance Plans - Cambodia : VII. ADB’s Operational Program

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A. The Proposed Program

103. The proposed lending program for Cambodia during 2001-2003 comprises eight firm projects amounting to $250 million or an annual average of $83 million (Table 1 and Appendix 4) and one standby project in 2003 for $25 million. Actual lending levels and sectors of involvement will depend on country performance including the Government’s ability to implement existing projects, provide adequate funds for operations and maintenance, demonstrated ability to implement policy and institutional reforms and continued improvements in the governance dimensions of ADB-funded projects.

104. During the program period, based on preliminary guidelines about project classification, approximately 36.0 percent of lending will be core poverty interventions, 36.0 percent will be poverty interventions, and 28.0 percent will be other development interventions. The planned program would allocate 50.0 percent of the loan amount to agriculture, social infrastructure would account for 22.0 percent, and the remaining 28.0 percent would be devoted to physical infrastructure.

105. The proposed TA program for 2001-2003, which has an indicative planning figure of approximately $8 million annually, focuses on capacity building in key areas of governance as well as sectors in which ADB is involved. The emphasis will be on support for policy dialogue, project preparation, project implementation and capacity building. The TA program also reflects new guidelines that recommend the initiation of PPTA at least 18 months prior to project appraisal. Actual TA amounts will depend on the Government’s demonstrated ability to use capacity building TAs effectively.

106. More than half of the proposed TA program over the 3-year planning period would be for capacity building activities across sectors while the remaining proportion would roughly be divided between policy support initiatives and investment-related activities. In terms of sector allocation, about 75.0 percent of the proposed TA program would support the three priority areas with the remaining share to be devoted to governance-related activities.

107. As a consequence of the historical context of Cambodia, there is an extraordinary lack of capacity to manage the development process, at all levels of government. These special circumstances in Cambodia justify the relatively large level of grant-funded TA ($8 million per year). However, a dialogue has been initiated with Government on how best to address the special capacity-building needs of the country so as to ensure the maximum possible developmental impact of the grant funds made available.

108. Consistent with ADB’s role as a broad-based development institution, a cohesive program of capacity building will be developed particularly in those sectors where ADB has been requested to play a facilitative role. In the short run, this means that greater care must be made in selecting appropriate consultants that can implement projects as well as provide support and training to weak counterpart staff. In the medium term, sustainable training programs should be developed, especially in sectors in which ADB is playing a facilitative role. In the long run, ADB will work closely with Government and other stakeholders to find solutions to the budgetary and personnel constraints which include a weak civil service tradition, that impede efforts to sustain capacity building efforts.

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