LocationsIsDB mission outcomes under the Sustainable Rural Development project
March 27, 2023
Last week, from 13-16 March, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) conducted a supervision mission to Tashkent and a number of target districts in Karakalpakstan to improve coordination with the Sustainable Rural Development project partners.
The mission started with a meeting with the UNDP Resident Representative in Uzbekistan, Matilda Dimovska, and the project team to discuss the progress and the start of the second phase of the project. The parties discussed the stages of development of the Community Development Plans (CDP), CDP handbooks, sustainability mechanisms for infrastructure projects, planned assessments, gender issues and green development.
The mission continued with a series of meetings between the Head of the IsDB delegation, operations team leader Wahyu Wijayanto, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Karakalpakstan F. Ermanov, Acting Hokim of Takhiatash district A. Amanov, Deputy Hokim of Nukus district B. Sayipov to discuss the realization of the Sustainable Rural Development project in the target areas of Karakalpakstan and the existing challenges in implementing the project initiatives in the field.
In addition, representatives of the IsDB discussed problematic aspects on the infrastructure of individual communities indicated in the CDP during a meeting with local facilitators, representatives of the Initiative Groups and activists of the target communities in Takhiatash and Nukus districts.
The discussions continued with a review of the state of the social infrastructure (kindergartens, general education schools, rural medical centres), local road sector and engineering communications.
The mission also included a working meeting with A. Kurbanbaev, Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of Karakalpakstan, and staff from local design institutes, regional construction departments, and a tender consulting centre. During this meeting, the parties exchanged their views on the selection procedures for local construction and design companies, the use of energy-efficient and low-carbon building materials and technologies in design. The importance of training activities to increase the capacity of local specialists taking into account international experience was noted.
IsDB concluded the mission with a final meeting with representatives of the UNDP and the Project Implementation Unit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, where the parties discussed challenges and recommendations for the creation of Community Development Plans, which are the basis for joint construction works and investments.
It is worth mentioning that the IsDB has allocated a total of $200 million for the implementation of the project for target communities of Karakalpakstan, Khorezm, Bukhara and Navoi regions.
To date, the project has developed 113 Community Development Plans, which include more than 600 social infrastructure facilities in four pilot regions.
