This curriculum vitae summarizes the professional experience of Abraham Koster, a Dutch national with over 30 years of experience in rural infrastructure projects in Asia, Africa, and Europe. He has extensive experience managing irrigation projects, rural water supply projects, and building the capacity of water user groups. Currently he is the Manager of Irrigation and Water Resources Management for the Cambodia Agricultural Value Chain Program, focusing on improving sustainable access to irrigation. Previously he has held positions as an irrigation specialist, water users association specialist, general manager of an engineering consulting firm, and rural engineer for various development projects in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Laos, and Africa.

1. C U R R I C U L U M V I TA E
Name : Abraham KOSTER
Date of Birth : 10 February1956
Nationality : Dutch
PresentPosition : Freelance Consultant
PresentAddress : De Castle Royal 22-12
# 34 Street288, KhanBKK 1,
PhnomPenh,Cambodia
Mobile phone: +855 (0)12 499 673
E-mail: koster100256@gmail.com
abkoster@cavackh.org
Education : M.Sc., Rural Engineering(WaterResourcesManagement option),
CranfieldUniversity, Silsoe College,UnitedKingdom,1993
B.Sc.,Civil Engineering,Technical College,Vlissingen,
The Netherlands,1979
Languages : Dutch : mothertongue
English : excellent
French,German,Nepali : good
Khmer : basic
Key Qualifications:
 Thirty-twoyearsof professionalexperience inAsia (28years),Africa(2 years) andthe Netherlands(2
years);
 Projectmanagementof rural infrastructure projectsrelatedto irrigation,rural watersupply,sanitation
and rural roads;
 Identification, design and implementation of rural infrastructure projects with a strong community
developmentcomponent;
 Strongbackgroundinestablishment andtrainingof waterusergroupsinoperation, maintenance and
managementof rural infrastructure;
 Institutionalstrengtheningandcapacitybuildingatnational,provincial,andvillagelevelbyorganizing
trainingprograms,workshopsand seminarsfor projectand counterpartstaff invariouscountrieson
WB, ADB,EC, FAO andDFAT fundedprojects;
 IntegratedWaterResourcesManagementinurban and rural environmentstakingintoconsideration
the social,environmental,andinstitutional aspects of projectimplementation;
 Preparingdesigns, tenderdocuments,andcostestimates of infrastructural works;
 Construction supervision of both small scale labour intensive as well as large scale mechanized
projects.

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Experience Record:
5/’12 – present Cambodia
Manager of the Irrigation and Water Resources Management component of the
DFAT funded CambodiaAgricultural Value Chain Program(CAVAC) implementedby
Cardno Australia. The program supports poverty reduction through long-term
agricultural growth. More specifically, CAVAC focuses on sustainable growth in rice
basedfarmingsystems,inthe provincesof KampongThom, TakeoandKampot.
Main tasks:
 Manage a team of irrigation and community development specialists to
coordinate and implement irrigation interventions that improve sustainable
access to irrigationandincrease the areaandyieldof irrigatedcrops;
 Develop methodologies for improving access to irrigation in target provinces.
These will include improving small and medium size irrigation schemes, river
basinmanagementimprovementsandstrengtheningfarmerwaterusergroups;
 Collect,collate,andutilizehydrological andagricultural datainthe planningand
managementof irrigationsystems;
 Developsmall grantsschemesinconjunctionwiththe CAVACteam, andprovide
technical inputsintothe tenderingof irrigationschemeswhere necessary;
 Manage and mitigate the inherentrisksassociatedwiththe constructionof small
and mediumscale irrigationsschemes.
1/’12 – 4/’12 Cambodia
(3 months) IrrigationO&MSpecialistonthe ADB/WaterResourcesManagementSector
DevelopmentProject(WRMSDP) implementedbyEGISFrance.Main tasks:
 Assist Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology (MOWRAM) in developing
a comprehensiveirrigationO&Mplanwitha sustainable fundingmechanisms;
 Assist MOWRAM in further development and full operationalization of the
CambodiaIrrigationSchemeInformationSystem(CISIS)includingitsuse asatool
for preparing a priority list of schemes for investment support based on agreed
criteria;
 Review of the organizational structures and staff complement of the Provincial
Departmentsof WaterResources(PDWRAMs)andtheirdistrictoffices,assessthe
adequacy and effectiveness of the existing setup in service delivery, and make
recommendations for strengthening of PDWRAMs and district offices and
strengtheningof linkageswiththe Provincial Departmentsof Agriculture.
