The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has adopted twinning as part of its Water Operators' Partnership (WOPs) Program. The WOPs program promotes knowledge sharing and builds the capacity of water operators and utilities in the Asia and the Pacific region. Among its key initiatives is the twinning of 20 water utilities and operators.
Published on: 15/01/2009
Whereas most twinning arrangements pair off entities with similar characteristics on the assumption that they will share similar problems and solutions, ADB's approach is to match a stronger water and sanitation utility (expert) with a developing utility (recipient). The aim is to enable the latter to improve service coverage and delivery, financial sustainability, and other aspects of its performance. With the exception the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (Cambodia) and Binh Duong Water Supply Sewerage Environment Company (Viet Nam) partnership, which commenced in July 2007, ADB has completed six of eight currently operational twinning arrangements between November 2007 to June 2008. The latest partnership between Karachi, Pakistan and Selangor, Malaysia began in September 2008. The eight twinnings in progress as of September 2008 were:
| Expert | Recipient |
| Malé Water and Sewerage Company Pvt. Ltd. (Malé, Maldives) | Thimphu City Corporation (Thimphu, Bhutan) |
| Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company Ltd. (Jamshedpur, India) | National Water Supply and Drainage Board (Colombo, Sri Lanka) |
| Korea Water (Daejon, Korea) | Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Dhaka, Bangladesh) |
| City West Water (Melbourne, Australia) | Metropolitan Cebu Water District (Cebu, Philippines) |
| Ranhill Utilities Berhad (Johor Baru, Malaysia) | Davao City Water District (Davao, Philippines) |
| Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (Phnom Penh, Cambodia) | Binh Duong Water Supply Sewerage Environment Company (Binh Duong, Vietnam) |
| Haiphong Water Supply One Member Company Ltd. (Haiphong, Viet Nam) | Da Nang Water Supply Company (Da Nang, Viet Nam) |
| Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd. (Selangor, Malaysia) | Karachi Water and Sewage Board (Karachi, Pakistan) |
Focus Areas of Twinning Work Programs
| Utility location | Nonrevenue water | Water quality | Distribution system design, maintenance | Management practices, including human resources | Energy saving | Metering |
| Binh Duong, Viet Nam | x | x | x | |||
| Thimphu, Bhutan | x | x | x | |||
| Dhaka, Bangladesh | x | |||||
| Da Nang, Viet Nam | x | x | ||||
| Davao, Philippines | x | x | x | |||
| Cebu, Philippines | x | x | x | |||
| Colombo, Sri Lanka | x | x |
Making Twinnings Work Both parties pour in time, knowledge, and financial resources to make sure the twinning works. While it is too early to judge what works best, it is possible to discern conditions that could contribute to this end. Obviously, the recipient twin’s commitment to implement the improvement programs that will result in the partnership is a must. But other factors also contribute, among them the following:
Read the full ADB water brief "Power of Two-Boosting Performance Through Twinning" (Sept 2008)
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