| General Information |
Project/Program |
Project |
| Project Name |
Cambodia: Stung Chinit Irrigation and Rural Infrastructure Project 29257 |
| Duration |
Date of Board Approval: 5-Sept.-2000 Closing Date: (In loan agreement) 30-June-2007 (Actual): 4-December-2008 |
| Donor |
Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Implementiong Organization |
Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology and Ministry of Rural Development |
| Sector and/or Subsector Classification |
Infrastructure |
| Region |
Kampong Thom Province |
| Financing |
Approved with a total cost of USD 23.8million with ADB financing 16 million. Agencie Franaise de Development AFD gave a grant of USD 2.7million (16% of the project cost). Actual project costs were USD 26 million. |
| Analytical Information |
Stakeholders |
Asian Development Bank, Agencie Francaise de Development, Groupe de Recherche et d'Echanges Technologies, Interministerial Resettlement Committee, Ministry of Water and Resources and Meteorology, Ministry of Rural Development, Project Completion Report, Project Implementation Unit, Project Management Office, Provincial Department of Water Resources and Meteorology, Stung Chinit Irrigation Committee, SMEC Joint Venture, Water User Community, Water User Group, Centre d'Etude et de Developpement Agricole Cambodgien, civil society, famers, affected people (resettlement & socially affected). According to the completion report, evidence for sufficient stakeholder participation was not prevalent. |
| Cross-cutting Issue |
Environment |
|
| Gender |
|
| Impact Analysis |
The project aligns with the ADB Country Operational Strategy (1995), government's first Socioeconomic Development Plan 1996-2000, Law on Water Resource Management 2007, National Water Resource Policy of 2004, and the Strategic Plan for 1997-2001. These strategy policies primarily focus on poverty reduction and use the improvement of agriculture as one of its key solutions. |
| Effectiveness |
Ownership/Partnership |
Evaluation |
Project operation and maintained was gradually shifted from Government to the water use farmers to increase ownership and participation of the project. However, the overall responsibility and the technical and operational aspects of the farmers did not improve as anticipated. In addition, the farmers received organizational, leadership and technical training in order to operate and maintain the water use community. |
| Rating |
3/5 |
| Policy Coherence/Harmonization |
Evaluation |
According to the completion report, the partnership with the AFD was complementary and successful leverage was seen through out the entire project. Lack of field coordination among the executing agencies and related teams lead to detrimental interactions for irrigation infrastructure; people in the farmers organization had different views; there were overlapping scheduling of individual consultant inputs with different priorities. |
| Rating |
4/5 |
| Evaluation Framework |
Evaluation |
ADB was evaluated with less satisfactory with project monitoring; it failed to submit the project completion reports of each components, there was no evaluation regarding the impact assessment, monthly and quarterly reports dealt with descriptive discussions rather than up to date output information, and lack consistency of approach and message for the resettlement plan. |
| Rating |
2/5 |
| Alignment/Composition of Finance |
Evaluation |
Project disbursements were implemented according to the changed scope and project schedule was thus delayed for 18 months leading to a 1year extension. Conditions were mostly related with water quality and fisheries monitoring, which were satisfactory; resettlement issues were well taken care of; most covenants were conducted as anticipated. |
| Rating |
2/5 |
| Other Remarks |
The project went under a change of scope from assisting in rehabilitation of irrigation, drainage, and rural access systems to reconstruction. ADB country strategy largely changed from large agricultural investments to irrigation schemes due to unstable political transitions, weak economy, and absence of legal frameworks. The project design was projected to be used as a pilot for the Cambodian Government' legal policy for environment for water but was not successful as the design and implementation became to complex. |
