Khulna Water Supply Project (RRP BAN 42171)

DEVELOPMENT COORDINATION

A. Major Development Partners: Strategic Foci and Key Activities 1. Major development partners include the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Danish International Development Assistance (Danida), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the World Bank. The following table shows the major development partners and their projects in the water and sanitation sector.

Major Development Partners Amount Development Partner Project Name Duration ($ million) Single sector intervention in water supply and sanitation ADB Secondary Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Project 2006–2013 41.00 ADB Dhaka Water Supply Sector Development Program 2007–2014 200.00 World Bank Dhaka Water Supply and Sanitation Project 2008–2013 167.50 World Bank Chittagong Water Supply Improvement and Sanitation 2010–2015 170.00 Project JICA Karnaphuli Water Supply Project 2006–2012 143.81 Danida Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Program Support 2006–2010 60.82 Intervention as part of integrated urban development ADB Urban Governance and Infrastructure Improvement (Sector) 2003–2010 60.00 Project I & II ADB/KfW/GIZ Second Urban Governance and Infrastructure Improvement 2008–2014 167.50 (Sector) Project World Bank Municipal Services Project 1999–2011 138.60 World Bank Municipal Services Project Additional Financing 2008–2011 25.00 ADB = Asian Development Bank, Danida = Danish International Development Assistance, GIZ = Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, JICA = Japan International Cooperation Agency, KfW = Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau. Sources: Asian Development Bank.

2. ADB is a major development partner in the sector covering large metropolitan and secondary towns. ADB is supporting Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority to improve its water supply infrastructure and corporate management system through the Dhaka Water Supply Sector Development Program. ADB is also supporting improvement of water supply and sanitation in secondary towns through the Secondary Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Project. In addition to these single sector interventions, ADB’s integrated urban development projects in secondary towns (such as Urban Governance and Infrastructure Improvement [Sector] Project) cover water supply and sanitation as a subsector.

3. The World Bank is another major development partner in the sector. The World Bank supports improvement of storm water management and sewerage in Dhaka through the Dhaka Water Supply and Sanitation Project. The World Bank recently approved another project to support water supply in Chittagong (Chittagong Water Supply Improvement and Sanitation Project). Like ADB, the World Bank’s projects for integrated urban development (such as the Municipal Services Project) include water supply and sanitation as a subsector.

4. Danida supports a bulk water supply system in Dhaka, and provides technical support to the Policy Support Unit under the Local Government Division. JICA supports improvement of the water supply system in Chittagong.

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B. Institutional Arrangements and Processes for Development Coordination 5. The Economic Relations Division of the Ministry of Finance is in charge of overall coordination of assistance. The Bangladesh Joint Cooperation Strategy (JCS) 2010–2015 was signed in June 2010.1 In support of the JCS, regular dialogue covering sector or theme are held with local consultative groups (LCGs). In each sector, LCG working groups contribute to effective and coordinated implementation of national policies, strategies, plans, and programs. One of the LCG working groups is for water and sanitation sector.

6. Particularly for urban water supply and sanitation sector in major cities, the partnership framework for urban water supply and sanitation was signed on 10 November 2007 by the Government of Bangladesh and major development partners of the sector: ADB, Danida, the Government of Japan, the Government of the Republic of Korea, and the World Bank. The development partners coordinate their support to water supply and sewerage authorities in large cities based on a unified policy matrix. ADB has taken the lead role in development coordination under the partnership framework. The parallel cofinancing for the Khulna Water Supply Project was developed through dialogue and coordination with major development partners based on the partnership framework.

C. Achievements and Issues

7. The JCS covers all development partners and shows the intention of the Government of Bangladesh and the development partners to work together in the spirit of the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action. The JCS engenders harmonized and streamlined programs in support of Bangladesh’s development plans and strategies by providing a common platform for development partners. The LCGs and their working groups are well-established bodies that meet regularly for sector dialogue and coordination.

8. The partnership framework for urban water supply and sanitation has proven to be an effective platform to coordinate the major investment and policy reforms in large urban areas such as Dhaka and Chittagong. Development partners share the unified policy matrix and dialogue with the government in a harmonized manner. The coordination has been efficient and effective, since the partnership framework was signed by several major development partners who carry significant stakes in the sector.

D. Summary and Recommendations

9. The partnership framework is useful as a mechanism to promote harmonization and alignment of development partner activities in the sector. While the development partners have been monitoring the policy actions through the partnership framework, they may also start monitoring corporate performance, since water supply and sewerage authorities are preparing their business plans with specific performance indicators. Since the investment required in cities is substantial, further cofinancing should be promoted as envisaged in the Khulna Water Supply Project.

1 Development partner signatories are ADB, Australia, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, Germany, the Islamic Development Bank, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United Nations, the United States, and the World Bank.