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| TA Name | Northern Rural Infrastructure Development Project | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Lao People's Dem Rep | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TA Number | 7362 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Number | 42203- 01 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fund Source/Amount[Approved] |
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| Thematic Classification |
Economic growth
Environmental Sustainability |
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| Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy |
The proposed Project is consistent with ADB's Strategy 2020 and the Operational Plan for Agriculture and Rural Development under that Strategy. ADB's Country Strategy and Program 2007-2011 for Lao PDR is also aligned with the Government's 6th NSEDP, and focuses on (i) promoting pro-poor sustainable growth: nurturing labor-intensive sources of growth (through small and medium sized enterprise development, transition to commercial agriculture, and regional integration as the main engine of outward-oriented growth); (ii) fostering inclusive social development: accelerating progress in non-income Millennium Development Goals [MDGs] (basic education, primary health care, water supply); and (iii) addressing priority governance issues. A necessary pre-requisite for private sector-led growth and agricultural commercialization is market access (rural infrastructure) and enhanced productivity, in particular, the more efficient irrigation facilities.
The proposed Project is consistent with the Government's objectives outlined in NGPES and commitments under the MDGs, both of which target poverty reduction. The links between agricultural intensification through improved rural infrastructure and poverty reduction are well documented in TA 4521-LAO: Institutional Strengthening for Poverty Monitoring and Evaluation in which it concluded that "upgrading of roads had significant effect on poverty reduction, with the effect of upgrading from no vehicular access to only dry season access particularly large.¿ Within the NGPES, rural infrastructure (including irrigation, rural markets and rural roads) has been accorded the highest priority as a means of achieving its poverty reduction objectives. The TA is necessary to develop a design that accommodates decentralized implementation with a focus on the lowest tier of government - the kumban (village cluster) and the integration with other development initiatives currently being proposed under the Northern Uplands initiatives under the Agriculture and Natural Resources Sector Working Group to enhance aid effectiveness in accordance with the Vientiane Declaration. Furthermore, the TA will provide a basis for mainstreaming climate change considerations in rural infrastructure investments. While the technical aspects of design are relatively straight forward, the institutional context as the country moves towards a more program-based approach introduces additional design challenges. |
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| Impact | The proposed Project impact is enhancing and diversifying livelihood opportunities for rural communities in Northern Lao PDR. This will be achieved through investments in rural infrastructure, specifically rural roads, bridges, pathways, village water supplies etc. complemented by development of peripheral and associated investments in marketing chains and structures, land-use planning, irrigation facilities to facilitate the diversification and intensification of agricultural activities. Likely performance targets will include the change in rural incomes and vulnerability indicators, particularly with reference to gender equity may also be assessed by a comparison of provinces with and without infrastructure investments. The extent of improvement will be determined in the design phase. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Outcome | The outcome of the PPTA is an agreed design of an investment project suitable for ADB financing that enhances market access, responds to government strategy for the socio-economic development of the Region and is in accordance with stakeholders priorities. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Outputs and Timeframe | The main outputs include sector analyses and updated institutional assessment in the Northern Region for selected provinces, and investment project design including components covering: (i) productivity and market access infrastructure established, (ii) support for producer groups to integrate with markets, (iii) productivity enhancement, (iv) measures to reduce carbon footprint and enhance climate resilience, and (v) Implementation management. In preparing the Design Study, the PPTA team will also produce a social assessment (including gender analysis) of the beneficiaries in the target area, and formulate an environmental management framework with a focus on reducing carbon footprint and enhancing climate resilience of infrastructure investments. It will also propose a methodology to ensure that needs of ethnic groups are incorporated into identifying priority market access interventions. During the design phase, the PPTA team will conduct a conceptualization workshop (within 3 months of mobilization) with key stakeholders. It will conduct extensive field investigations in target provinces to be recommended under the study (immediately after receiving comments from the Government on the Inception Report), and participate in a workshop at which the recommendations of the Team are presented to a wider group of stakeholders including development partners and NGOs (to be conducted after submission of the Draft Feasibility and Design Report). The final report shall be submitted seven months after mobilization to allow full consultation with appropriate agencies. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Geographical Location | Northern Region | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Safeguard Categories
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| Environment | B | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Resettlement | B/C | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indigenous People | B | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Summary of Environmental and Social Issues | The proposed Project will support the Government objective of stabilizing shifting cultivation by providing improved agricultural productivity and market access. The activities will be directed at villages in their traditional locations and therefore will not contribute to the recent efforts in consolidation of isolated villages to improve access to public services from resettlement with its associated challenges. One of the main risks will be that of the potential damage to the environment through widening access pathways. However, it will remain relatively small in total area and designs will ensure mitigating measures are adopted during design and construction phases. The carbon foot print of widening access pathways will be reduced, for example, by supporting forest conservation efforts in the nearby areas and along the roads. Further, market access tracks will follow existing alignments and pathways so the environmental risk will be minimal. Wherever appropriate, cost-effective climate proofing measures will be implemented to ensure the long-term protection of infrastructure. In addition, the design team's institutional specialist will assess the risk associated with governance and corruption and propose measures for their mitigation. There is also the possible risk that inequalities might arise given the diverse resource base and capability levels found in the northern uplands and some may not be able fully participate in new commercial opportunities. This will be mitigated by the community based approach proposed for the design and in subproject identification. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Procurement | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consulting Services | The Project will require a total of 22 person-months (pm) of international and 30 pm national consultants with the following expertise: (i) Rural Development-Institutional Specialist; (ii) Agricultural Policy Specialist; (iii) Rural Infrastructure Engineer; (iv) Social/Gender/Community Development Specialist; (v) Value Chain Specialist; (vi) Land Use Planning Specialist; (vii) Environmental and Climate Change Specialist; and (viii) Project Economist. Key experts will be engaged through a firm following ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Responsible ADB Officer |
Ahsan Tayyab |
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| Responsible ADB Department |
Southeast Asia Department |
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| Responsible ADB Division |
Agriculture, Environment & Natural Resources Division, SERD |
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| Executing Agencies |
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry |
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| Timetable | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Concept Clearance | 13 May 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fact-finding | 25 May 2009 to 05 Jun 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Approval | 12 Oct 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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