Social Safeguards Monitoring Report. TIM L-2857/2858: Road Network Upgrading Project Contract Packages R3 Dili Tibar - Liquica Road

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1 March 2015 TIM L-2857/2858: Road Network Upgrading Project Contract Packages R3 Dili Tibar - Liquica Road Prepared by for the Asian Development Bank.

2 This social monitoring report is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.

3 REPÚBLICA DEMOCRÁTICA DE TIMOR LESTE MINISTÉRIO DAS OBRAS PÚBLICAS, TRANSPORTES E COMUNICAÇÃO (Report No. 3) Contract Package R- 3 Dili - Tibar - Liquiça Road Katahira Engineers International March 2015, Timor-Leste

4 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1. Land acquisition and involuntary resettlement is inevitable to the Rehabilitation and Maintenance of the 28.72kilometer Contract Package R-3, Dili-Tibar-Liquica Road under the Timor Leste Road Network Upgrading Project (RNUP) due to the widening, cutting of slopes and installation of drainage system to accommodate the approved design. Despite this fact, much care was taken to ensure that the acquisition of lots, demolition of structures and other improvements including resettlement of Affected Persons (APs) are kept to the minimum necessary to adequately design and achieve the objectives of the project. 2. This project is jointly funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Timor Leste (GoTL) whereby the Commission for Administration of the Infrastructure Fund (CAIF) is the Executing Agency and being implemented by the (MPW) through the Project Management Unit (PMU) with the technical support of Katahira & Engineers International as the Construction Supervision Consultant in association with Kai Watu Kmanek-Consultant Unipessoal LDA. 3. The civil works was awarded to the Spanish Construction Company, Constructora San Jose S.A by the MPW through the PMU and Notice to Commence (NTC) was issued by the Engineer with effectivity date on 14 November 2013 and scheduled completion date on 15 August Upon issuance of the NTC, immediately, the Contractor undertakes site preparation for the first 5kilometer that include among others: i) As stake surveys; ii) ground staking of construction limit for reference in the clearing and grubbing; iii) start of the implementation of the Resettlement Plan (RP) from identification to negotiation up to the payment of compensation of APs within the construction limit. 4. Once completed, the road project is envisioned to support the economic development of the country, help reduce poverty, and improve access to the Katahira Engineers International 1

5 markets and social services for the residents of the districts served by the road. 2.0 PROJECT BACKGROUND 5. The project starts originally at Sta (Nicolao Lobato Roundabout), however, the MPW Minister instructed the Contractor, Constructora San Jose S.A thru letter dated 27 November 2013 that only maintenance works will be undertaken from Sta to Sta (Nicolao Lobato Roundabout about 500meter after Tibar Junction) and the full works of R3 will be done from Sta to Sta Hence, the new beginning of project starts at Sta at the road junction of Tibar, on the north-south direction of Tibar- Gleno Road and on the east-west direction of Dili-Liquica Road. The road passes through the northern coastline of the island as it runs towards Liquica where it ends in Sta and connects to the Liquica-Maubara Road. This road is part of the strategic east-west road network that directly connects Dili to District Centers along the northern coastline and it also forms part of the main artery to and from the proposed international container Port in Tibar. The proposed international port will reduce the dependence of Timor to the port facility in the Indonesian side of the island which currently receives the international freight destined to Timor Leste. Figure 1 Location Map of the Dili -Tibar LiquiçaRoad Katahira Engineers International 2

