Co-Task Team Leaders from the World Bank, Mr. Jerome Bezzina (Sr. Digital Development Specialist and Ms. Anna Metz (Sr. Digital Development Specialist), Anjali Vitharanage (Senior Financial Management Specialist) Anula Harasgama (Senior Procurement Specialist), Ms. Siew Sanz Ng, a Young Professional from the World Bank met with the D’MADD PMU team lead by Dr. Ibrahim Waheed (Project Manager) along with Ahmed Haleem (Communications Specialist), Ms. Shama Ahmed Rasheed (Procurement Specialist), Ms. Ahlam Abdul Sattar (Finance management Specialist) and Ms. Fathimath Shafa Hussain (Project Officer).

The meeting commenced with the mission team appreciating the status updates on the project's procurement progress, which aligned with the feedback given by stakeholders during the kickoff meeting yesterday. The team also requested updates on the risk management plan for the proposed pilot at Addu City, which requires aerial drones. Dr. Ibrahim Waheed updated that the document was already shared with the team.

The team also discussed the project's results framework and advised stakeholders to prepare for individual meetings. This was reflected in the notes from the previous mission and the management letter.

Dr. Waheed highlighted administrative difficulties in processing the payments for the consultants. This is reflected in the delays in disbursements. Ms. Ahlam explained the issues in detail and the work done by the PMU to address them. The main reason was due to a system update at the Ministry of Finance and Planning. Dr. Waheed expressed the difficulty in facing the contractors when the payments are delayed. He explained that there were no vendor complaints yet, with one vendor almost completing their assignment without receiving a single payment for the completion of the deliverables outlined in the contract. World Bank mission also highlighted that this may have legal implications and will flag this with the World Bank CMU in the Maldives, as this may be a case with other World Bank projects.

Following up on the previous kickoff meeting, the mission team will closely monitor the predictions made by the state minister in the submission on the Data Protection bill. The World Bank will also initiate the formal process of lifting the disbursement conditions, a process in which the Bank’s legal team, as well as the Country Director, will be involved.

Dr. Waheed then proceeded to brief the mission teams on the changes brought to the procurement plan to accommodate the new direction of the component 3.2 climate data platform, where an advisory service as well as the support of a local consultant will be obtained, in addition to the contract for design, develop and implementation of the climate data sharing platform.

The team also discussed the progress of various reports, including environmental, social, and health, as well as safeguards. The World Bank team suggested obtaining input from World Bank colleagues who are well-versed in the field of drone operations and safeguard aspects. They will make the necessary arrangements to get assistance on the suggestion.

The mission then proceeds to run through the remaining checklist of administrative items that the PMU team highlighted as hurdles during the procurement stages. Dr. Waheed explains how the team has adapted and taken steps to eliminate delays in the procurement process. This includes providing pre-bid information sessions and guidance to potential bidders on document submission to avoid disqualification due to clerical errors. However, Dr. Waheed noted that the budget estimate needed to be revised, as the figures were estimated some time ago and factors such as inflation and other global economic events had increased the contractors' costs. The mission also discussed the financial aspects and forecasts, especially on Component 4 of the project.

The meeting concluded with Dr. Waheed’s briefing on the public queries received regarding the project.

The meeting was part of the World Bank’s regular supervision and support mission, which will continue from April 10th to 17th, 2025.