ADB unhappy about $11b BD projects down-rated as 'problematic'

Nearly US$11 billion worth of ADB-funded development projects in Bangladesh are up for reappraisal shortly as many of those are down-rated as "problematic" and "slow-going", officials say.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has selected at least 16 such underperforming projects found struggling for implementation delays at different stages of works.

A tripartite review meeting (TPRM) is going to be held on September 30 in Dhaka, an Economic Relations Division (ERD) official said Friday.

The ERD, public agencies involved with the project execution and the Manila-based lender will sit for the TPRM for examining the status of the projects and way forward to eliminate the implementation setbacks, he told The Financial Express.

The ADB and the ERD together have selected 16 problematic and slow-going projects which would mainly be reviewed seriously along with the operation of the nearly 70 projects in Bangladesh.

An ADB count shows the lender's current sovereign portfolio in Bangladesh includes 67 loans and 3 grants worth $11.02 billion.

The Asian Bank is the second-largest multilateral development partner of Bangladesh after the topper World Bank as it keeps vital role in the country's socioeconomic development long since 1971.

Another ERD official says the ADB has selected some slow-going and problematic projects which are going on or some are delayed in their preparation stages.

"We (ERD) have reviewed the list and finalised for discussion in the upcoming TPRM to be held in Dhaka," he adds.

"The above-mentioned three parties at the upcoming meeting will try to remove the obstacles on the way to implementation. We hope the struggling projects will be on-track after the meeting next week," says the official as he hopes for the better to come out through stocktaking.

Among the ADB-bankrolled schemes, some megaprojects, including the Dohazari-Ramu-Cox's Bazar railway, Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Investment Project (Line 5, Southern Route), and South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation Dhaka-Northwest Corridor Road Project, Phase 2 (Tranche 3), and Rehabilitation of Surma Flood Embankment project, are reported to have been in slow gear.

The official at the ERD says, "Some delays have taken place due to the underperformance of the implementing agencies and some are for the complex procurement-approval process on the ADB side. So, we'll discuss all the problems in the next meeting for reducing the delays."

It is an important meeting from the perspective of the Bangladesh government side as this would remove many obstacles which are not resolved through writing letters on way to the implementation, he adds.

The ADB in the last TPRM called the government agencies for streamlining the implementation of slow-moving projects or else it would divert funds to other schemes, another government official told the FE.

The last review also prepared an action plan for the ongoing ADB-funded projects which would be discussed at the forthcoming review meeting, he added.

In the last fiscal year (FY) 2024-25, the Bank disbursed US$2.52 billion worth of assistance to Bangladesh, while $2.13 billion in FY2024 and $1.787 billion in FY2023, ERD data showed.

As of December 31, 2024, the ADB had committed 740 public-sector loans, grants, and technical assistance, totaling $33 billion, to Bangladesh.