10/’11 – 11/’11 Cambodia
(1.5 month) Experton Functionalityof Rural WaterSupplyServices,NetherlandsDevelopment
Organization(SNV),PhnomPenh,Cambodia.Maintasks:
 Establishindicatorsforfunctionality;
 Developan InterventionLogicdescribingthe requiredchangestoimproveimpact
and sustainability;
 DevelopmentanM&E Plan,includingcarryoutof a baseline study.
8/’11 – 10/’11 Sri Lanka
(2 months) Water UsersAssociationSpecialistforthe DryZone Urban Water and Sanitation
Project,implementedbyNIRASA/SDenmark.Maintasks:
 Preparationof Guidelinesforstructure,function, formulationof legal statusand
sustainabilityof WUAs;

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 Preparationof MOUs and LOU (letterof understanding) toensure participation,
understanding responsibilities and performing roles of each and every member
of WUAs;
 Establishment draft institutional framework for approval for successful water
resources management at National, Provincial, District, Divisional and at Village
level.
3/’09 – 6/’11 Cambodia
General ManagerwithiLi ConsultingEngineersinPhnomPenh,Cambodia.Main
tasks:
o Businessdevelopmentinthe waterresourcesmanagementsectorinCambodia;
o Managementof a team of 25 engineers;
o Provide backstopping and support to staff working on various projects in
Cambodia;
o Short term consultancy work in the fields of water supply, irrigation and rural
roads. The followingassignmentswere carriedout.
 Consultant on the WB funded Mekong-Integrated Water Resources
Management Project (M-IWRM) to develop a detailed workplan of
activities, prepare ToRs for project staff, select sub-projects and prepare
overall implementation plan for follow up component of the Project (5
months,on-going);
 Consultant on the FAO/EU Food FacilityProgram as irrigation engineer to
prepare workplans,agreementswithProvincialGovernmentDepartments,
NGOsandlocal consultants,assistinthe preparationof designsandtender
documents of small irrigation schemes in 9 provinces of Cambodia. (5
months);
 Consultant on the Cambodia Agriculture Value Chain Program (CAVAC) as
irrigation expert, to assist local expert in selection, design, and
implementationof small irrigationprojectsinTakeo,KampotandKampong
Thom Provinces(2months);
 Design and construction supervision Team Manager of the KfW funded
Rural Infrastructure Program(RIP) inKampongThom and SiemReap.(part
time over1.5 years);
 Assistedinthe preparationof the DesignManual for the WB fundedRural
Infrastructure and Local Governance Program (RILGP) under the Ministry
of Interior. (3months);
 Mid Term Review team member of the Rural Infrastructure and Local
Governance Program(RILGP). Evaluationperiodfrom2005-2009. Contract
incooperationwithURS fromAustralia(1month).
3/’06 – 3/’09 Cambodia
Rural Engineer/Deputy Team Leader with Vakakis, Athens,Greece at the ECOSORN
Project based in Siem Reap. The main objective of the project (EC funding of 25
million euro) is to contribute to poverty reduction through increased agricultural
production, employment creation, empowerment of local communities and
improvedaccesstosocial servicesandarableland.AsRural Engineerresponsiblefor:
 Co-ordination of rural infrastructure (water supply, irrigation and rural roads)
activitiesin the three targetprovinces;
 Supervision of the implementation process (identification, selection, planning,
quality control andmonitoringand follow-up);
 Coordinatorof usergroupstraining;

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 Manage, co-ordinate and provide engineering technical advice to contracted
service providers undertakingprojectactivities;
 Technical monitoringandevaluationof projectinfrastructure activitiesandsub-
contractedactivities;
 Liaise with other stakeholders in the project areas, including government, non-
governmentand otherdonoractivities;
 Oversee provincial implementation of the programme as required by the Team
Leader and be part of the program introduced to monitor the qualityassurance
of all contractedactivities;
7/’04 – 12/’05 Cambodia
(12 months) Team Leader/Technical Advisor with GFA, Hamburg, Germany, at the “European
Fund for Micro-Projects” (EFMP) in Battambang Province. The project of Euro 2
millionaimedtoimprove the socio-economicsituationinfourdistrictsbyproviding
primary education, basic water supply and sanitation, road infrastructure, and
trainingtobeneficiariesforoperationandmanagementof the infrastructures.
