ADB lending and technical assistance provide business opportunities for U.S. suppliers of goods and equipment, contractors, and consultants. ADB projects represent an attractive opportunity for business in Asia because they are fully financed and bid according to international competitive guidelines. Participation in an ADB-funded project can provide opportunities to enter new target markets and build experience, ultimately leading to related work in the region. In Eurasia, ADB is active in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Traditionally, most ADB support has gone toward agriculture and rural development, but in recent years, the social infrastructure sector, including health, education, and water supply have been a major focus.  ADB’s principal tools are loans, guarantees, and technical assistance, which it mainly provides to governments for specific projects and programs. In order to win procurement and consulting contracts, it is important for U.S. companies to become thoroughly familiar with the bidding processes and market themselves to relevant ADB and executing agency personnel.

Consulting

In 2003, U.S. companies won $346.4 million worth of consulting contracts for ADB loans and technical assistance (TA) projects. To be considered for employment, consultants must register on the ADB’s DACON (data on consulting firms) or DICON (data on individual consultants) systems, which can be done online at www.adb.org/consulting. Expressions of interest (EIO) are not accepted from non-registered consultants. It is important to keep in mind that for TA projects, ADB recruits consultants directly, and for loan projects, the executing agency of the borrower country makes the procurement decisions and recruits consultants. For TA projects, the following evaluation criteria are considered for procurement of consulting services:

• Qualifications of proposing firm, e.g., experience in similar projects and geographical areas.

• Approach and methodology, e.g., innovativeness, work program, counterpart facilities, and proposal presentation.

• Personnel, e.g., caliber and availability of international and domestic consultants.

 According to the U.S. Department of Commerce office at the ADB, U.S. companies should seek to be competitive by marketing themselves and forming relationships with key players. Key points to remember include:

• Individual team leaders need name recognition, not just company reputation.

• Once personal relationships are established, firms can ask probing questions, such as What’s required to be short-listed?  or Who’s on the evaluation committee?

• TA business is challenging… ADB officers want more than they need and ask for more than they’re paying for.

Procurement

Under ADB public sector loans, procurement decisions are split in a specific way between ADB and the borrower country. The ADB reviews and approves per guidelines the bidding documents, bid evaluation report, and proposed contract award. In addition, it forms the procurement evaluation committee and disburses funds. The borrower prepares bidding documents, issues tenders, evaluates bids, and awards contracts. In-country representation is useful, if not essential to successfully bid on ADB procurement tenders. Most ADB procurement (usually those above $500,000 for supply contracts and $1 million for civil works) is done through international competitive bidding. However, many small procurements are done through International Shopping or Local Competitive Bidding. U.S. companies will want to read the ADB Procurement Guidelines to ensure compliance with and understanding of ADB procedures before participating in any bids.

 U.S. Department of Commerce suggests that, in order to be competitive, U.S. firms should gather knowledge and information about the borrower country and consider the advantages of establishing a local presence, but companies can also seek to leverage technology to build presence and credibility.  Pursuing ADB Opportunities Interested U.S. companies should take a strategic approach to pursuing contracts from ADB. Some key steps are:

• Conduct research on ADB activities and plans for a given market by reading the ADB Country Strategy and Program, the Report and Recommendation of the President, the TA Report (for TA Projects), and Sector Policies, all available on the ADB Web site.

• Frequently monitor the ADB’s Opportunities Web page, which lists opportunities for contractors, consultants, investors, and job applicants, as well as information about proposed projects, procurement, contract awards, and guidelines on the hiring of consultants.

• Make essential contacts with the executing agency staff, ADB headquarters project officer, Commercial Service in Manila, Commercial Service staff in borrower country, and the ADB resident mission in borrower country.

 ADB also maintains a North American Representative Office in Washington, DC:

naro@adb.org, www.adb.org/NARO  

For those companies that have had little to no experience working with the ADB, one way to begin work on its projects is to seek subcontracting opportunities with larger firms that have won ADB contracts. Many large consulting firms maintain an active database of registered subcontractors with whom they do business. The ADB Web site provides information both on firms that win consulting contracts and those that win contracts for goods or civil works with a value above $1 million. In addition, the Web site has lists of prequalified contractors and firms shortlisted for technical assistance contracts.

 The U.S. Commercial Service Liaison Office for the Asian Development Bank in Manila is available to assist U.S. companies to obtain a fair share of ADB market opportunities. For further information and contacts, visit:

www.buyusa.gov/adb.

ADB Activities in Eurasia

Azerbaijan: ADB Country Strategy for 2004–2006 earmarks some $105 million for assistance on four strategically selected areas—assistance for internally displaced persons, agriculture and rural development, water supply and sanitation, and roads. The loans will be complemented by a technical assistance program covering 12 projects and totaling $6 million.

Kazakhstan: During 2004–2006, ADB Country Strategy calls for a $190 million program of four loans focusing on rural development, natural resource management, rural water supply, and road rehabilitation. These are in addition to the $34.6 million loan ADB recently approved for a rural water supply and sanitation project. A technical assistance program calls for spending of $6 million. Cofinancing will be actively pursued to support priority projects beyond this amount.

Kyrgyz Republic: ADB Country Strategy for 2004–2006 plans a $90 million loan program focusing on promoting private sector-led growth and human development. Six loan projects will cover agricultural development, financial sector reforms, and improved trade linkages. ADB will also focus on the education sector, with support for basic education and early childhood development. Technical grant assistance will total about $6.5 million. Tajikistan: ADB plans a $100 million loan program in the next three years to help build the country’s rural infrastructure and promote regional cooperation. Total lending amounts will depend on country performance and ADB resource levels. The program focuses on infrastructure rehabilitation. The technical assistance program will amount to $1.8-2.2 million a year. Besides project preparation and capacity building, the grants will support regional initiatives to train central bank officials, modernize customs facilities, and carry out diagnostic studies on water management and tourism.

Uzbekistan: ADB Country Strategy for 2004–2006 calls for extending loans of $100-150 million per annum. The loan program will promote economic growth through higher agricultural productivity, human development through health and education sector reforms, and good governance and enterprise reform. The program also includes three regional infrastructure projects to promote regional cooperation. The technical assistance program will amount to $1.9 million for 2004. This will be supported by cofinancing, where possible.