6 6. The scope of work includes widening, the existing pavements with fair to poor conditions (consist of asphalt concrete wearing surface over the number of different types of base layer) were programmed for Asphalt Concrete Pavement (ACP) surface, 6.0 meters carriageway, providing meter shoulder on both sides of the road. The repairs will bring the base course up to the pavement level in distressed areas and the full length of the road will then be overlaid with 50millimeters of hot-laid asphalt. Drainage is scheduled to improve by providing drainage structures such as: RCBC, RCPC, Stone masonry, retaining wall, etc. Cleaning or reconstruction of the existing drainage structures is also included. As part of project safety, the project included the provisions of pavement markings, road designs, regulatory signs and stone masonry guardwall block. There are no proposed major changes in alignment or gradients. 3.0 SOCIAL SAFEGUARDS MONITORING ACTIVITIES 7. In November 2011, a Draft Resettlement Plan was prepared by SMEC International PTY. Limited, Australia in coordination with the Government of Timor Leste (GoTL). This Resettlement Plan (RP) was undertaken in compliance with the requirements of the ADB to identify the actual population and assets that will likely be affected and to determine the extent to which they can be affected, thus, resulting to land acquisition/expropriation, resettlement and securing the project s right of way. 8. The policy framework governing this RP was derived from and guided mainly by the ADB Safeguard Policy Statement and the Resettlement Framework (RF) adopted by the GoTL for the RNUP where Negotiated Settlement was applied. Negotiated settlement is an agreed amicable rates or package of compensation and entitlements for the APs to ensure that the cost is sufficient to cover the affected structures and assets, physical and non-physical, thus, ascertain that the APs will not be worst-off and they could recover from the disturbances caused by the Project. Katahira Engineers International 3

7 9. A Social Safeguard Monitoring (SSM) along with the submission of SSM Report to ADB thru the PMU is undertaken in a quarterly basis to determine whether or not the RP was carried out as planned and according to the Policy. 10. In general, the implementation of the RP is parallel to the ongoing activities of the Contractor that supposedly land acquisition and clearing of right of way was embarked on prior to civil works but the delay of RP implementation was due to the completion of other required documents including the allocation of fund for resettlement. 11. A Resettlement Specialist together with a Timorese Resettlement Assistant was tasked to handle direct negotiation settlements with all the AP s along the road corridor. Once the negotiations are completed, payment of compensation will be done in public by representatives from PMU, the Consultant and the Contractor in the area and witnessed by the Suco Chief. In addition, regular visits were undertaken to the project area in coordination with the AP s, the Local Leaders (Suco, Aldea, District etc.) and community to record grievances and status of complaints, to determine the level of satisfaction amongst APs, and to address other issues and concerns related to resettlement, disturbance and compensation. Public Meeting involving the affected persons were also held prior to actual direct negotiations with the assistance of the Suco Chief who has the administrative responsibility on the areas where the road sections are located. 4.0 MONITORING RESULTS AND ACTIONS REQUIRED 12. Based on the Draft Resettlement Plan prepared in November 2011, the Summary of Impacts with a corresponding Resettlement Budget estimated at US$ US$10,740 which is the subject of monitoring are as follows: Katahira Engineers International 4

8 Impact Category Total Affected Families Total Affected Persons Magnitude of Impact 12 Households 92 Persons Total Number of Affected Structures 2 Total Area of Affected Structures 14.5 Sqm Total Affected Kiosks 9 Total Affected Trees 1 Total Affected Persons with Business Hence, the 1 st quarterly SSM was conducted and the Report was prepared in June 2014 and submitted to ADB thru the PMU, from then regular quarterly monitoring has been conducted. The following is the milestone of the quarterly monitoring: Covered Period, February-June 2014 Monitoring Results Actions Required Remarks It was reflected in the 1 st SSMR that the first compensation payment to APs was made on 13 February 2014 until 09 June 2014 with a total of 90APs. Out of the 90APs, 63APs that owns 912 trees; linear meters of fences and 15 barakas was fully compensated with a total cost of US$10, covering an aggregate length of 4.12km while 27APs were completely negotiated but not yet paid with In order to fully pay the 27APs with completed negotiations, additional fund will be requested considering that the estimated cost as stated in the Resettlement Plan of 2011 from US$10,740 to US$15, was already exceeded by about 67.64%. Besides, only 5.64kilometer had been covered out of the 28.72kilometer road length that is proposed for There is a big difference between the number of APs and quantities of assets (trees, Baraka or kiosks, fence) as defined in the RP of 2011 compared to the number of APs and other affected assets during the actual construction works vis-à-vis actual implementation of the RP because the construction limit and the road right of way was not entirely delineated or Katahira Engineers International 5