Main responsibilitiesasthe onlyLT EuropeanTA on the project:
 Prepare all workplansand budgets;
 Prepare tender documents for procurement of works, supplies and services
approvedinthe workplans;
 Assistand supportthe implementingstaff andbeneficiarieswithtechnical and
planningknow-how;
 Ensure that project activities are well coordinated, and that necessary pre-
conditionsare metconcerningpost-projectownership,operation, maintenance
and sustainability;
 Developasustainable mechanismforthe deliveryof the micro-projects;
 Undertake appropriate economic, environment and gender impact
assessments;
 Identify complementary requirements for vocational training courses, job
trainingandskillsdevelopmentof communities;
4/’05 – 5/’05 Laos
(1 month) Final Evaluation of the “Phongsaly Forest Conservation and Rural Development
Project” financed by the EU with GFA in Hamburg, Germany. The main aim of the
project was to reduce poverty and improve food security and life in rural
communitieswithin PhongsalyProvince in northern Lao PDR. Main objectives was
to evaluate the successof the projectinproducingthe plannedresults,achievingits
purpose,andthe lessonstobe learnedfromthe thisprojectthatmight be usefulto
any future rural development/environmental conservationprojectinNorthernLao
PDR or similarareasinadjacentcountries.
3/’02 – 7/’04 Laos
Rural Engineer/DeputyCo-DirectorwithBCEOM,Montpellier,France atthe “Micro-
Projects Development through Local Communities (MPDLC)” Project in Luang
Namtha Province. The overall objective of the project was poverty alleviation
throughthe developmentof multi-sectormicro-projects.The mainexpectedresult
was to build and improve capacity of communities, government and other
stakeholderstoperform theirroles.Mainactivities:
 Manage all administrative, financial and procurement aspects of all project
activitiesinLuangNamthaProvince;

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 Assist with the upgrading of the technical capabilitiesin activityplanning,land
use surveysandenvironmental impact analysis;
 Ascertainandundertake trainingsupportatvillage level;
 Prepare andsupervisethe workprogramsof ExpatRural DevelopmentAdvisors
and Local Expertsbasedinthe Districts;
 Provide advice on selection criteria for micro-project selection, “on-the-job”
trainingandpreparationof annual provincial anddistrictplanningreports;
 Reportingasrequiredbyprojectmanagement.
11/’01 – 2/’02 Cambodia
(2 months) Irrigation O&M Expert with GTZ, Freiburg, Germany at the PRASAC II project. The
secondphase of the project,financedbythe EC,aimedatthe consolidationof Phase
1 activities,withanemphasison capacitybuildingof theCounterpartMinistries.The
objective of the assignment was to develop a policy for handing over of PRASAC
irrigation schemes to farmer groups following the guidelines and procedures
developedbythe Ministriesconcerned.Mainactivities:
 Review policies and procedures as developed by the Ministry of Water
ResourcesandMeteorologyandadoptforPRASACwhere necessary;
 Selectone pilotscheme forhandingoverof scheme ownershipincludingO&M
responsibilitiestothe WUAs.
 Monitorhandingoverof the pilotscheme andadoptpolicywhere needed;
 Write an O&M manual forthe pilotscheme;
 Write handingoverproceduresforall PRASACirrigationschemes.
