Japanese government officials and firms that are active in the ODA market have repeatedly stressed the following strategies for successfully pursuing ODA contracts. This report will deal with the general structure of Japan's ODA Program as well as recommendations for becoming familiar with ODA contract procedures. For winning an ODA contract, specific and professional strategies will be required in accordance with the nature of a targeted ODA project. The system for committing ODA loans through the OECF is based on a formal request by a recipient country. It begins with assessing the long-term needs of a country and identifying appropriate projects.
Consultants then conduct feasibility studies to see if the prospective projects are viable.
These studies are used by the recipient country to make a formal request for ODA loans. JICA's role is to fund feasibility studies and to help assess the developmental priorities of the recipient country. At the recipient country's request, JICA will dispatch study teams to collect information and find potentially feasible projects. JICA will award the contract to the lowest bidder after negotiating the contract's conditions. U.S. consultants and engineers can participate in JICA development studies either as members of a Japanese study team or by sub-contracting with Japanese firms.