Regional: Southeast Asia Urban Services Facility

Information and communication technology / ICT strategy and policy, and capacity development

Water and other urban infrastructure and services / Other urban services - Urban policy, institutional and capacity development - Urban sanitation - Urban solid waste management - Urban water supply

The transaction technical assistance (TA) facility supports its Southeast Asia DMCs to improve urban services through technical, policy, and capacity development support for projects and investment programs in the urban development and water sectors.

The TA will deliver the following outputs: (i) improved planning, project design, and readiness (output 1); (ii) improved DMC staff capacity in project administration and urban service delivery (output 2); (iii) improved knowledge management and sharing among Southeast Asia DMCs (output 3); and (iv) improved planning, service delivery, and financial management systems to test proof of concepts for advanced technology interventions for future scalability and replication (output 4).

Output 1. The TA supports the planning and design of ensuing projects using spatial, inclusive, climate-resilient, and participatory planning approaches. It currently supports ten projects under Output 1, including the preparation and adoption of a strategy and development plan for sanitation in Phnom Penh, which is expected to form the foundation for a proposed investment project in Phnom Penh.

Output 2. The TA supports the governments of Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam in project administration activities through consultants with specific expertise such as engineering, procurement, project management, and safeguards to improve portfolio performance and service delivery.

Output 3. The TA has been integrating geospatial data gathered as part of TA activities into the Spatial Data Analysis Explorer (SPADE), to make spatial data available to a wider group of stakeholders. It will support workshops, peer-to-peer learning, and twinning arrangements to facilitate knowledge transfer and capacity development between city governments and utilities. It supports the production of a number of knowledge projects including an ADB brief on Carrying Capacity Assessment for Tourism in Coron and El Nido and the Socio-economic Survey Guide for Urban Development and Water Projects, both being finalized.

Output 4. The TA supported the preparation of detailed engineering designs for the Revitalization of Informal Settlements and their Environments Project, which pilots a nature-based solutions approach in selected informal settlements of Makassar, Indonesia. Similar approaches of testing new practices and advanced technology for possible upscaling and replication are being explored using funds from the AASCTF.

The TA combines project design, project administration, and knowledge sharing. It is expected to result in a better-performing urban development and water portfolio in Southeast Asia than would have been achieved through project-specific TA because of improved (i) quality and consistency of urban solutions, (ii) response time by immediately responding to DMC needs, (iii) quality of outputs through efficient delivery systems, (iv) sector assessment and policy support, and (v) knowledge sharing across the region.

The TA facility is in line with the findings and recommendations of the midterm review of ADB's Strategy 2020, and will increase (i) optimization of ADB resource use, including by more effectively prioritizing TA resource allocation and improving project design quality; (ii) project implementation effectiveness by reducing delays in project implementation, promoting cost-efficient procurement of services, and optimizing the value addition of consultant services; and (iii) administrative cost-effectiveness.