Multitranche Financing Facility Socialist Republic of Viet Nam: Power Transmission Investment Program

Transcription

1 [VIE MFF0066 PFR2] POWER TRANSMISSION INVESTMENT PROGRAM Initial Environmental Examination July 2012 Multitranche Financing Facility Socialist Republic of Viet Nam: Power Transmission Investment Program Tranche 2 Prepared by National Power Transmission Corporation for the Asian Development Bank. This initial environmental examination 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.

2 National Power Transmission Corporation Socialist Republic of Vietnam TA 7742-VIE: POWER TRANSMISSION INVESTMENT PROGRAM (MFF) Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500 kv Transmission Line Initial Environmental Examination DRAFT July 2012 This initial environmental examination 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.

3 CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (09 May 2012) Currency unit - dong (D) D $ $ D20, ACRONYMS ADB Asian Development Bank AP Affected person/s B&C Bid and Contract Document CAP Community Awareness Program CEMP Contractor s Environmental Plan (prepared by contractor) CHSP Community Health and Safety Plan (prepared by contractor) CLO Community Liaison Officer CPMB Central Power Projects Management Board CSE Site Engineer (Contractor s representative) DE Design Engineer EA Executing Agency EARF Environmental and Review Framework EHSO Environmental Health and Safety Officer (Contractor s staff) EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMP Environmental Management Plan EO Environmental Officer ERP Emergency Response Procedure FPD Forest Protection Department (part of MARD) GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism GoV Government of Vietnam HSP Health and Safety Plan (prepared by contractor) IA Implementing Agency IEE Initial Environmental Examination IES International Environmental Specialist MARD Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development MONRE Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources MSDS Material Safety Data Sheet SE Project Supervising Engineer (employed by IA, responsible for construction supervision) PECC-4 Power Engineering Consulting Joint Stock Company 4 PPE Personal Protective Equipment PPTA Project Preparation Technical Assistance RP Resettlement Plan RoW Right of Way SCD Social and Community Development Specialist WS Work Statement UXO Unexploded Ordnance 2

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY... A. INTRODUCTION... A.1.1 Purpose of the Report... 9 A.1.2 Approach to IEE preparation A.1.3 Report Structure B. POLICY, LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK B.1 ADB Policies B.2 Vietnam Environmental Legislation and Supporting Regulations B.2.1 Environmental Legislation B.2.2 Other Related Laws, Decrees and Circulars B.2.3 Legal Documents and Approvals Required for the Project B.2.4 Legislation that will also support the project B.2.5 The EIA Process and Requirements in Vietnam B.2.6 Associated Institutions B.3 International Environmental Conventions and Protocols C. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT C.1 Technical Description C.1.1 Gia Lai Province: Sections 1-3: Pleiku substation to G13 ( km) C.1.2 Dak Lak Province: Sections 4-5: ( km) C.1.3 Dak Nong Province: Sections 6-9: ( km) C.1.4 Binh Phuoc Province: Sections ( km) C.1.5 Binh Duong Province: Sections ( km) C.1.6 Ho Chi Minh City: Section 15: G83-G86 ( km) C.1.7 Right of Way and Land Requirements D. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT D.1 Physical Environment D.1.1 Topography Geology and Soils D.1.2 Climate D.2 Water Resources D.3 Biological Environment D.3.1 Vegetation and Land Use D.3.2 Wildlife D.3.3 Conservation Areas D.3.4 Invasive Alien Species D.4 Socio-economic Conditions D.4.1 Population D.4.2 Ethnic Groups D.4.3 Project affected people D.4.4 Social Infrastructure D.4.5 Local Economy D.4.6 Communications D.4.7 Cultural and Heritage Sites D.4.8 UXO (unexploded ordinance) E. ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES E.1 Pre-construction Impacts and Mitigation Measures E.1.1 Loss of Property within RoW E.1.2 Loss of Forests E.1.3 Encroachment Into Areas Of Cultural/Historical Significance E.1.4 Encroachment Into Ecologically Significant Areas E.1.5 Impact On Aesthetics

5 E.1.6 Presence Of Unexploded Ordnances E.2 Potential Impacts During The Construction Phase E.2.1 Clearing of the Right of Way E.2.2 Access to sites: Soil erosion and Water Quality E.2.3 Excavation of tower bases: Soil Erosion and Water Quality E.2.4 Additional Impacts On Water Quality E.2.5 Impacts On Air Quality E.2.6 Vibration E.2.7 Noise E.2.8 Generation Of Construction Wastes E.2.9 Disruption To Traffic E.2.10 Damage To Infrastructure E.2.11 Occupational Health And Safety E.2.12 Community Health And Safety E.3 Impacts During The Operational Phase E.3.1 Occupational Health and Safety E.3.2 Community Health And Safety E.3.3 Risks And Emergencies Associated With Transmission Lines and Substations E.3.4 Management and control of vegetation including invasive species along the Transmission Line E.3.5 Bird Collisions E.3.6 Restriction On Development In Transmission Line Row F. ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES F.1.1 Alternatives to Technology F.1.2 Alternatives to Design F.1.3 Alternatives to Operation F.1.4 The no project alternative F.1.5 Reasons for selection of the proposed site G. INFORMATION DISCLOSURE, CONSULTATION AND PARTICIPATION... H. GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM... H.1 Purpose of the Mechanism H.2 Access to the Mechanism H.3 The Grievance Redress Mechanism H.3.1 Prior to Construction H.3.2 During Construction and During Operation I. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN I.1 Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Measures Needed during the Design/Pre- Construction Phase I.2 Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Measures Needed during Construction I.3 Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Measures Needed during Operation I.4 Monitoring I.5 Implementation Arrangements I.5.1 Implementation Schedule I.5.2 Institutional Arrangements I.5.3 Reporting Requirements I.5.4 Staff Requirements I.5.5 Capacity Building I.5.6 Budget J. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS... REFERENCES... 4

6 FIGURES Figure 1: Location of the Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500 kv transmission line in relation to the overall transmission system Figure 2: Layout of Tower Figure 3: 500kV Feeder Bay at Pleiku Substation Figure 4: Location of 500kV Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong transmission line with regard to natural conservation areas Figure 5: Grievance Redress Procedure TABLES Table 1: Environment Protection Laws and Associated Legal Instruments Table 2: Power Network Legislation and Associated Legal Instruments Table 3: Land and Construction Legislation and Associated Legal instruments Table 4: Project Documents and Approvals Table 5: Summary of main features of 500 kv Transmission Line Table 6: Summary of Transmission Line Sections Table 7: Length of Transmission Line in each Province Table 8: Permanent and Temporary Land Take along the RoW Table 9: Elevation classes along Transmission Line Table 10: Slope Classes along Transmission Line Table 11: Climate Data for Pleiku, Da Lat and Vung Tau for Table 12: Number of Thunderstorm Days Table 13: Vegetation and Land Use by Province within RoW Table 14: Population distribution within the project area Table 15: Total number of people/hhs affected within ROW Table 16: Protected and Production Forest Loss within RoW Table 17: Comparison of line route alternatives Table 18: ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN Table 19: ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PLAN Table 20: Budget requirements ANNEXES Annex 1: EIA Approval Decision by MONRE (translation) Annex 2: Letter from Forest Protection Department (translation) Annex 3: Rapid Environmental Assessment Annex 4: Terms Of Reference For Environmental Safeguard Positions Annex 5: List Of Machinery That May Be Required During Construction - All Construction Sites Annex 6: Public Consultation Annex 7: Site Photos

