ADB revamps policy body after Thai project controversy

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is reviewing its policy watchdog mechanism after coming under fire for a controversial wastewater management project it financed in Thailand, officials say.

The $750-million plant in Samut Prakarn province, southeast of Bangkok, is more than 80 percent completed but has been dogged by allegations of corruption and violation of environmental laws since its launching in 1995.

Villagers in the most-heavily industrialized and polluted province in Thailand, backed by Greenpeace and other non-governmental groups, have charged that ADB violated its own policies on corruption, environmental assessment and good governance in financing the project.

After an unprecedented one year probe into the allegations, ADB President Tadao Chino has called for a revamp of the bank’s so-called inspection policy.

The "watchdog" policy mechanism ensures that the bank adheres strictly to its policies and procedures for planning and implementing projects it finances.

"Now that this inspection in respect of Samut Prakarn has been concluded, it is both timely and important that we move on, without further delay, to focus on the improvements of the inspection function, a key instrument of governance," Chino told a recent meeting of the bank’s board of directors.

A steering committee and a working group have been set up to review the bank’s inspection policy. No specific areas for the review were mentioned.

But Chino wants the consultations on the review to be "within and outside the ADB and to fully reflect the views of all stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations," ADB spokesperson Ann Quon told AFP.

"Hopefully, this is a win-win situation not only for the bank but for all in terms of the policy on governance and public accountability," she said.

The Thai plant was the first project to be scrutinized under ADB’s inspection policy and could set the pace for more project scrutiny, non-governmental organizations charged.

"The biggest fear, however is that the Samut Prakarn case will trigger other requests for independent inspection panels," said Walden Bello, director of Focus on the Global South, a Bangkok-based regional policy research body.

But Quon said "all complaints are treated seriously and evaluated on their merit according to our inspection policy which has established criteria."

The bank had ordered a three-member independent panel of outside experts to probe the Thai project last year following written complaints by representatives of some 60,000 villagers living near it. – AFP