INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATASHEET APPRAISAL STAGE

Transcription

1 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized I. Basic Information Date prepared/updated: 03/21/2011 INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATASHEET APPRAISAL STAGE Report No.: AC Basic Project Data Country: Uzbekistan Project ID: P Project Name: Alat and Karakul Water Supply Project Task Team Leader: Pier Francesco Mantovani Estimated Appraisal Date: March 24, 2011 Estimated Board Date: May 31, 2011 Managing Unit: ECSSD Lending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan Sector: Water supply (100%) Theme: Access to urban services and housing (100%) IBRD Amount (US$m.): 0.00 IDA Amount (US$m.): GEF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 PCF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 Other financing amounts by source: BORROWER/RECIPIENT Environmental Category: B - Partial Assessment Repeater [] Is this project processed under OP 8.50 (Emergency Recovery) or OP 8.00 (Rapid Response to Crises and Emergencies) [ ] No [] 2. Project Objectives The proposed project development objective (PDO) is to improve the coverage, quality, and efficiency of public water supply services in the two districts (rayons) of Alat and Karakul in the Bukhara region. The objective would be achieved through rehabilitation and/or replacement of the existing water supply infrastructure that has now reached the end of its useful life as well as through the expansion of network coverage to new urban and rural service areas. 3. Project Description The Project will comprise the following components: 1. Component A: Physical investments (total estimated cost US$38.70 million of which IDA US$18.80 million): This component will finance the detailed design, construction, and works supervision of rehabilitation and expansion works on existing water production, conveyance, and distribution systems, including metered user connections, in the two rayons of Alat and Karakul. This also includes the procurement of operations and maintenance equipment. The following sub-components will be financed:

2 (a) Sub-Component A1: Implementation Consultants (estimated cost US$3.05 million, of which IDA is US$3.05 million). The Project will finance procurement of international Implementation Consulting firm that will assist the Bukhara Regional vodokanal and the PCU in the following areas of project implementation: (a) review, assessment and optimization of the feasibility study; (b) preparation of detailed design, preparation of bidding documents, assistance during award of contracts and construction supervision, including monitoring and evaluation; (c) technical assistance utility operations and management; and (d) feasibility study of the rural water supply systems, including the definition of community participatory approaches. (b) Sub-Component A2: Water production and bulk transmission system (total estimated cost US$27.01 million of which IDA is US$11.93 million) - This component will finance the rehabilitation and expansion of water production and transmission systems including the rehabilitation of the water intake, the rehabilitation and expansion of the pre-treatment and treatment facilities, the rehabilitation of the 24 km transmission system from Dvoinik intake to the town of Alat, the rehabilitation of 13 km transmission system from the town of Alat to the town of Karakul, and the rehabilitation and expansion of the transmission pumping stations and related water tanks. The increase in water production and transmission capacity from m3 per day currently to about 40,000 m3 per day will allow service coverage expansion both in the urban and rural areas of the districts of Alat and Karakul. (c)sub-component A3: Water distribution systems (total estimated cost US$6.44 million of which IDA is US2.85 million). This component will finance the rehabilitation and extension of water distribution systems, including treated water tanks, treated water pumping stations, disinfection systems, distribution networks, as well as the metering of about 7,200 existing household connections and the implementation of about 1,600 new meter household connection in the towns of Alat and Karakul. (d)sub-component A4: Operations and Maintenance Equipment and Facilities (total estimated cost US$0.90 million of which IDA is US$0.40 million). The Project will finance the procurement of operational machinery, vehicles and equipment, and related spare parts for improved operations and maintenance of the newly rehabilitated water supply system. (e)sub-component A5: Rural Water Systems Design Consultants (estimated cost US$1.30 million, of which IDA is US$ million). The Project will finance procurement of design Consultants that will assist the Bukhara Regional vodokanal and the PCU in the detailed design of the Alat and Karakul rural water systems including the definition of community participatory approaches. 2. Component B: Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building (estimated cost is US$0.40 million, of which IDA financing is US$0.40 million). This component will finance: (a) an assessment of the Alat and Karakul vodokanals and development of a business plan for improvements in their management and operation; (b) an assessment of BVK operations and management including its role in coordination of the water and