7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (GoV) has requested the ADB for financing to construct transmission lines and substations that will improve access to a quality and reliable supply of electricity in Vietnam. The Power Transmission Investment Program will be financed through a Multi-tranche Financing Facility (MFF) of the ADB. The power transmission network expansion program is expected to contribute to improving system reliability and quality of electrical supply to industrial, commercial and residential consumers throughout Vietnam. It will (i) facilitate power transfers; (ii) remove transmission bottlenecks: and (iii) reduce transmission losses and voltage fluctuations. The National Power Transmission Corporation (NPT) of Vietnam will be the Executing Agency (EA) while the Central Power Project Management Board (CPMB) will be the Implementing Agency (IA) for the project. 2. Preliminary design for the project has been completed including the preparation of an EIA to meet GoV Ministry of Environment. The EIA was approved in August 2011 and the project approved by the Prime Ministers Department in September Based on the ADB s Safeguard Policy Statement 2009 (SPS) the project has been categorised as a Category B project which requires an IEE. The IEE that has been prepared for this project is based on material that was prepared by PECC-4 for the EIA to meet GoV requirements together with additional material inserted to strengthen the report. Following approval of the IEE by the ADB the EMP will become a condition of the loan. 3. The construction of the 500 kv Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong transmission line will meet the rapidly growing electricity demand in southern Vietnam by initially allowing transfer of surplus energy in central Vietnam to the south and connecting to generation plants in southern Laos that will export power to the GoV network. Additionally the transmission line will assist in meeting GoV targets of connecting 90% of households by 2020 and 100% by The proposed project will allow CPMB to meet the increased power demand in the southern region of Vietnam which will contribute to maintaining economic growth within this area by improving reliability of transmission and security of power supply. The project will be funded as the second tranche of four tranches in a 730M USD loan made to the GoVN which will cover transmission distribution systems throughout Vietnam. The total cost of the project is 415M USD. 5. The proposed transmission line is 437km long and starts at the Pleiku substation and terminates at Cau Bong substation at Ho Chi Minh City. An intervening substation is planned to be constructed at My Phuoc 407km from Pleiku. The transmission line will be a double circuit 500kV transmission line with the conductors carried on steel towers situated within a 32m wide RoW. Ancillary work includes the extension of the Pleiku substation, construction of a new substation at Cau Bong and the later construction of a further substation at My Phuoc. The transmission line traverses six provinces and follows a general north south direction. To avoid heavily populated areas the transmission line is mainly located in the lower foothills of the Truong Son mountains that defines the Vietnam - Lao PDR - Cambodia border. Construction of the transmission line is expected to take 2 years and is planned to commence in The IEE reviews the environmental impacts associated with the construction of the transmission line and is based on information gathered in the EIA. Field verification inspections were carried out especially to evaluate a possible concern that the transmission line may traverse an area that might be potentially acquired for a nature reserve. Following extensive consultation and checking with the Forest Protection 6

8 Department of MARD at both central and provincial level it has been conclusively verified that the transmission line route does not traverse any existing or planned conservation area. 7. The IEE report has reviewed the environmental impacts associated with the project and has developed a comprehensive EMP to address these activities. The main impact will be the clearing of 40 ha of protective forest within the 32 m wide RoW. An equivalent area will be replanted. Construction impacts are concentrated at 928 towers along the 437 km length where temporary access will be required and the excavation of about 545m 3 of earth and rock will be required for each tower foundation. 8. Land acquisition includes the permanent acquisition of 32 ha for the towers while 1399 ha will be temporarily acquired for the RoW. Low crops can continue to be grown within the RoW providing these do not intrude into the safe operating distance required for the conductor. Within the RoW 360 houses that are situated within the 32m wide RoW will be required to be removed to new areas outside the RoW while a further 830 houses within 72 m of the transmission line have been identified as requiring earth grounding. 9. Land ownership and compensation issues have been addressed by a Resettlement Plan which will be implemented by the Central Power Projects Management Board (CPMB). 10. The transmission line traverses the Central Highlands an area that has lagged behind the rest of Vietnam in terms of development and has limited but improving levels of social infrastructure. The Central Highlands is also home to the majority of Vietnam s ethnic minorities. 11. The right of way in which all work will be undertaken is already highly disturbed and consists of a range of human induced land uses. While 40 ha of scattered, stunted Dry Dipterocarp forest will be cleared the forest consists of diminished conservation value and no significant habitats will be affected by the transmission line. No primary forest will be affected and no significant flora or fauna will be affected by the project. 12. During operation the main issue will be keeping the RoW clear of vegetation. Hand clearing will be arranged as a series of contracts with local communities. 13. An Environmental Management Plan (EMP) has been prepared for implementation and addresses all phases of the project. The EMP outlines potential environmental impacts, mitigation measures, monitoring responsibilities and institutional requirements to implement the EMP. 14. Public consultation was undertaken at the central, provincial, district and community levels. There was overall support for the project at all levels and the main comments received mainly concerned construction impacts such as dust and noise. A Grievance Redress Mechanism has been developed to facilitate resolution of affected people s concerns. The mechanism is compatible with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MONRE) legislated system. 15. NPT appointed their first Environment Officer to their Technical Division in February This person will have the overall responsibility for supervising compliance with the EMP of the CPMB and SPMB in the implementation of respective EMPs and EMoP of each sub-project under the sector loan. An amount of $210,000 will be provided under the loan for the hiring of the International Environment Specialist of the NPT. 7

9 16. The cost of implementing the EMP is $504,0000 and includes $100,000 for replanting 40 ha of forest. This cost will be met from the MFF tranche and includes $194,000 for the hiring of three national environment safeguards specialists to help strengthen the environmental safeguards within CPMB. 8

