Lessons

Afghanistan: Northern Flood-Damaged Infrastructure Emergency Rehabilitation Project

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Lessons

Adoption of firm subproject selection criteria enables the prioritization of technically feasible and financially and economically viable investments and allows for subproject substitution to be undertaken as required.  

This project at appraisal was envisaged to cover 15 provinces and comprise some 800 subprojects. When further assessment identified a number of subprojects as not feasible, or  already completed by the provincial government or local communities, the project’s emergency assistance modality was flexible and responsive and allowed for the substitution of subprojects, as necessary. During implementation, as unmet priorities were identified in other affected provinces, the project’s geographic scope was expanded twice to cover an additional 12 provinces.  Adoption of firm subproject selection criteria provided the basis for prioritizing subproject investments and facilitated subproject substitution.  

Project Cycle Stage: 
Preparation
Implementation

Community contracting not only generates local employment but also strengthens community capacities and ownership of projects. 

Implementation of this project required strong community engagement and commitment, as nearly all the small-scale irrigation and rural road infrastructure subprojects were undertaken under community contracts. Use of community contracting proved effective in generating direct and indirect employment, as well as in building community project ownership and the capacity of community development councils (CDCs).  Enhanced CDC capacities will benefit the conduct of other community livelihood and social activities. 

Project Cycle Stage: 
Implementation

Addressing in the project design the security and various other constraints inherent in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCAS) is critical to the successful implementation of projects in such situations.

Although an emergency assistance project normally has a 2-year implementation period, given the Afghan post-conflict situation at appraisal, in which security issues and various constraints could cause delays, it was correctly decided that a 3-year implementation period for the project would be more appropriate. Project implementation was effective, with completion achieved within the planned period. Besides incorporating FCAS considerations in their design, future projects in Afghanistan would also benefit from the enhanced project delivery approach adopted by the government and ADB in June 2016.

Project Cycle Stage: 
Preparation
Implementation

Advance actions, firm administrative follow-up, and close monitoring are critical in ensuring timely project startup. 

Initial delays occurred in recruiting staff and establishing the project management offices, in part due to the newly appointed government’s suspension of new recruitments in early 2015. This resulted in some slippage in the design, approval, signing, and execution of planned CDC and nationally competitive bidding contracts.  The delays would have been avoided through advance action, firm administrative follow-up, andclose monitoring.  Adoption of proactive approaches at approval, timely effectiveness, and adequate project and procurement readiness would further reduce the risk of startup delays in future projects. 

Project Cycle Stage: 
Preparation
Implementation

Using the existing project management offices (PMOs) of government agencies in Afghanistan will help ensure adequate technical and supervision capacity for ADB-financed projects in the country. 

This project’s implementation arrangements were satisfactory and resulted in the successful attainment of the planned outputs and outcomes. Supervision of the subproject works was the responsibility of the local offices of the PMOs of the two implementing agencies (IAs), the Ministry of Rehabilitation and Rural Development (MRRD) and the Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW), with national project staff and consultant support.  Ensuring adequate technical and supervision capacity in future ADB-financed projects in the country will require using existing PMO capacity, early recruitment of supervision consultants, and provision of training to local project staff.   ADB-financed programs/projects Afghanistan, implementation arrangements ADB-financed programs/projects Afghanistan)

Project Cycle Stage: 
Preparation
Implementation

Project administration by ADB resident missions helps ensure timely implementation support and facilitates closer relationships with counterpart agencies. 

This project was processed by the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Division of ADB’s Central and West Asia Department that took turns with the ADB Afghanistan Resident Mission (AFRM) in project administration. Project administration by the resident mission was effective and resulted in closer ADB interaction with the executing agency and IAs and timely and adequate monitoring and review during the peak of project implementation. AFRM active field presence enabled prompt action on project matters, reducing the need for formal review missions. Nevertheless, an annual formal review or a midterm review may have assisted in promptly resolving initial consultant procurement delays. 

Project Cycle Stage: 
Implementation

Projects with large numbers of subprojects require practical, streamlined disbursement mechanisms to ensure efficient financial monitoring and closure.  

As designed, each subproject contract required a separate bank account, with the approved disbursement mechanism involving part payment from the two grant funding sources in fixed percentages. This arrangement proved administratively complex, and was rectified through two changes that enabled one grant source to be used up first. The streamlined disbursement arrangement eased financial transfers and monitoring and management that, along with proper liquidation of the advance account and prompt audit submission, led to the timely project financial closure. 

Project Cycle Stage: 
Implementation

An integrated reporting system is necessary for effective project performance monitoring.