3 sanitation sector in the Bukhara region; (c) training to the staff of the Bukhara, Alat and Karakul Vodokanals in utility management, billing, collection, internal auditing, accounting and record keeping, and customer relations; (d) equipment and software necessary to improve the management and operations of the vodokanals; and (e) training program for vodokanal staff and management. 3. Component C: Feasibility Studies for Future Sewerage Investments in Alat and Karakul towns (estimated cost US$0.30 million of which IDA is US$0.30 million). This component will finance consultant studies to identify sewerage investments needs in the towns of Alat and Karakul. It is envisaged that the feasibility study will help financiers to consider financing the wastewater infrastructure sector in these towns. 4. Component D: Project Management (total estimated cost US$0.50 million of which IDA is US$0.50 million). This component will finance (i) incremental staffing, equipment and software at the BPCU and (ii) monitoring and evaluating (M&E) of project activities including customer surveys, (iii) annual financial audits of the project accounts and the district vodokanals and technical audits of the Project investments. The Bukhara Vodokanal audit is financed from the Bukhara and Samarkand Sewerage Project. 4. Project Location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis The project will cover urban areas of the Alat and Karakul towns in Bukhara region of Uzbekistan which is adjacent to the border of Turkmenistan. The town of Karakul (22,000 people) is about 60 km south-west from Bukhara city, and connects to the town of Alat (12,000 people) 15 km further through the highway M-37. The Alat town is located about 20 km away from the Uzbek-Turkmen border. The source of water for the cities of Alat and Karakul is the water of the Amu Darya River, which is an international waterway. The main water supply intake facility (called Dvoinik) that requires partial rehabilitation is located on the Amu-Bukhara canal - an irrigation channel that derives water from the Amu-Darya River approximately 15km upstream - at the border line with Turkmenistan. The Dvoinik site includes several infrastructure facilities such as the intake itself, sedimentation ponds, and a pumping station. The exact location of the water supply intake facility Dvoinik is in an area between Uzbek and Turkmen borders, but on the territory of Uzbekistan (as confirmed by the Government based on official maps). The quality of the intake water is high in turbidity and salinity; although the project area might have been impacted by extensive agricultural practices, traced concentration of pesticides have not been detected at the Dvoinik location based on analysis carried out by the Bukhara regional center of State sanitary epidemiological control. Two main reservoirs - Tudakul and Talimarjam - are both located off-stream and are quite far from the project s intake (e.g., 280 km). A dam is located on the Amu-Bukhara channel near the town of Farab about 10 km upstream of the intake in Turkmen territory.

4 However, this dam acts mainly as a water distribution facility and does not serve the function of water storage. 5. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists Ms Janis D. Bernstein (ECSS4) Ms Ruxandra Maria Floroiu (ECSS3) 6. Safeguard Policies Triggered No Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01) Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04) Forests (OP/BP 4.36) Pest Management (OP 4.09) Physical Cultural Resources (OP/BP 4.11) Indigenous Peoples (OP/BP 4.10) Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4.37) Projects on International Waterways (OP/BP 7.50) Projects in Disputed Areas (OP/BP 7.60) II. Key Safeguard Policy Issues and Their Management A. Summary of Key Safeguard Issues 1. Describe any safeguard issues and impacts associated with the proposed project. Identify and describe any potential large scale, significant and/or irreversible impacts: The proposed project is categorized as #B# in line with the OP/BP 4.01 on Environmental Assessment based on the fact that the project involves mainly rehabilitation and expansion of existing water supply infrastructure (e.g., distribution systems, transmission networks, treated water pumping stations, Dvoinik water intake, pre-treatment and treatment facilities) for potable water production and transmission in Alat and Karakul towns. The rehabilitation related impacts are localized and will be efficiently mitigated by applying international construction practice and planning. Such potential impacts may be related to: (i) dust, noise, vibration, temporary access restriction and temporary closure of traffic during works, (ii) improper disposal of construction related waste; (iii) temporary pollution of soil, groundwater and surface waters as a result of leaching of chemicals used sometimes as pipe coating or lining, and by accidental spillage of oil and other products used as lubricants and fuel during works; (iv) impacts and risks associated with leaks and spills of chlorine and other chemicals or safety hazards including worker safety specially related to dismantling of asbestos pipes; and (v) chance finds of physical cultural resources. These impacts will need to be properly managed during the rehabilitation phase by the contractor and closely supervised by Bukhara PCU, and designated supervisor engineer. Projects on International Waterways. The project will rehabilitate and expand capacity of the existing Dvoinik water intake which is located on an irrigation canal that draws