10/’01 – 1/’02 Vietnam
(2 months) Irrigation Expert with BCEOM, Montpellier, France at the “Son La & Lai Chau Rural
DevelopmentProject”.The Project,financedbythe EU, included a majorirrigation
development component. The objective of the assignment was to obtain a better
insight under what conditions investments in irrigation and terracing are
economicallyjustified.Mainactivities:
 Studyindetail tenexistingirrigationand/orterrace schemes;
 Review proposals for irrigation works and comment on their economic
feasibility;
 Review and comment on already completed sections of the project’s
implementationmanual;
 Give recommendationsonprojectinterventionsinirrigationandterracing.
03/’00 – 03/’01 Cambodia
(1.5 months) Irrigation Engineer with ACIL, Hawthorn, Australia at the Agricultural Quality
ImprovementProject(AQIP).The ProjectisfinancedbyAusAID.The projectgoal is
the provision of high quality services in rice seed production, post harvest
technology and fruit and vegetable marketing all contributing to an increased
agricultural output.Specifictasks:
 Assistlocal irrigationengineerinselection,designandconstructionof irrigation
schemes,involvingcounterpartagencies.
 Assistlocal irrigationengineerinidentifyingtrainingneedsof counterpartstaff,
inventory of provincial water resources, and design of irrigation systems and
preparationof fielddemonstrations.
 Provide advice on Environment Impact monitoring procedures to measure
impactsof the irrigationsystemsonthe environment.

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11/’00 – 6/’01 Cambodia
(4.5 months) Irrigation O&M Expert with BCEOM, Montpellier, France at the “Capacity Building
Project”of the MinistryofWaterResourcesandMeteorology(MOWRAM) inPhnom
Penh.The projectwas financedbythe ADB and the maintasksassignedwere:
 Review existing policy including cost recovery, and where necessary expand
uponit;
 Reviewpastprojectexperience withwaterusergroups,andincorporate lessons
learned;
 Assess the resources and institutional arrangements needed at all levels for
policyimplementation;
 Identifyexistingirrigationschemesforpilottestingof procedures.
Part of the assignment was used to assist the MOWRAM in reviewing 2 major
irrigation schemesproposed under the ADB loan “Emergency Flood Rehabilitation
Project”.The projectincluded rehabilitationof damagedirrigationschemesduring
the floodsof 2000 and establishingproceduresforO&Mof completedsystems.
2/’00 - 11/’00 Cambodia
(4.5 months) Short Term Consultant with the Planning and Capacity Building Project of the
WB/Water Supply and Sanitation Program (WB/WSP) at the Ministry of Rural
Development (MRD) in Phnom Penh. The main objective of the project was the
developmentof a GovernmentapprovedRWSSSector Policyanda SectorStrategy
Frameworkfollowedbysectorinvestors. Maindutiesandresponsibilities:
 Helpbuildcapacityof projectstaff indevelopmentandimplementingof project
activities;
 Carry out training needs assessment for project staff and make arrangements
for HRD relatedactivitiestobe carriedout;
 Establish procedures for systematic learning from and to RWSS projects in
Cambodia, including development of M&E systems to record and feed-back
lessonslearned.
 Write background papers on the Cambodia RWSS sector related issues,
includingrecommendationsforstrategydevelopment.
3/’99 - 12/’99 Cambodia
(10 months) Rural EngineerwithARCADISEuroconsult,Arnhem,the Netherlandsatthe bridging
phase of the PRASAC I Programme financed by the EU. As the engineer for six
provincesresponsible for:
 Institutional strengthening and capacity building at national level within the
counterpartministriesof PRASAC;
 Assesstrainingneedsof irrigationcommunityorganizingstaffinall sixProvinces
and conducttrainingprograms;
 Establish criteria for identification, prioritization, design and planning of rural
watersupply,irrigationandrural roadprojects;
 Develop criteria for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of
sub-projectcomponents;
 Assist team members in monitoring and evaluation of project results and
assessmentof impacts.
4/’98 - 2/’99 Freelance Consultant
(10 months) Cambodia

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 Preparationforthe secondphase of the EU fundedPRASACProgramme.The
second phase aims at improving the agricultural productivity through credit,
irrigation,domesticwatersupply,rural roadsandagriculturalextension.Work
included development of policy papers on sub-project components and the
identification/formulation of feasible sub-projects in the six provinces where
PRASACisworking.