9 an estimated amount of US$5, covering an aggregate length of 1.52km. The total amount of fully paid and negotiated compensation is US$15, covering a total length of 5.64km. rehabilitation. With this, it was expected that additional APs will be identified, thus, additional resettlement fund will likewise be allotted. established during the RP preparation. The only basis in identifying APs and other affected assets that time is on the premise that the improvement will be confined within the existing width of the road and the widening on road sections that require cutting and slope trimming in the hilly and mountainous terrain was not even recognized. Covered period, July-September 2014 Monitoring Results Actions Required Remarks As of this 2 nd monitoring, the identified 27APs in Sta to with completed negotiations during the last quarter was already paid. However, as the construction work progresses, additional 157APs were accounted, out of this, 56APs with estimated compensation cost of US$5, were fully paid and the 101APs with estimated cost of US$ 17, have completed negotiations and yet to be paid. Over again, fund is needed to fully compensate the additional 101APs. Further, other issues were encountered during this period to wit: (i) the change in the road design from Sta to Sta (380) from the original two (2) lanes to (4) four lanes that may cause in an increase in the number of APs which is held in abeyance including construction activities; (ii) improvement of the cross drain in Sta and that is adjacent to a cyclone wire fence; Negotiations with the additional 99APs were completed and what remains to be done is the actual payment except for the 2APs who are requesting for a higher cost from the amount offered, negotiations will be scheduled until the compensation cost will be acceptable to both parties. For the lots to be acquired, the PMU already submitted pertinent documents to the Directorate of the Land and Property for assessment and evaluation in order to authenticate the land certificate and verify the location of the Katahira Engineers International 6

10 (iii) five private land owners claim that the project encroached their land; (iv) owner of the dilapidated temporary kiosk in Sta is requesting a higher compensation of 2.25 times the amount offered; (v) owner of the semipermanent kiosk in Sta is requesting higher amount of 3.3 times the cost offered; (vi) electrical post are within the construction limit. lots boundary. In due course, lot claimants permitted for the mobilization of the equipment and Contractor while the documents in the Land Property Division are on process. Covered period, October- December 2014 Monitoring Results Actions Required Remarks During this 3 rd monitoring period, out of the 101APs that were completely negotiated during the previous monitoring, 99APs were fully paid amounting to US$18, including the full compensation of the 7 affected tombs amounting to US$ 8, located at the midsection of the slope in +/- Sta identified to have the potential to slide due to possible movement of slope. The additional APs were identified due to the change of design and slope trimming. The project will continue to negotiate with the owners of the two kiosks to avoid the use of the grievance mechanism embedded in the Resettlement Plan in order not to hamper the ongoing construction. Katahira Engineers International 7

11 Negotiations with the two (2) Owner of the kiosks located in Sta. Sta and Sta demanding higher price than the estimated costs of the consultants were failed and still needs further negotiations. 5.0 STATUS OF MONITORING COVERING THE PERIOD OF JANUARY- MARCH As of this 4 th monitoring period, the updates of the remaining issues and concerns with actions taken are the following: ISSUES AND CONCERNS 1. Two (2) Owners of the kiosks located in Sta and Sta who are requesting for a higher cost from the amount offered which negotiations will be scheduled until the compensation cost will be acceptable to both parties. 2. The change in the road design from Sta to Sta (380) from the original two (2) ACTION TAKEN Negotiation was initiated to the owner of the semi-permanent kiosk in Sta who is requesting a higher compensation of 3.3 times the amount offered. Eventually, agreed amount is already US$4,000 from the US$8,000. Likewise, owner of the dilapidated temporary kiosk in Sta who is requesting higher amount of 2.25 times the cost offered already accepted US$2,900 from the requested amount of US$4, (see attached negotiated settlements in the Annexes) A supplemental information of the previous Resettlement Plan was carried out during this monitoring period to identify the actual Katahira Engineers International 8

12 lanes to (4) four lanes that may cause in an increase in the number of APs which is held in abeyance including construction activities in this particular section population and assets that will likely be affected and to determine the extent to which they can be affected for the proposed widening of aggregate 1.227kilometer 4- lane as shown in the Straight Line Diagram below which is located in the middle of Sta (13+170) and Sta (14+397) along the Tibar Junction to Liquica Proper. Strategically, it commences at the entrance of the planned Tibar International Port (Sta ) and not to extend up to the backdoor of Port (Sta /380). The widening will be implemented in order to balance the volume of traffic that is already visible along this road section and to complement the increase of traffic for future development within the area of Tibar Port. Katahira Engineers International 9