10 A. INTRODUCTION 17. The Government of Vietnam (GoVN) has requested the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to provide a loan to construct new electricity distribution systems including a 437 km long 500kV transmission line from Pleiku to Cau Bong via My Phuoc in southern Vietnam. The project is prepared under the Project Preparation Technical Assistance (PPTA) No VIE and is part of the Power Transmission Investment Program (MFF). The proponent and Executing Agency (EA) for the loan is the National Power Transmission Corporation (NPT), Vietnam s state-owned electricity transmission company which is responsible for the planning and nation wide distribution of electricity. The Central Power Project Management Board (CPMB) is responsible for the operation of the power system in central Vietnam and will be the Implementing Agency (IA) for the project. 18. The objective of the technical assistance is to confirm the planning of various transmission lines and substations that have been identified by NPT for funding by the ADB. NPT has identified the Pleiku My Phuoc - Cau Bong transmission line as a high priority project and is one of several projects for construction or upgrading over the next 10 years in order to meet its target of connecting 90% of the population to electricity by 2020 and 100% by The Feasibility Study that was carried out for this project (PECC-4, 2010), shows that energy demand in the southern part of Vietnam is growing at 14% per year. At this rate and with limited new generation coming on line the current energy shortfall of 14% balloons out to 25% by From 2016 energy supply will return to a surplus as additional generation comes on stream from both domestic suppliers and from energy imported from Lao PDR. The proposed 500kV transmission line from Pleiku in the Central Highlands to Ho Ch Minh City will meet this demand by connecting to sources of surplus domestic energy in the Central Highlands and from electricity imported from southern Lao PDR. 19. The benefits of the project will be an enhanced and more reliable energy supply to the southern part of Vietnam. South Vietnam is growing rapidly and is the most industrialised and densely settled part of the country with about 10 % of the population living in southern Vietnam. Since unification southern Vietnam has continued to be the main source of economic growth for the Republic The loan of 730M USD is prepared as a multi-funded financing facility (MFF) and will be delivered as a series of four tranches that will be released over 7 years until The construction of the Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong transmission line together with the extension of the Pleiku substation will be funded under the second tranche. A new substation will be constructed at Cau Bong but as this is being funded by the World Bank who have conducted their own safeguards assessment of the site it is not reviewed in this IEE. A further substation is required at My Phuoc (407 km from Pleiku) but as this substation is not required until sometime after the transmission line is completed the My Phuoc substation is not reviewed at this stage. Two small optical repeater stations will also be required to boost signals within the fibre optical cable. 21. Based on the ADB s Safeguard Policy Statement 2009 (SPS), the proposed project has been classified as category B and requires the preparation of an IEE. A.1.1 Purpose of the Report 1 Vietnam has a total population of million people of which Ho Chi Minh City has 7.4 million people. (Vietnam Statistical Handbook, 2010) 9

11 22. This IEE assesses the environmental impacts associated with the construction and operation of the proposed Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500kV transmission line. The IEE is intended to meet the requirements of SPS 2009 for Category B projects and follows the prescribed ADB format for preparing IEEs. The IEE aims to describe the proposed project with regard to its location and assess the potential impacts of the project in the existing environment and community. The location of the transmission line is shown in Fig The objectives of the IEE are to: i. Following a review of the IEE prepared by PECC-4 re-issue the IEE in the ADB format. ii. iii. iv. Assess the existing environmental conditions in the project area including the identification of environmentally sensitive areas; Assess the proposed location, design, construction and operation of the 500kV transmission line to identify potential impacts and determine their significance; Develop an EMP that will prevent or minimise adverse environmental impacts to acceptable levels; and v. Develop an environmental monitoring plan, including institutional responsibilities that will monitor significant environmental parameters of the project. A.1.2 Approach to IEE preparation 24. Planning of the transmission line is well advanced and to date the project Feasibility Study was completed in 2010 together with the initial design. As part of the study and to meet GoV project development requirements an EIA was completed by PECC-4 for NPT which was submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MONRE) who approved the EIA in August Following this the project was submitted to the Prime Ministers Department for approval which was given in September Construction is planned to commence in Power Engineering Joint Stock Company 4 (PECC-4) undertook the environmental assessment under instruction from CPMB and initially prepared an EIA in Vietnamese to meet Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) requirements. Following the approach to the ADB for funding PECC-4 also prepared an IEE in English which draws on the content of the EIA. The IEE as prepared by PECC-4 has been re-issued here with substantial editing and inclusion of new material to meet the requirements of the ADB safeguards. 26. The information used in the IEE is based on data from the EIA and IEE prepared by PECC-4, site visits, secondary sources, and information gathered from community and stakeholder consultations previously undertaken for the project. Of particular concern was the need to verify that the RoW did not traverse any nature reserves. This was checked by interviews with (i) the Director of Forest Protection Department within the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) who are responsible for the determination and management of nature reserves within Vietnam and (ii) at the provincial level at Gia Lai and Dak Lak. 2 The Approval Decision for the EIA issued by MONRE is attached to the IEE as Annex 1. 10

12 27. The Environmental Categorization Form and Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA) checklist was used to screen the impacts and determine the environmental category of the proposed project. The environmental impacts have been assessed within the primary impact zone which is determined by the transmission line RoW of 32m while a secondary impact zone includes communities living outside the RoW who may be affected by the construction of the transmission line. 28. Public consultation was undertaken as part of the original EIA and as this was shown to be particularly robust limited informal community consultation was undertaken during the IEE. The national environmental consultant attended meetings held with local communities and district and provincial officers that had been arranged by the social and resettlement specialists to verify the original records. A.1.3 Report Structure 29. The report structure follows the format outlined in Annex to Appendix 1 of the Asian Development Bank Safeguard Policy Statement, June The IEE consists of eleven sections: A, Executive Summary; B, Introduction; C, Policy, Legal and Administrative Framework; D, Technical description of the project; E, Description of the Environment; F, Anticipated Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Measures; G, Analysis of Alternatives; H, Information Disclosure, Consultation, and Participation; I, Grievance Redress Mechanism; J, Environmental Management Plan; K, Conclusions and Recommendations. A series of annexes is provided at the end of the report to support the report findings. 11

13 Bansok substn Lao PDR Connection from Lao PDR Pleiku substn km 0 Red line = 500 kv Pleiku My Phuoc Cau Bong Trans Line My Phuoc substn km 407 Cau Bong substn km 437 Ho Chi Minh City distribution area Figure 1: Location of the Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500 kv transmission line in relation to the overall transmission system 12

14 B. POLICY, LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK B.1 ADB Policies 30. All ADB financed projects are required to undergo environmental assessment to ensure the environmental soundness and sustainability of the projects. It also aims to support the integration of the environmental considerations in the decision making process. 31. The ADB s Safeguard Policy Statement, June 2009 (SPS) clarifies the rationale, scope and content an environmental assessment as supported by the technical guidelines (Environmental Assessment Guidelines, 2003). The initial screening of the project to determine its environmental category was carried out using the Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA) Checklist for Transmission Lines as attached to the SPS. Accordingly the proposed project was categorised as a Category B project which requires an IEE. 32. The SPS emphasizes the need for effective implementation of the environmental safeguards which are to: Avoid possible impacts of projects on the environment and affected people, where possible minimise, mitigate and/or compensate for adverse project impacts on the environment and affected people when avoidance is not possible; and help borrowers/clients to strengthen their safeguard systems and develop the capacity to manage environmental and social risks. 33. The SPS contains a number of operational principles that includes the requirement to ensure that the measures identified during the impact assessment are included in the EMP and are implemented in agreement with the borrower. The borrower/client is required to monitor the progress of implementation of the EMP, document the monitoring results, identify necessary corrective actions and reflect them in a corrective action plan. Periodic monitoring reports on implementation of the EMP are submitted to the ADB on a semi-annual basis during construction of projects with significant adverse environmental impacts and quarterly for highly complex and sensitive projects. During operation, reporting to the ADB for projects with significant adverse impacts is required on an annual basis. B.2 Vietnam Environmental Legislation and Supporting Regulations 34. Legislation and supporting instruments that the project will have to comply with are presented in this section. Also presented are legal documents and approvals required for the project that have been issued by the national and local governments. These documents are issued in Vietnamese and only the outlines to the documents are provided here. B.2.1 Environmental Legislation 35. Environmental impact assessment and management in Vietnam is addressed by the Environment Protection Law No. 52/2005/QH11 adopted on 29 th November