Each IA had its own project performance monitoring system, which allowed for more detailed data and indicators to be reflected in each of their quarterly and annual reports. However, an integrated reporting system would have been helpful in providing a holistic, more comprehensive view of project implementation progress and performance.  This needs to be ensured in future projects.  

Project Cycle Stage: 
Preparation
Implementation
Background

Fact-finding mission by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the aftermath of the March−June 2014 severe flooding in northern Afghanistan revealed extensive losses to rural infrastructure, but it was not possible to visit some areas and undertake a comprehensive assessment because of security issues.  To support the government's efforts to rehabilitate the damaged irrigation and road infrastructure, ADB made use of the results of the damage and needs assessments (DNA) undertaken by two agencies, the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) and the Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW), in preparing the Northern Flood-Damaged Infrastructure Emergency Rehabilitation Project. 

The project was to help rehabilitate (i) small-scale irrigation and rural road infrastructure in 15 of the worst-affected provinces selected on the basis of MRRD’s DNA and (ii) larger-scale irrigation system infrastructure in 3 provinces identified based on MEW’s DNA.  It was approved by ADB for a grant of $40 million from the Asian Development Fund and another grant of $16.66 million from the Afghanistan Infrastructure Trust Fund in October 2014. At approval, the project’s envisaged impact was improved community welfare in flood-affected project areas, with a target that by 2020 the average poverty rates across the project provinces would be reduced by 5% from the 2014 baseline of 44.5%. Its expected outcome was irrigated agriculture and access to markets restored, with a total of 48,280 hectares (ha) of agricultural land under traditional irrigation schemes and 16,500 ha under formal schemes brought back to production by 2018. The outcome was to be achieved through two outputs: (i) selected flood-damaged infrastructure rehabilitated and (ii) project management supported.

During implementation, a number of subprojects were substituted, and the project’s geographic scope was expanded twice at the government’s request, with 6 provinces added in July 2015 and 6 more in March 2016.  The additional provinces were not originally included because of time constraints in conducting a proper assessment of the areas. Along with the expanded scope, additional contract packages were approved, and output targets were adjusted.  The MRRD undertook 853 contracts with community development councils (CDCs), 745 of which were for the rehabilitation of traditional schemes and 108 were for rural roads. All the subprojects were successfully implemented, in most cases, exceeding targets. Key criteria for subproject selection were that (i) assets were damaged by the 2014 floods and (ii) repairs were technically feasible, cost-effective, financially sustainable, and economically viable.  The CDC subprojects created at least 81,000 short-term and permanent jobs. The MEW completed the works on 8 formal schemes involving the rehabilitation and reconstruction of weirs, intakes, spillways, canals, protection walls, retention walls, and wash protection structures.

Successful delivery of targeted outputs enabled the project to overachieve its planned outcome.  A total of 82,939 ha of flood-affected land were brought back to production.  Infrastructure and flood control works covered a preexisting irrigation area of 154,154 ha, and an additional irrigation area of 7,324 ha.  A project impact assessment survey conducted in December 2017 revealed that the project had a major impact on farm households, increasing income levels and food security for smallholder farmers.  It estimated that 4.09 million adults benefited from the project; 130 villages had improved road connectivity; road, bridge and culvert construction saved 37% in travel time; and transport rental costs declined by 31%.  The CDC community mobilization and capacity developed by the project will benefit the conduct of other livelihood and social activities in the communities. The institutional implementation capacity built in the local government offices of the MRRD and the MEW will benefit future projects.

The project had the Ministry of Finance as executing agency.  The MRRD and the MEW, as implementing agencies, mobilized their project management offices to team up with their provincial-level project implementation units or project implementation office in carrying out the project activities.

Project Information
Project Name: 
Northern Flood-Damaged Infrastructure Emergency Rehabilitation Project
Report Date: 
September, 2020
Main Sector: 
Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Rural Development
Transport
Country: 
Afghanistan
Project Number: 
48326-001
Report Type: 
PCR
Project/Modality: 
Project grant
emergency assistance project
Themes: 
Environmentally Sustainable growth
Inclusive Economic Growth
Governance and Capacity Development
Partnerships
SDG: 
Goal 2: Zero Hunger
Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
Goal 12: Responsible Production and Consumption
Sub Sector: 
Irrigation
Road transport (non-urban)
Loan Number: 
G0411, G0412
Source of Funding: 
COL/ADF, Afghanistan Infrastructure Trust Fund
Date Approved: 
16 October 2014
Report Rating: 
Successful

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