Ratings for the Highway Project for Azerbaijan were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was low, the Bank performance was satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was also satisfactory. Some lessons learned included: the design and implementation of projects in the road sector should give equal or more weight to the issues of improving the effectiveness of the government’s investment program than to the issue of quantity of expenditures. There appears to be a marked emphasis during project implementation on funding issues, disbursement rates and contract execution of the civil works under the project. This is clearly reflected in supervision reports and letters to the Borrower. However, improvements to the effectiveness of investments generally did not receive the same attention and were mostly relegated to the discussions of delays in implementing a contract in the technical assistance component. The project is an excellent example of the benefits derived from a high level of flexibility in project implementation. The Bank´s decision to include in the project the construction of the Tovuz by-pass involved a higher level of risk in terms of the complexity of the civil works financed under the project. Nevertheless the risks were approached with the utmost conviction and professionalism by both the Borrower and the Bank and the result was not only a substantial improvement to the country’s road network but also to the legal and regulatory framework of land acquisition. Similarly, the use of further savings to finance the preparation and supervision of a follow-on project ensured not only an effective use of the available funds, but facilitated implementation of future projects.