15 which became effective from 1 st July The EPL is supported by six Decrees, seven Circulars and one Decision as follows: Table 1: Environment Protection Laws and Associated Legal Instruments Description 36. Law Environment Protection Law 52/2005/QH11 Date issued: 29/11/2005 Biodiversity Law, No. 20/2008/QH12, 2009 Decrees Decree 29/2011/ NĐ- CP Date issued: 18/04/2011 Decree 04/2009/ND- CP Date issued:14/01/2009 Decree 117/2009/ND- CP Date issued:31/12/2009 Decree 21/2008/ NĐ- CP Date issued: 28/02/2008 Decree 59/2006/ND- CP Date issued: 09/4/2007 Decree 80/2006/NĐ- CP Date issued: 09/08/2006 Circulars MoNRE Circular No. 26/2011/TT- BTNMT Date issued: 18/7/2011 MoNRE Circular No. 12/2011/TT- BTNMT Date issued: 14/14/2011 Regulates environmental protection activities; policies, measures and resources for protection of the environment; and the rights and obligations of organizations, family households and individuals with respect to protection of the environment. Pursuant to the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which was amended and supplemented under Resolution 51/2001/QH10 dated on December 25, 2001 of the Xth National Assembly, the 10th session; this Law stipulates biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. Regulation on the strategic environmental assessment, environmental impact assessment and environmental protection commitment. This Decree takes effect on June 5, 2011, and replaces Articles 6 thru 17 of the Government s Decree No. 80/2006/ND-CP of August 9, 2006, detailing and guiding a number of articles of the Environmental Protection Law; and Clauses 3 thru 10, Article 1 of the Government s Decree No.21/2008/ND-CP of February 28, 2008, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 80/2006/ND-CP of August 9, 2006, detailing and guiding a number of articles of the Environmental Protection Law. Incentives and support for environment protection activities. Regulation on sanctioning administrative violations in environmental protection Amending and supplementing some articles of Decree 80/2006/NĐ- CP detailing the guidelines in the implementation of Environment Protection Law. Regulation on solid waste management Detailing the guidelines in the implementation of a number of articles of the Environmental Protection Law regarding environmental standards; strategic environmental assessment; environmental impact assessment and environmental protection commitments; environmental protection in production, business and services; hazardous waste management; and disclosure of environmental information and data. Detailing the guidelines on the implementation of a number of articles of the Decree 29/2011/ NĐ-CP. Dated 18/04/2011 regarding strategic environmental assessment; environmental impact assessment and environmental protection commitments. Regulation on hazardous waste management 14

16 MoNRE Circular 39/2010/TT-BTNMT Date issued: 16/12/2010 MoNRE Circular 25/2009/TT-BTNMT Date issued: 16/11/2009 MoNRE Circular No. 16/2009/TT- BTNMT Date issued: 07/10/2009 MoNRE Circular 05/2008/TT-BTNMT Date issued: 08/12/2008 National Technical Regulation on Noise (QCVN 26:2010/BTNMT) and Vibration (QCVN 27:2010/BTNMT). National Technical Regulation on hazardous waste threshold (QCVN 07: 2009/BTNMT), among others. National Technical Regulation on air quality (QCVN 05: 2009/BTNMT) and hazardous substance in ambient air (QCVN 06: 2009/BTNMT) Guiding strategic environment assessment, environmental impact assessment, and environment protection commitment. MONRE Circular No. 04/2008/TT-BTNMT Date issued: 18/09/2008 Decisions MoNRE Decision No. 16/2008/QĐ- BTNMT Date issued: 31/12/2008 Guidance on preparation, approval or certification of environment protection proposal, checking and inspection on implementation of environment protection proposal. National Technical Regulation on environment regarding surface water quality (QCVN 08: 2008/BTNMT), underground water quality (QCVN 09: 2008/BTNMT, and domestic wastewater (QCVN 14: 2008/BTNMT), among others. B.2.2 Other Related Laws, Decrees and Circulars 37. Power Network Protection. The Electricity Law proscribes the detail for the power industry in such areas as development planning and investments, privileges and responsibilities of related organisations and individuals, protection of electrical equipment and facilities and safety. (Table 2). Table 2: Power Network Legislation and Associated Legal Instruments Law Description Electricity Law 28/2004/QH11 Date issued: 03/12/2004 Decrees Government Decree 81/2009/NĐ-CP Date issued: 12/10/2009 Government Decree105/2005/NĐ-CP Date issued: 17/08/2005 Government Decree 106/2005/NĐ-CP Date issued: 17/08/2005 Circulars Ministry of Construction (MOC) Circular No: 22/2010/TT-BXD Date issued: 03/12/2010 Prescribes the electricity development planning and investment; electricity saving; electricity markets; rights and obligations of organizations and individuals conducting electricity activities and also on the use of electricity; protection of electric equipment and facilities, electricity works and electrical safety. Amending and supplementing a number of articles of Government Decree No. 106/2005/NĐ-CP detailing the guidelines in the implementation of Electricity Law on safety protection of high voltage power grid works. Detailing the regulations and guidelines in the implementation of a number of articles of the Electricity Law Detailing the guidelines in the implementation of a number of articles of the Electricity Law regarding the safety protection of high-voltage power grids. Provides labor safety in work construction; construction and installation of equipment which are newly built, repaired, renovated, relocated, embellished or restored; dismantling of works; and warranty for and maintenance of works. 15

17 Ministry of Industry and Trade Circular No. 03/2010/TT-BCT Date issued: 22/01/2010 Ministry of Industry and Trade Circular No. 06/2006/TT-BCN Date issued: 26/09/2006 Regarding protection on high-voltage power network. Guidance for implementation of some articles in Decree No. 106/2005/ND-CP dated 17th August 2005 of the government. Source: IEE Power Engineering and Consulting Joint-stock Company No. 4 (PECC-4). Initial Environmental Examination for the Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500 kv Transmission Line 38. Land and Construction. Implementation guidelines for the Land Law, amendments, stipulations on land use, and details of compensation, support and resettlement are detailed in Government decrees and circulars. Legal instruments that apply to construction management and labour safety during the construction phase of investment projects are shown in Table 3. Table 3: Land and Construction Legislation and Associated Legal instruments Law Description Land Law Governs the powers and responsibilities of the State as owner of land No: 13/2003/QH11 and representative of the entire people for uniform administration of Date issued: 26/11/2003 land and the rights and obligations of land users Decrees Government Decree No: 69/2009/ND-CP Date issued: 13/08/2009 Government Decree No: 12/2009/ND-CP Date issued: 10/02/2009 Government Decree No: 84/2007/ND-CP Date issued:25/05/2007 Government Decree No: 17/2006/ND-CP Date issued:27/01/2006 Government Decree No: 197/2004/ND-CP Date issued: 03/12/2004 Government Decree No: 181/2004/ND-CP Date issued:26/11/2004 Circulars and Dispatch Circular No: 22/2010/TT-BXD Date issued: 03/12/2010 MoNRE Circular No: 14/2009/TT-BTNMT Date issued:01/10/2009 Government Official Dispatch No: 181/DC-CP Providing for land use planning, land pricing, land recovery, compensation, support and resettlement. Regulation on management of investment projects related to construction Ministry of Construction (MOC) Stipulating the grant of land use right certificates, recovery of land, exercise of land use rights, order and procedures for compensation, support and resettlement upon land recovery by the State, and settlement of land related complaints Amending and supplementing some articles of the decree guiding the implementation of Land Law 13/2003/QH11 Regulation on compensation, support, and resettlement on land recovered by the State Guidelines for the implementation of Land Law 13/2003/QH11 Provides labour safety in work construction; construction and installation of equipment which are newly built, repaired, renovated, relocated, embellished or restored; dismantling of works; and warranty for and maintenance of works. Detailing the compensation, support, resettlement and the order of and procedures for land recovery, allocation, and lease Correcting the Government Decree No. 69/2009/ND-CP (which additionally provides for land use planning, land prices, land recovery, compensation, support, and resettlement Date issued: 23/10/2009 Source: IEE Power Engineering and Consulting Joint-stock Company No. 4 (PECC-4). Initial Environmental Examination for the Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500 Transmission Line 16