5 water from the Amu Darya River, an international waterway. The rehabilitation works will increase the amount of water abstracted from m3 per day currently to m3 per day, which will allow service coverage expansion both in the urban and rural areas of the districts of Alat and Karakul. Formal treaties are in place between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan for the shared management and use of Amudarya waters. Statements from responsible government agencies were received confirming that the additional volumes to be extracted due to the project are within the share of Amudarya waters allowed for Uzbekistan. Nevertheless, in line with OP/BP 7.50, the Government of Uzbekistan has notified riparian countries (Turkmenistan) about the scope of the project and relevant investments. Comments on project information are requested and shared with the Bank within 30 days from the date of letter submission to riparians (e.g., April 4, 2011). No major impacts on Physical Cultural Resources (PCR) are expected during the project implementation, yet attention will be paid to the possibility of built PCR or chance finds being affected by dust and vibration during works. The project will also finance the detailed design and works supervision of rehabilitation and expansion works on existing water production in rural areas as well as feasibility studies (FS) for future sewerage investments in Alat and Karakul. The TORs for these studies will ensure that environmental and social safeguard issues are addressed, such that the resulting design/fs would be acceptable for World Bank investment. The water supply system that supplies the Alat and Karakul districts relies on the water intake on the Amu-Bukhara channel. A structure is located on this channel near the town of Farab, 10 km upstream of the intake (in Turkmen territory). The borrower provided information on the nature of this facility and clarified that the Farab facility is in fact a hydrocenter with the role of water distribution but with no storage function. Based on the clarification provided by the borrower, the Safety of Dams policy is not triggered. Land Acquisition. The Project triggers the World Bank#s Operational Policy 4.12 (Involuntary Resettlement) because the Project is expected to involve some land acquisition. During project preparation, the screening by the consultants carrying out the social assessment, the Bukhara Vodokanal, and the World Bank team established that the proposed Project is likely to involve permanent or temporary land acquisition for the rehabilitation of existing pipelines or construction of new pipelines in areas not currently served. If land is needed for these investments, it is envisaged that the Project would involve state-owned land located on existing rights of way designated for municipal infrastructure, and not occupied by residents (legal or illegal) or enterprises. Along some rights of way, however, it may be necessary to cut trees or remove other structures that may be close to the rights of way. However, none of the civil works are expected to involve displacement of any residents or enterprises. For the large infrastructure such as the water treatment plant and the Dovinik intake, land acquisition will not be required because these facilities occupy their own fenced-in sites used only for these facilities.

6 2. Describe any potential indirect and/or long term impacts due to anticipated future activities in the project area: Water and soil pollution could remain temporarily affected during operational phase of the project (once works are finalized) due to accidental water bursts (at pumping stations or along the rehabilitated water supply networks) potential natural disasters and extreme climate events (e.g. floods, earthquakes) or improper household wastewater management generated due to the new domestic water use in the project area. Overall and in the longterm, the project is expected to have a positive impact on the environment and on the beneficiaries# quality of life. 3. Describe any project alternatives (if relevant) considered to help avoid or minimize adverse impacts. The Feasibility Study did not analyze clearly any other project alternatives. If the current proposed technical solution will not be implemented, water will continue to be wasted and infiltration into ground water will continue to affect the environment. Options considered relate to technical design such as the location of parts of the infrastructure (e.g., the filtration plant). The option of wells or boreholes in the rural areas was briefly considered in the feasibility study but was found not feasible due to the deterioration of quality of such water due to high salinity and excessive related agricultural use. In the elaboration of the feasibility study for rural areas that will be prepared during project implementation, this option will be reconsidered depending on the local conditions. 4. Describe measures taken by the borrower to address safeguard policy issues. Provide an assessment of borrower capacity to plan and implement the measures described. The central Project Coordination unit located in Tashkent (PCU) and Oblast level Bukhara vodokanal, through the branch Bukhara Project Coordination Unit (BPCU) # are the two main entities with responsibilities to implement this proposed project. The PCU and the BPCU manage two Bank financed projects in the water supply and sanitation sector in the Bukhara and Samarkand districts (one project closed in June 2009). The projects are EA category #B# thus these entities are exposed to Bank safeguard procedures on OP/BP 4.01 including preparation, disclosure and implementation of EMPs. Bank#s safeguards supervision reviews based on missions, site visits and evaluation of progress monitoring reports found that the Borrower has good capacity to implement mitigation measures and monitoring actions that are agreed in the EMP. These measures and their monitoring will be incorporated in the terms of references of design and supervision consultants and in the responsibilities of contractors in the bidding documents. A draft EIA with EMP satisfactory to the Bank requirements and related national laws was prepared by BPCU to help them implement the necessary measures to minimize potential negative environmental impacts and implement the project in an environmentally sound and sustainable manner. The EMP with updated environmental baseline information (e.g., water quality) will be revised in line with the detail designs# findings once they are prepared during project implementation.