13 3. Existing drinking water pipe lines and sewer pipes from Sta to Sta was detected within the construction limit that requires to be relocated as per letter of RE Romano Castillo to the Contractor, Project Manager G.R. Shankar Reddy dated 20 February 2015 and the Project Manager responded on 11 March (both letters are attached in the Annexes) This issue was already coordinated with the Departamento Abstencimento Agua Municipio Liquica (DAAML) and estimated relocation cost amounting to US$42, was provided to the Consultant. But upon review by the Consultant on the cost estimate, it appeared that the cost is intended for the total improvement of the existing drinking water pipe lines including construction of new pipes with accessories. As a result, the Consultant estimated based on the actual pipe lines to be affected in the amount of US$8, and to be relocated outside the construction limit. Instruction was given to the Contractor, Construction San Jose S.A and the cost will be charged either to the Day works or Provisional Sum of the project contract. 4. Portion of the scheduled SM Catch Basin at Sta L/S inside the existing cyclone wire fence (inside property) and SM Lined Ditch along the edges of wire fence. Communication letters between RE Castillo and Director Lay of the King Construction Industry/Star Concrete Industry in relation to this concern was acted upon (copy attached letters in the Annexes). Mr. Lay Siu Kiat allowed the construction of the catch basin and line ditch as per letter dated 11 March 2015 provided that the fence will be re-stored after the completion of the catch basin and line Katahira Engineers International 10

14 ditch. Another meeting was held at the office of Mr. Lay on 18 March 2015 to clarify the extent of his property to resolve the property line issue for the restoration of the fence. The Contractor already undergoing the installation of line ditch. But further discussion will be undertaken to determine where to relocate the materials that obstruct the construction of the Catch Basin. 5. The owners of additional 14 perennial trees ask payment for the affected trees prior to cutting in Sta amounting to US$60 and in Sta amounting to US$80. In order not to hamper the civil works in that section, the Contractor paid the negotiated amount to the owners totaling US$140 on 26 March Affected reservoir The Contractor already settled the negotiated amount of US$200 on 26 March Scheduled Hand Laid Rock Embankment (1.66meter) including the proposed Earth Canal inside the property of Director Germano A.J. Da Silva in Sta Awaiting for the response of the letter by RE Castillo address to Director Germano A.J. Da Silva dated 24 March 2015 (copy attached in the Annexes) requesting to allow the Contractor to construct the remaining portion of the scheduled Hand Laid Rock Embankment, 1.66meter (L) x meter (W) inside his property. Katahira Engineers International 11

15 7.0 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS 15. It is imperative that the delineated construction limit and the established project right of way must be the basis in the preparation of the Resettlement Plan to avoid the huge difference of number of APs from the RP preparation to the RP implementation. The big differences create big implications to the estimated RP cost that leads to the delay of RP implementation as well as to project implementation. 16. Nevertheless, payments to additional affected persons were properly handled and no grievances were recorded despite delays in the payments accorded for them. 17. The MPW/PMU will facilitate for the immediate payment for the two (2) owners of kiosks who already accepted the current offer amounting to US$4,000 and US$2,900 so that the Contractor will be allowed to continue their activities in those particular sections. (copy of Negotiated Settlements are attached in the Annexes). 18. The transferring of the exhumed bodies of the affected seven (7) Tombs was properly addressed, as an evidence, an interview with one of the APs (Marcelino Soarez) informed that the exhumed bodies was likewise transferred properly to a designated local cemetery which is at the nearby hilltop. 19. However, slope failure remains a threat, thus, needs to be taken into consideration to avoid damage to the constructed structures of the project and possible death or injury to motorist / road users. With this predicament, additional APs are expected to be identified. 20. The next Social Safeguard Quarterly Monitoring Report will be prepared on June Katahira Engineers International 12