18 B.2.3 Legal Documents and Approvals Required for the Project 39. Correspondence relating to the development of the project includes the following approvals which have been secured by the project. This includes approval from MONRE while the final approval to commence the project has been given by the Prime Minister s Department. Approvals have also been received from the six provinces where the transmission line or substations will be located. These and other legal documents and approvals secured for the project are shown in Table 4. Table 4: Project Documents and Approvals Documents and Approvals Office of the Prime Minister MONRE dated: 17/08/2011 Correspondence No. 5203/BTC-NL by MOIT dated June 13, 2011 Decision No. 331/QD-EVN dated May 27, 2011 by Member Council of Vietnam Electricity Correspondence No. 1363/VPCP-KTN by Government Office dated March Correspondence No. 3922/AMT-TD dated October 29, 2010 by CPMB Correspondence No. 2303/NPT-DTXD dated October 27, 2010 by National Power Transmission Corporation Correspondence No. 2851/AMT-KH+TD dated August 26, 2010 by CPMB Correspondence No. 1911/NPT-KH.DTXD dated August 23, 2010 by National Power Transmission Corporation Correspondence No. 1321/NPT-KH dated June 15, 2010 by National Power Transmission Corporation Correspondence No. 1870/EVN-KH dated May 14, 2010 by Vietnam Electricity Approval of the EIA Description Regarding alternative of Pleiku My Phuoc Cau Bong 500kV transmission line. On approving feasibility study of Pleiku My Phuoc Cau Bong 500kV transmission line. on agreement to invest in the Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500kV transmission line. on implementing Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500kV transmission line project. implementing Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500kV transmission line project. on establishing report on feasibility study of Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500kV transmission line project. on supplementary study of Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500kV transmission line project. on assigning consultant to implement Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500kV transmission line project. on applying Decision No. 1195/QD-TTg for transmission line projects connecting Highland hydropower plants to national grid. Source: IEE Power Engineering and Consulting Joint-stock Company No. 4 (PECC-4). Initial Environmental Examination for the Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500 kv Transmission Line B.2.4 Legislation that will also support the project The following legislation will also apply to the project: 40. Sand and gravel extraction operations are governed by the Mineral Law (amended and supplemented in 2005) and its regulations on mineral activities. All organizations and individuals that exploit river sand and gravel must be licensed by the state management agency- DONRE. Thus, the contractor can only source materials from suppliers or sites approved by DONRE. The contractor has no authority to extract sand or gravel without DONREs approval. Legal documents related to the minerals sector include: Mineral Law dated March 20, 1996; Law amending and supplementing some articles of the Mineral Law dated June 14, 2005; 17

19 Decree 160/2005/ND-CP dated 27/12/2005 Detailing and guiding the implementation of the Mineral Law and the Law amending and supplementing some articles of the Law on Mineral Resources Government Decree No. 150/2004/ND-CP dated 29/7/2004 stipulates for sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of minerals; Decree No. 68/1998/ND-CP dated 03/9/1998 detailing the implementation of the provisions of the Ordinance on Royalties (amended); Ministry of Finance's Circular No. 105/2005/TT-BTC November 30, 2005 guiding the implementation of Decree No. 137/2005/ND-CP dated 09/11/2005 of the Government on environment protection fee for mining activities; Circular on 15/7/ /1999/TT-BXD the Ministry of Construction guiding the implementation of Decree No. 11/1999/ND-CP dated 03/03/1999 of the Government for material goods construction and business conditions. Directive No. 16/2002/CT-TTg on 31/07/2002 of the Prime Minister on strengthening state management of exploration of sand and gravel combined with sand collection. 41. Vietnamese Labour Code - 23 June 1994 (as amended 2 April 2002 and effective 1 January 2003). The Labour Code protects the right to work, the interests and other rights of the labourer. At the same time it protects the rights and lawful interests of the labour user. Therefore creating conditions for the establishment of harmonious and stable labour relations, helping to develop the creativeness and talent of the intellectual and manual workers, of the labour managers in order to achieve productivity, quality and social progress in labour, production, service, efficiency in the use and management of labour, thus contributing to the industrialization and modernization of the country in the cause of bringing prosperity to the people and strength to the nation and building a just and civilized society. 42. Conditions of the Code are relevant to the health and safety of workers employed during construction and are reflected in the IEE. 43. Law on Cultural Heritage No. 28/2001/QH10 of June 29, This law aims to protect and promote the cultural heritage value, meet the people s increasing cultural demands, contribute to the building and development of the progressive Vietnamese culture deeply imbued with national identity and contribute to the world cultural heritage treasure; to enhance the State management effectiveness and raise the people s sense of responsibility for taking part in the protection and promotion of the cultural heritage value; 45. Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Cultural Heritage (Law No. 32/2009/QH12). The National Assembly promulgates the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of Law No. 28/2001/QH10 on Cultural Heritage. 46. Law On HIV/AIDS Prevention And Control (Law No. 64/2006/QH11). Pursuant to the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which was amended and supplemented under December 25, 2001 Resolution No. 51/2001/QH10 of the Xth National Assembly at its 10th session. This Law provides for HIV/AIDS prevention and control. 47. National Technical Regulation on drinking water quality. QCVN 01:2009/BYT, This Technical Regulation stipulates limits of quality criteria for water used for drinking and processing food (drinking water). This Technical Regulation applies to institutions, 18

20 organizations, individuals and households who exploit, trade drinking water, including piped water providers for domestic purposes with capacity of 1,000 m 3 /day or above. 48. National technical regulation on domestic water quality A.2.7 QCVN 02:2009/BYT, This Technical Regulation stipulates limits of quality criteria for water used for domestic use. This Technical Regulation applies to institutions, organizations, individuals and households who exploit, trade drinking water, including piped water providers for domestic purposes with capacity of less than 1,000 m 3 /day. B.2.5 The EIA Process and Requirements in Vietnam 49. EIA Process: Based on Decree No 29/2011/ND-CP issued on 18 April 2011 outlines the regulation on strategic environmental assessment, environmental impact assessment and environmental protection and came into effect on 05 June Categorization of transmission lines is now based on the voltage capacity of the transmission line and transmission lines with voltages greater than 110kV and located in more than one province are required to submit an EIA to MONRE. Should projects not be implemented within 36 months of the approval, the proponent is required to submit a new application. 50. The EIA report was prepared in accordance with Vietnam Law and approved by MONRE on 17 th August The EIA met the following requirements for approval which are attached to the EIA. These include: Submission of environmental screening to MONRE who advise that the project needs an EIA. Following preparation, the EIA findings are disclosed to the village communes. Subsequently approvals were received from the 76 communes and Father Front Committees. These approval letters are attached to the EIA. Following completion of the EIA and the obtaining of approvals the EIA is sent to MONRE to the Division of Appraisal and Evaluation. MONRE form a Review Panel consisting of relevant ministries. The EIA Review Panel approved the EIA. MONRE issues a letter of Approval on 17th August This allows the project to proceed. 51. At the time of preparation of this IEE, the environmental report of the project prepared in accordance with Vietnam Law is EIA Report which was performed in December, According to Vietnam Law, the project must prepare EIA and submit to MONRE for appraisal and approval. B.2.6 Associated Institutions 52. The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MONRE) is the Government agency performing the state management in the fields of land; water resources; mineral resources; geological environment; meteorology and hydrology; surveying, mapping; integrated management and general agreement on the sea and islands. It provides state management over public services in areas under its management. 53. MONRE consists of 24 departments/units, from which 18 assist the Minister performing the State management; the other 6 units are in service management functions. The Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA) was established according to the Decision No. 132/2008/QĐ-TTg by the Prime Minister. The VEA is a subsidiary body 19

21 under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) to advise and assist the Minister of the MONRE in the field of environment management and to provide public services in compliance with the laws. MONRE is represented at provincial and district level by DONRE which works through the People s Committees at provincial level. The EIA approval requires NPT to monitor the EMP and prepare a quarterly report on Environmental Performance which is submitted to DONREs. 54. The National Power Transmission Corporation (NPT) was established in 2008 when the transmission distribution system was split off from Electricity of Vietnam (EVN). NPT is responsible for operating the power transmission networks throughout the country and in ensuring construction investment in kV transmission projects and distribution systems at the national level. As NPT does not have any environmental staff, EVN who have an environment department review environmental assessments carried out on behalf of EPT. During project implementation, EVN train Technical Supervisors on behalf of NPT to supervise and monitor EMP requirements. To address the changing project requirements NPT has (i) issued a document 269/QD-NPT in 2008 requiring NPT s Technical Department in supervise and monitor environmental activities and (ii) is now recruiting a person to manage environmental issues who will be located in the Technical Department. 55. NPT is represented at three regional levels - north, central and southern by NPMB, CPMB and SPMB who manage the design and construction of transmission and substation networks. 56. Maintenance of transmission lines and substations is handled by four Power Transmission Companies; PTC1, PTC2, PTC3 and PTC4 respectively from the north to the south of Vietnam. B.3 International Environmental Conventions and Protocols 57. Vietnam is a party to the following conventions: the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, Ramsar Convention on Protection of Wetlands, Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, also known as the Washington Convention), Convention on Biological Diversity (known informally as the Biodiversity Convention), Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, Kyoto Protocol (on climate change). C.1 Technical Description C. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT 58. The 500 kv transmission line is 437 km long and starts at Pleiku substation in Gia Lai and will terminates at the Cau Bong substation in Ho Chi Minh City. The transmission line will be a double circuit line with three conductors carried on horizontal arms on either side of steel lattice towers. A 32 m wide right of way (RoW) i.e. 16m from either side of the centre line will be provided as well as an earth grounding zone for any houses that are situated from 16m to within 72m from the centre line. 20

22 59. A total of 928 galvanised steel lattice towers will be required of which 118 are tension towers and 810 will be suspension towers. Suspension towers will be located on straight sections. Tension towers are located on all angles and these will be constructed either as single or as double body towers. Towers will be between m in height with tower height being determined by the topography and the need to provide a minimum safe conductor sag height of 4.5m from the conductor to the ground. On flat land the towers will be able to be spaced at about 500m while in hilly terrain spacing will be controlled by topographical features. The highest towers will be located at river crossings which will be crossed in a single span. No towers will be erected within any river channel. Towers will be supported on four evenly spaced reinforced concrete foundations set apart at m depending on tower height. The land requirement that will be taken for each tower foundation is about 0.3ha and in total 32ha will need to be permanently acquired for the tower foundations. Figure 2 shows a typical design for the suspension towers. 60. The towers will support three ACSR-330/43 conductors per side which will be a 20mm diameter bundle of aluminium conductors surrounding a steel cable. A ground wire and an optical communication cable will also be strung on the towers. Ceramic insulators will be used that meet IEC standard. Single suspension insulators will be used on suspension towers but these will be increased to double suspension insulators where the transmission line crosses National or Provincial roads or river crossings. 61. Three substations will be required. The substation layout is shown in Figure 3 for Pleiku. (i) An extension to the existing 500 kv substation at Pleiku. Two new bays covering an area of about 185m x 70m will be constructed. Each bay will consist of a pylon to bring the transmission line close to ground level, circuit breakers and a reactor. The reactor then feeds to the existing substation. (ii) A second substation will be required at My Phuoc (407 km from Pleiku). This sub-station will be constructed at a later date and is not an integral part of the 500kV transmission line as planned. As this substation is independent of the 500kV transmission line and has not been designed, the substation is not reviewed in the IEE. (iii) A third substation will be constructed at Cau Bong. This will occupy an area of 1.0 ha. The substation will be built in an existing rice field in the Tan Thanh Dong commune, Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City. The Cau Bong substation is being funded by the World Bank who have conducted their own safeguards assessment of the site. Accordingly the Cau Bong substation is not reviewed in this report. 62. The Pleiku substation will require the acquisition of 2.0ha of land while the Cau Bong substation will require the acquisition of 0.97 ha of land. The land will be permanently acquired by NPT. 63. The 500kV substations will be provided with the following equipment: Switchgear for 500kV, reactors and transformers built on concrete bases, provided with surge arrestors, power supply system, earthing and lightning protection, and a fire protection system 64. Additionally two optical repeater stations will be built at Buon Don and Bu Dang to boost signals along the line for communication and running a SCADA system. Each repeater station will be connected to existing 22kV supplies and also be provided with back-up generators. Land to be acquired for each repeater station is 0.23 ha which will be permanently acquired by NPT. 21

23 The Buon Don optical repeating station is located in Tan Hoa Commune, Buon Don district in Dak Lak province. It is 930 m from G23 in the direction of G24. The area is currently growing rice. The Bu Dang optical repeating station is located in Binh Minh commune in Bu Dang District in Binh Phuoc Province. It is 2200m from G57 in the direction of G58. It is proposed to build the station on a hill that is covered in cashew nut trees. Area for the maintenance yard, materials stockyard, transformer and equipment storage area will be provided at the substation sites. 65. A summary of the main features of the transmission line is given in Table 5. Table 5: Summary of main features of 500 kv Transmission Line Item 500 kv T/L Starting point At 500 kv busbar at Pleiku 500 kv substation Ending point At 500 kv busbar at Cau Bong 500kV substation Length of line 437 km Right of Way width 32 m Earth grounding width 32 m - 72 m Voltage 500 kv Number of circuits 2 Conductor ACSR-330/43 Earthwire PHLOX116 Fibre optical cable OPGW-90 Optical repeater stations 2 (Buon Don 1; and Bu Dang 1) Insulator Glass or ceramic Suspension towers (number) 810 Tension towers (number) 118 Tower foundation Site preformed steel reinforced concrete Total excavation requirement (earth and rock) 505,845 m 3 Av. excavation requirement / tower 545 m 3 Total concrete requirement 48,503 m 3 Av. concrete requirement / tower 52 m 3 Area to be acquired for 928 towers 32 ha Area to be acquired for 32 m wide RoW 1399 ha Houses to be removed from within the RoW 366 houses Houses to be earthed inside the 32m - 72m width 830 houses Pleiku substation :extension requires 2.04 ha Source: Adapted from Feasibility Study Pleiku - Mu Phuoc - Cau Bong 500 kv transmission Line, 2011 together with provision of additional information. 66. The transmission line route runs approximately north-south and is located roughly parallel to and about 80 km inland from the Vietnam Cambodia border. It starts at Pleiku in the Central plateau and descends to the coastal plain to Ho Chi Minh City. As much as possible the route has been selected to avoid conflicting with developed infrastructure such as roads, transmission lines etc. Details of the route are summarised in Table 7. The transmission line route is described in the following section by province. The lengths in each province are summarised in Table 6 which shows that the longest section of the line is located within Dak Nong Province ( km). The shortest section km is located within Ho Chi Minh City. 22

24 Table 6: Summary of Transmission Line Sections Length (km) Elevation (m) Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong T/L crosses Section Province Section Cumulative Average Max Min 500kV 220kV 110kV H'way Prov. Rd. HPP Res. Lake River OPY-G7 Gia Lai G7-G10 Gia Lai G10-G13 Gia Lai G13-G21 Dak Lak G21-G26 Dak Lak G26-G31 Dak Lak G31-G38 Dak Lak G38-G48 Dak Lak G48-G53 Dak Lak G53-G62 Binh Phouc G62-G66 Binh Phouc G66-G71 Binh Phouc G71-G74 Binh Duong G74-G83 Binh Duong G83-DC HCM City Statistic Source: Elevations taken from contour maps showing line route attached to the Feasibility Study prepared by PECC4 and PECC2. Details of intersections and affected hh taken from IEE prepared by PECC4.

25 Table 7: Length of Transmission Line in each Province Province Length km % Gia Lai % Dak Lak % Dak Nong % Binh Phuoc % Binh Dong % HCM City % TOTAL % Source: Adapted from PECC4 IEE, 2011 C.1.1 Gia Lai Province: Sections 1-3: Pleiku substation to G13 ( km) 67. Section 1: Pleiku Substation G7 ( km). Starting point is at the existing PleiKu 500kV substation, located on coffee land at an average height of 722m asl in Nghia Hoa commune, Chu Pah district, Gia Lai Province. The T/L crosses the existing North-South 500kV transmission line, then passes over Se San 3 220kV T/L and Se San 4 220kV T/L, runs along the right of North-South 500kV T/L and reaches to G3. From G3, it turns right and runs alongside the existing North-South 500kV T/L, crosses over coffee, rubber and pine land, reaches to G5, then passes over HW 19 to reach G7. The route traverses hilly topography with cultivated coffee, rubber, pine and some eucalyptus, cashew, crops and rice fields. This section is situated in the following communes of Gia Lai Province: - Nghia Hoa and Nghia Hung communes in Chu Pah district. - Ia Sao, Ia Der and Ia Pech communes in Ia Grai district. - Ia Kenh, and Gao communes in Pleiku City - Ia Bang commune in Chu Prong district. The transmission line crosses the following infrastructure: 500kV transmission line 220kV transmission lines Highway 19 ( ) : 1 time : 2 times : 1 time. The transmission line affects the following houses: Number of affected houses in ROW : 22 HHs Number of affected houses outside of ROW (from 16m to 76m): 28 HHs 68. Section 2: G7 to G10 ( km) From G7 to G10 the transmission line descends from the Central Plateau at an average height of 603m asl. The T/L crosses hills planted in coffee, rubber, cashew and some crops, paddy field to G8. After G8 it crosses the Chu Se Chu Prong 110kV T/L to G10. The latter part of the route crosses over hill topography with cultivated coffee, rubber, cashew, pepper, fruit tree, crops and rice fields. 24

26 This section is situated in the following communes of Gia Lai Province: Ia Tor, Ia Ve and Ia Pia communes in Chu Prong district. The transmission line crosses the following infrastructure: 110kV transmission line : 1 time The transmission line affects the following houses: Number of affected houses in ROW : 11 HHs Number of affected houses outside of ROW (from 16m to 76m): 24 HHs 69. Section 3: G10 to G13 ( km) From G10, the route descends more quickly from the Central Plateau through hills planted in rubber, cashews, crops and disturbed Dipterocarp forest to G11 and G12. From G12 it passes through rubber plantations and paddy field crops to G13. This section is situated in the following communes of Gia Lai Province: - Ia Ve, Ia Lau communes in Chu Prong district - Ia Hla, Ia Blu communes in Chu Puh district. This section of the transmission line does not affect any infrastructure. The transmission line affects the following houses: Number of affected houses in ROW : 2 hh. Number of affected houses outside the RoW (16m-76m) 19 hh. C.1.2 Dak Lak Province: Sections 4-5: ( km) 70. Section 4: G13 to G21 ( km) From G13, the transmission line continues to descend through disturbed natural forest with crops to reach G19. From G19, it passes through disturbed Dipterocarp forest with some crops and cashew to cross Provincial road 681 before reaching G21. This section is situated in the following communes of Dak Lak Province: - Ia Jloi, Ea Rok, Cu Kbang, Ea Le and Cu M Lan communes in Ea Sup district - Ea Kiet commune in Cu M Gar district. The transmission line crosses the Provincial road 681 (1 time). The transmission line affects the following houses: Number of affected houses in ROW : 13 HHs Number of affected houses outside of ROW (from 16m to 76m): 10 HHs 71. Section 5: G21 to G26 ( km) From G21, the route starts to ascend through hill country covered in rubber, coffee, cashew, crops and paddy field hills to reach G24. Between G24 and G25 it passes through topography having rubber, coffee, cashew, crops and paddy field hills with some eucalyptus and fruit trees. The transmission line crosses (i) the 220kV two circuit T/L connecting to Serepok 3 HPP (ii) the inlet channel of Serepok 3 HPP. This section is situated in the following communes of Dak Lak Province: 25

