ADB president stresses commitment to poverty reduction, sustainable development
THE Asian Development Bank will become stronger, better and faster as it scales up its operations to eliminate poverty and promote sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region, according to its president Takehiko Nakao.
"This starts with our stronger lending capacity," Nakao said, referring to the recently approved merger of the ADB’s Asian Development Fund lending operations – the bank’s concessional lending window – with its ordinary capital resources, which lends to middle-income countries at quasi market rates.
The initiative will increase the ADB’s annual operations to as much as US$20 billion (Bt666 billion), or half again the current level.
"The stronger lending capacity offers an opportunity, but we must use it well. We are already actively working with our client countries to identify new projects and programmes for our finance," he said in his opening address to the 48th annual meeting of the bank’s board of governors.
The ADB should provide better knowledge services and innovative solutions to its client countries by strengthening its sector and thematic expertise and adopting a "One ADB" approach to share knowledge and expertise across the bank, he said.
The ADB also needs to be faster, without compromising project quality and standards for safeguards and procurement, Nakao said. Through recent internal reforms, the bank has halved the internal processing time for procurement contracts.
The ADB approved nearly $14 billion in loans, grants and equity investments last year. With co-financing of $9.2 billion, total financial assistance reached a record high of $22.9 billion.
Through vigorous efforts to improve project implementation, the ADB’s disbursements rose 17 per cent to more than $10 billion last year.
Given the region’s large financing needs, the bank may ask for further support for a capital increase in the future. The expanded financial capacity would allow it to increase its support for sustainable development in the region.
With the post-2015 agenda’s sustainable-development goals and a global pact against climate change expected to be ratified this year, the ADB will scale up support for sustainable infrastructure, education and health, and climate-change action.
In infrastructure, the bank will focus on cross-border connectivity to promote trade, create jobs and increase incomes regionally.
It will use public-private partnerships more effectively, ensure the operational sustainability of infrastructure projects and apply the highest standards for safeguard policies to protect people and the environment.
Assistance to education and health will double in line with the ADB’s mid-term review of Strategy 2020. The bank will expand its support for quality education with an emphasis on higher education and vocational training.
Health assistance will be focused on improving the delivery and efficiency of health services and systems, including promotion of universal health coverage.
To help combat climate change, the ADB will strengthen support for energy efficiency and renewable energy, sustainable transport, climate-change resilience and disaster-risk management. This includes expanding the use of private equity funds in solar, wind and other renewable-energy projects, and working closely with multilateral funds such as climate investment funds.
"I am proud that ADB is the first among multilateral development banks to be accredited by the Green Climate Fund," Nakao said.
As Asia rapidly urbanises, the ADB is also assisting climate-change efforts by supporting mass public transport, energy-efficient buildings and waste management in cities.
The ADB undertakes rigorous vulnerability assessments for projects, Nakao said, as relatively small up-front investments based on such assessments can save lives and avoid large-scale infrastructure rehabilitation costs later.
The region’s development challenges include 544 million Asians living on less than $1.25 a day. However, according to a new measurement developed by the ADB last year, about 1.4 billion Asians are still poor – about 40 per cent of the region’s population.
"Such high poverty is unacceptable," Nakao said. "Poverty must be defeated decisively, and soon."
The ADB is committed to consulting closely with shareholders and stakeholders on its ongoing transformation, its plan to scale-up operations, and development of a new strategy beyond 2020, he said.
The ADB is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia-Pacific region through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration. Established in 1966 in Manila, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region.