7 Although the Bukhara Vodokanal produced a RPF satisfactory to the Bank, both the Bukhara Vodokanal and local PCU have not had direct experience preparing or implementing a RAP. Thus the Project Launch will include clear guidance to these entities on how to carry out its OP 4.12 responsibilities during project implementation. In addition, the Bank#s supervision missions will include a social development and safeguard specialist to provide continued guidance to the local PCU in implementing the RPF, and in preparing and implementing any subsequent RAPs. 5. Identify the key stakeholders and describe the mechanisms for consultation and disclosure on safeguard policies, with an emphasis on potentially affected people. The main stakeholders include the Government of Uzbekistan/ Uzkommunkhizmat, Bukhara vodokanal, the Alat and Karakul vodokanals, local institutions involved in monitoring of environmental and social aspects, and Alat and Karakul population located in the project area. In preparing a Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF), the client, in January 2011, carried out discussions with a range of stakeholders about the project and potential impacts. In February 2011, the borrower disclosed the draft RPF on the national website and carried out public consultations in the project area. On February 25, 2011, the Bank cleared the final RPF, and both the English and Russian versions of the RPF were sent to the Bank#s InfoShop. The Bank team informed the client that as soon as the specific locations of land to be acquired are known, the borrower will need to prepare a specific Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) consistent with the principles of the RPF, obtain the Bank#s clearance of the RAP before it may be implemented, and then deliver the agreed compensation to all affected parties before any of the planned civil works may commence. The draft EIA with EMP has been publicly disclosed in local language on February 2, 2011 and discussed during meetings held in Alat and Karakul on February 5, The draft EIA report including minutes of the public meetings and the Bank review comments was disclosed in Infoshop on March 14, B. Disclosure Requirements Date Environmental Assessment/Audit/Management Plan/Other: Was the document disclosed prior to appraisal? Date of receipt by the Bank 01/28/2011 Date of "in-country" disclosure 02/02/2011 Date of submission to InfoShop 03/14/2011 For category A projects, date of distributing the Executive Summary of the EA to the Executive Directors Resettlement Action Plan/Framework/Policy Process: Was the document disclosed prior to appraisal? Date of receipt by the Bank 02/21/2011 Date of "in-country" disclosure 02/05/2011

8 Date of submission to InfoShop 02/25/2011 Indigenous Peoples Plan/Planning Framework: Was the document disclosed prior to appraisal? Date of receipt by the Bank Date of "in-country" disclosure Date of submission to InfoShop Pest Management Plan: Was the document disclosed prior to appraisal? Date of receipt by the Bank Date of "in-country" disclosure Date of submission to InfoShop * If the project triggers the Pest Management and/or Physical Cultural Resources, the respective issues are to be addressed and disclosed as part of the Environmental Assessment/Audit/or EMP. If in-country disclosure of any of the above documents is not expected, please explain why: C. Compliance Monitoring Indicators at the Corporate Level (to be filled in when the ISDS is finalized by the project decision meeting) OP/BP/GP Environment Assessment Does the project require a stand-alone EA (including EMP) report? If yes, then did the Regional Environment Unit or Sector Manager (SM) review and approve the EA report? Are the cost and the accountabilities for the EMP incorporated in the credit/loan? OP/BP Involuntary Resettlement Has a resettlement plan/abbreviated plan/policy framework/process framework (as appropriate) been prepared? If yes, then did the Regional unit responsible for safeguards or Sector Manager review the plan? OP Projects on International Waterways Have the other riparians been notified of the project? If the project falls under one of the exceptions to the notification requirement, has this been cleared with the Legal Department, and the memo to the RVP prepared and sent? Has the RVP approved such an exception? The World Bank Policy on Disclosure of Information Have relevant safeguard policies documents been sent to the World Bank s Infoshop? Have relevant documents been disclosed in-country in a public place in a form and language that are understandable and accessible to project-affected groups and local NGOs? All Safeguard Policies N/A N/A

9 Have satisfactory calendar, budget and clear institutional responsibilities been prepared for the implementation of measures related to safeguard policies? Have costs related to safeguard policy measures been included in the project cost? Does the Monitoring and Evaluation system of the project include the monitoring of safeguard impacts and measures related to safeguard policies? Have satisfactory implementation arrangements been agreed with the borrower and the same been adequately reflected in the project legal documents? D. Approvals Signed and submitted by: Name Date Task Team Leader: Mr Pier Francesco Mantovani 03/18/2011 Environmental Specialist: Ms Ruxandra Maria Floroiu 03/17/2011 Social Development Specialist Ms Janis D. Bernstein 03/17/2011 Additional Environmental and/or Social Development Specialist(s): Approved by: Sector Manager: Mr Wael Zakout 03/18/2011 Comments: