Castalia leads affordable housing conversation at ADB Water and Urban Development Forum

Nonito Bernardo (second from the left) with AWUF forum panelists

Castalia co-hosted an interactive discussion on affordable housing in Central Asia with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at the recent ADB Water and Urban Development Forum at ADB headquarters in Manila, Philippines. Castalia’s Nonito Bernado presented key gaps and proposed solutions from a comprehensive review of affordable housing in Central and West Asia (CWA). These findings will be used by ADB to help expand the role of the private sector in housing delivery and increase the ADB’s impact in the housing sectors of Developing Member Countries (DMCs).

Panel Discussion

Castalia’s findings were the foundation of the panel discussion, which used ADB’s “Shark Tank” panel format to drive audience participation and draw out valuable insights from the panel of housing experts. Castalia and ADB brought together key housing sector stakeholders from ADB member countries for the session, titled Innovative Pilots and Private Sector Solutions for Affordable Housing: Closing the Housing Gap for 600 million People with Private Sector Leadership. The session included:

• Issues and challenges facing inclusive, affordable, accessible, adequate, and climate-resilient housing (I3ARCH) in ADB DMCs
• Innovative solutions for governments, private, donors, and development stakeholders to support I3ARCH in DMCs
• Criteria to encourage private sector participation in the housing sector based on international experience and best practices

Diagnostic Study and Future Plans

In 2024, ADB engaged Castalia for a comprehensive review of affordable housing in seven of its CWA DMCs, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The objective was to explore and recommend actionable, grounded recommendations for public and private stakeholders to effectively contribute to I3ARCH ecosystems in CWA countries.

Castalia recently delivered the first component of the work, an affordable housing Central Asia diagnostic study that assesses government housing strategies, policy frameworks, and private sector participation in the housing sector of each examined country. We are developing I3ARCH strategies and private sector engagement plans for the seven countries and will conclude the work by identifying potential housing projects for ADB.

Follow us on LinkedIn to stay current on our work.