Asian Development Bank’s (ADB’s) performance review meeting on April 20 concluded that projects in Tajikistan in 2020 were satisfactory despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“2020 was unprecedented globally and challenging for project implementation. We faced delays in consultant mobilization and procurement delivery due to travel restrictions and disruption in supply chains,” said ADB country director for Tajikistan Shanny Campbell. “Nonetheless, thanks to the strong support and diligent efforts of all our colleagues, we managed to overcome some of the bottlenecks and produce good results.”

Still, two projects were rated ‘at risk’ due to unmet contract award and disbursements targets tied to the pandemic. Participants at the performance review meeting discussed common issues affecting project implementation and agreed on an action plan to address them. Areas of concern included lengthy internal government procedures for ratifying grant agreements and fulfilling project effectiveness conditions.

“ADB’s active sovereign portfolio in Tajikistan in 2020 included 18 projects amounting to $960 million, 91% of which were financed by grants. Transport and energy sectors remained the largest recipients of ADB financing last year, accounting for 35.9% and 34.4%, respectively,” the ADB said in a statement. “ADB also financed agriculture, natural resources, and rural development; water and other urban infrastructure and services; health; education; and finance initiatives. A further nine technical assistance grants totaled $6.9 million.”

ADB has provided $2.1bn for Tajikistan to date, including more than $1.6bn in grants.