Country Procurement Assessment Report (CPAR), ADB

The Country Procurement Assessment Report (CPAR) is an ADB diagnostic document that evaluates the legal framework, institutions, procedures, and practices of a borrowing country's national procurement system, producing a risk rating that shapes how ADB oversees individual project contracts.

What is the Country Procurement Assessment Report (CPAR), ADB?

ADB periodically conducts CPARs for its Developing Member Countries to assess whether national procurement systems meet international standards for transparency, competition, and accountability. The assessment examines the legal and regulatory framework, the institutional capacity of key government agencies, procurement planning and monitoring practices, and how complaints are handled. The outcome is a risk classification, ranging from low to high, that feeds directly into the oversight arrangements for ADB-financed projects in that country.

A country rated as lower risk may be allowed to use its own national procurement procedures for certain contract categories under the 2017 adb-procurement-policy-2017, reducing administrative burden for both the borrower and ADB. A higher-risk rating means more contracts are subject to ADB prior-review before award, and the borrower-executed-procurement arrangements are more tightly supervised. CPARs are conducted jointly with the government and other development partners and are usually publicly available on the ADB website.

Why the CPAR matters for bidders

Suppliers do not interact with the CPAR directly, but it has practical consequences for how quickly and predictably procurement moves in a given country. In a high-risk-rated country, more contracts require ADB no-objection before award, which lengthens the procurement calendar and can cause delays between bid submission and contract signing. Understanding the CPAR risk level for your target country helps you set realistic timelines for cash-flow planning and mobilisation. It also signals the procurement environment you will operate in: a low-risk country with strong national systems typically runs a cleaner, more predictable process, while a high-risk environment may require closer engagement with the implementing agency to track procurement progress. Reading the most recent CPAR alongside the country-partnership-strategy-cps-adb gives a practical picture of both the pipeline and the procurement conditions you will face.

FAQ

How does a CPAR affect which contracts go to prior review?

ADB uses the CPAR risk rating, alongside contract value thresholds, to set the prior review schedule for a project. Higher country risk typically means a lower monetary threshold above which ADB must approve the award before the contract is signed.

Are CPARs public documents?

Most CPARs are published on the ADB website and can be downloaded. Some assessments remain confidential at the government's request, but the summary risk ratings are generally disclosed as part of project documentation.

Who carries out the CPAR?

ADB procurement specialists conduct the assessment jointly with the borrowing government, often in coordination with other development partners such as the World Bank, which runs its own equivalent assessments (CPAR) under a harmonised framework.