 Postconstructionanalysisof the PRASACIrrigationProjectsinsix Provincesof
Cambodia.The analysisincludedthefinancial,technical,social,environmental
and institutional aspectsof the completedirrigation projects.Bothreservoir,
canal and groundwater irrigation systems were studied and analyzed. A full
report was presented to the EU including recommendations for the second
phase of the Programme.
 Advise OXFAM/UK on feasibilityof implementationof two irrigation projects
inTakeoProvince.Workincludedanalysisof thetechnical andsocialfeasibility
on one reservoirandone canal irrigationscheme.
12/’94 – 3/’98 Rural Engineer with SAWA, Consultants for Development, Wageningen, The
Netherlands.
Cambodia
Rural Engineer at the PRASAC 1 Project. The Project aimed at rehabilitation and
strengthening of the agricultural sector in six (6) Provinces of Cambodia through
irrigation, domestic water supply,rural credit and agricultural extensionactivities.
Of the total project cost of 15 million USD, 5 million was budgeted for domestic
watersupplyandirrigationdevelopment.
The water supply component included the provision of clean drinking water to
about 40,000 familiesthrough the construction of 750 drilled wells,100 hand dug
wells, 50 village ponds and 750 rainwater jars. Project activities also included
geophysical investigations, water quality testing and monitoring, establishing and
trainingof waterpointcommitteesandhealtheducation.
The irrigation component included the rehabilitation of three major irrigation
schemes, covering a total command area of 3,000 ha. Activities consisted of
rehabilitation of civil works (dams, canals and hydraulic structures) and the
formation and training of Water Users Associations. Other activities included
training of 110 project staff (both irrigation and water supply), the preparation of
designs and tender documents and operation and maintenance of heavy
equipment. AsRural Engineer,incharge of:
 Overall management of the water supply and irrigation activities within the
PRASAC1 projectinKampongCham andKampongChhnangProvinces;
 Planning,supervisionandmonitoringof all projectactivities;
 Establishingof designs,budgetsandannual workplans;
 Supervisionof 150 staff members;
 Identificationof possible projects;
 Progressmonitoringandbudgetcontrol;
 Reportingonprojectactivitiesandprogress.
1988 - 1994 Rural/Water Supply Engineer with IWACO B.V., Consultants for Water and
Environment,The Netherlands.
Bangladesh(1994)

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Worked as Irrigation Engineer with the National Minor Irrigation Project (NMIDP).
The projectwasdirectedatcreatingfavorableeconomic,institutional andtechnical
environments for increased private sector investment in minor irrigation in both
ground and surface water areas. The project had a wide ranging approach which
includedresource assessment,technologydevelopment,institutional restructuring,
training,promotion,environmental protectionandoperationandmaintenance.As
coordinatorinthe technologydevelopmentcomponent, incharge of:
 selectionof suitable sitesforgroundwaterextractiontechnologies
 installationandpromotionof cost-effectiveandappropriate technologies
 monitoringof completedwellsonefficiency,operational costsandagricultural
practices
Indonesia(1992)
TrainingExpert/CivilEngineerforthe RailwayBridgesProjectfinancedbythe Dutch
Government. The project consisted of rehabilitation and replacement of steel
bridges.About250bridgeswere designedandassembledonJavaandSumatra.The
projecttrained35 site supervisorsinthe preparationof tenderdocuments,project
administrationandsupervisionof bridge construction.Maintasksincluded:
 Planning and organization of the training programs, including curriculum
development,writingof manuals,classroomteachingandon-the-jobtraining;
 Setting up of a system for monitoring of physical progress and quality of site
supervision.
Indonesia(1992)
Municipal Engineer for the “Cirebon Small Communities Water Supply Project”.
Supervised construction of four gravity fed water supply systems for rural
communities.
Pakistan (1989 - 1991)
Technical Advisor on Water Management for the “PATA Irrigation Development
Project” that aimed at increasing agricultural productionof farmers in the Project
Area (Malakand Division of the North West Frontier Province). Activities included
construction of dug wells, tube wells and surface irrigation schemes as well as
agricultural research and extension for irrigated and rain fed lands. All completed
irrigation schemeswere handed over to farmer groups. These groups were set up
withassistance of the projectin formal WaterUsers Associationsandwere trained
by the projectinoperationandmaintenance of theirsystems.Maintasksincluded:
 hydrological andhydro-geological investigations;
 supervisionof drillingactivities(cable tool androtarydrilling);
 designandconstructionsupervisionof irrigationschemes;
 trainingof farmers(WaterUsersAssociations)inoperationandmanagementof
theirschemes;
 Trainingof counterpartstaff inthe design,estimatingof costsandconstruction
of irrigationschemeswithparticipationof farmersinall projectphases.
Indonesia(1988)
Tasks included system design and the preparation of manuals for operation and
maintenance aspectsof the WaterSupplySystemof Bogor.The Projectwasfunded
by the Dutch Government.
1983 - 1987 Civil/Rural Engineer with the International Labour Organization (ILO), Geneva,
Switzerland.

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Togo (1985 - 1987)
Assist in organizing a labour intensive public works programme withthe objective
to educate,install andtrainyoungfarmerstobe settledinnew settlementsinrural
Togo. The main components of the project were the provision of infrastructural
works - drinking water supply systems, small dams, irrigation schemes, roads and
storage facilities andagricultural researchandextension.Maintasksincluded:
 identificationandplanningof projects;
 preparation, planning and design of subprojects relatedto rural water supply,
small dams,irrigationsystemsandrural roads;
 reportingonand monitoringof physical andfinancial progress;
 settingupsystemsforO&Mof completedschemes.
Nepal (1983 - 1985)
Workedasa Civil/IrrigationEngineerforthe Nepal SpecialPublicWorksProgramme
(SPWP).The mainactivityof the projectwasthe constructionof small andmedium
scale surface irrigation projects. The project introduced labour intensive methods
for the constructionof the systemsandspecial attention wasgiventoparticipation
of water users in design, implementation and operation of projects. During the
assignment, a UNDP-financed programme was implemented for the population
affected by heavy floods, consisting of rehabilitation of about 100 damaged
irrigationsystems.Maintasksas Technical Advisorduringthe firstyearandProject
Manager duringthe secondyearof the projectassignmentincluded:
 identificationof small tomediumscale irrigationprojects
 settingupa system formonitoringof progressandqualityof selectedprojects.
 Organize trainingprogramsforprojecttechnical staff.
 verifyingfeasibilitystudies,technical designsandcostestimates;
 developingandorganizingtrainingprogramsforwateruser groups;
 arrangingprocurementandtransportof constructionmaterialsandequipment;
 advice the local government in formulating labour based projects for
international funding.

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1980 - 1982 Technical Advisorwiththe Organizationof NetherlandsVolunteers,The Hague,
The Netherlands.
Nepal
Technical Advisorof thePanchayatIrrigationProject.The projectaimedtoconstruct
small scale irrigation projects in the hilly areas of Nepal and hand them over to
waterusersgroups.Bothnew schemesandrehabilitationof existingschemeswere
included. The project also carried out training of supervisory staff of the
Departmentof Local Development.Maintasksincluded:
 identify, design, estimate costs and monitor quality and progress of 10 small
scale irrigationprojects;
 establish guidelines for the pre-qualification and selection of contractors for
implementationof labourbasedprojects;
 conduct trainingprograms forNepali techniciansand engineers;
 reporton financial andphysical progress.
1977 - 1978 Trainee/Civil Engineerwiththe SesconGroupConsultants,Paramaribo,Surinam.
Surinam
Worked on the “Commewijne Development Project.” The project included the
constructionof a large scale irrigationsystem.Wasincharge of:
 Survey,designandconstructionsupervisionof irrigationstructuresandcanals;
 Prepare progressandtechnical reports.
Ab Koster,
February14, 2017