27 - Ea Kiet, Ea M Droh, and Quang Hiep communes in Cu M Gar district - Tan Hoa commune in Buon Don district. The transmission line crosses the following infrastructure: Inlet channel of Serepok 3 HPP 220kV transmission line Provincial road 681 : 1 time : 1 time : 1 time The transmission line affects the following houses: Number of affected houses in ROW : 32 HHs Number of affected houses outside of ROW (from 16m to 76m): 47 HHs C.1.3 Dak Nong Province: Sections 6-9: ( km) 72. Section 6: G26 to G31 ( km) The route turns traverses hilly terrain planted to coffee, cashew, rubber, eucalyptus, fruit trees and rice at an average height of 312m asl. Before G28 it crosses the Serepok River, then before G30 it crosses (i) the Cu Jut - Dak Mil 110kV T/L, and (ii) Highway 14. From here, it continues through coffee, cashew, and crops to reach G31. This section is situated in the following communes of Dak Nong Provinces: - Ea Po, Nam Dong, Cu Knia, Truc Son communes in Cu Jut district - Dak Gan commune in Dak Mil district. The transmission line crosses the following infrastructure: Serepok River 110kV transmission line Highway 14 : 1 time : 1 time : 1 time Number of affected houses in ROW : 37 HHs Number of affected houses outside of ROW (from 16m to 76m): 88 HHs 73. Section 7: G31 to G38 (22.566km) From G31, the route rises to an average height of 519m asl through cashew, rubber, and coffee plantations and crops to G32. After G32, it crosses Provincial road 3 and passes along the right hand side of the Buon Kuop - Dak Nong 220kV T/L which is under construction to G38. This section of hills is mainly planted to coffee, cashew, rubber, crops with some eucalyptus, rice and orchards. This section is situated in the following communes of Dak Nong Provinces: - Dak Gan commune in Dak Mil district. - Dak Sor, Nam Da, Nam Xuan communes, Dak Mam town, Tan Thanh commune in Krong No district. - Dak Sak commune in Dak Mil district. The transmission line crosses the Provincial road 3 once. 26

28 The transmission line affects the following houses: Number of affected houses in ROW : 22 HHs Number of affected houses outside of ROW (from 16m to 76m): 24 HHs 74. Section 8: G38 to G48 ( km) This is the highest point of the transmission line and it rises to 900m asl with an average height along this section of 812m asl. From G38, the route runs along the right hand side of the Buon Kuop - Dak Nong 220kV T/L which is under construction and crosses over hills planted with rubber, coffee, and some crops, to G41. After G41 it crosses through mature disturbed pine forest, rubber and coffee, to G45. From G45, it crosses (i) Highway 14 and (ii) the Dak Nong - Dak Mil 110kV T/L. From G47 to G48. this section is covered in disturbed natural forest interspersed with plantations of coffee, rubber, eucalyptus, pine, rice, crops and fruit trees. It is situated in the following communes of Dak Nong Provinces: - Dak Mol, Dak Hoa, Nam Binh, Nam N jang, Truong Xuan communes in Dak Song district - Quang Tan commune in Tuy Duc district. The transmission line crosses the following infrastructure: Highway kV transmission line : 1 time : 1 time The transmission line affects the following houses: Number of affected houses in ROW : 45 HHs Number of affected houses outside of ROW (from 16m to 76m): 44 HHs 75. Section 9: G48 to G53 (33.870km) This section descends to an average height of 464m asl. Most of the section consists of steep sloping high hills separated by many streams. The terrain fluctuation is high which will make access to the route difficult because it is far from the main road. From G48, the ROW crosses hills planted with coffee and cashew to G50 where it crosses Highway 14C, before G51. After G51 it again crosses hills covered with coffee and cashew and low shrub to reach G53 (Piket : ). This section is situated in the following communes of Dak Nong Provinces: - Quang Tan, Dak Ngo communes in Tuy Duc district - Quang Tin commune in DakR lap district. The transmission line crosses the following infrastructure: Highway 14C : 1 time The transmission line affects the following houses: Number of affected houses in ROW : 36 HHs Number of affected houses outside of ROW (from 16m to 76m): 76 HHs. 27

29 C.1.4 Binh Phuoc Province: Sections ( km) 76. Section 10: G53 to G62 ( km) The route descends through steep highly fluctuating terrain which is separated by many streams that feed the Thac Mo HPP reservoir. After G55 the transmission line crosses the Dak R lap river. From G56 it crosses Provincial road 750 and the Dak Glun Minh Hung 110kV T/L, then continues over hills planted to cashew and rubber to G57. From G57 it crosses over the Thac Mo HPP reservoir many times to G61. From G61 it crosses Provincial road 749 to G62. The vegetation along this section is mainly cashew, rubber and coffee. Access to the route is difficult because it is separated by the Thac Mo reservoir. This section is situated in the following communes of Binh Phuoc Provinces: - Tho Son, Doan Ket, Binh Minh, Minh Hung, Duc Lieu communes in Bu Dang district - Phuoc Tan commune in Bu Gia Map district. The transmission line crosses the following infrastructure: Dak Glun Minh Hung 110kV T/L : 1 time Thac Mo HPP reservoir foundation : 8 times Provincial road 750, 749 : 1 time The transmission line affects the following houses: Number of affected houses in ROW : 26 HHs Number of affected houses outside of ROW (from 16m to 76m): 71 HHs 77. Section 11: G62 to G66 (32.769km) The route now descends through the low hills situated above the coastal plain which are separated by many small streams. From G62 the transmission line traverses low hills covered with rubber and cashew and crosses Highway 14 Phuoc Binh. After G64 it crosses (i) the Dong Xoai Lake, (ii) the Thac Mo Dong Xoai 110kV T/L, (iii) Provincial road 741 and (iv) Suoi Lam Lake to G66. The vegetative cover consists of cashew, rubber and coffee. Access to the route is difficult because it is separated by many small streams and it is far from roads. This section is situated in the following communes of Binh Phuoc Provinces: - Phuoc Tan, Phuoc Tin, Phu Trung communes in Bu Gia Map district - Dong Tam, Thuan Loi, Thuan Phu communes in Dong Phu district. The transmission line crosses the following infrastructure: Dong Xoai lake Suoi Lam lake Thac Mo Dong Xoai 110kV T/L Provincial road 741 : 1 time : 2 times : 1 time : 1 time The transmission line affects the following houses: Number of affected houses in ROW : 23 HHs 28

30 Number of affected houses outside of ROW (from 16m to 76m): 48 HHs 78. Section 12: G66 to G71 ( km) The transmission line crosses over low rolling hills separated by several small streams. The fluctuation of altitude is small and the average elevation along this section reduces to 53 m asl. From G66 the route crosses the Be River to G67 where it crosses the Phuoc Hoa Reservoir and Highway 14 to G68. From G68, it runs between two irrigation reservoirs, then passes over the Sa Cat stream to G71. Vegetation cover mainly consists of cashew and rubber. This section is fairly complex because it crosses the proposed Phuoc Hoa irrigation reservoir many times. Access to the route is difficult. This section is situated in the following communes of Binh Phuoc Provinces: - Thuan Phu commune in Dong Phu district - Minh Lap, Minh Thang, Nha Bich, Minh Thanh communes in Chon Thanh district. The transmission line crosses the following infrastructure: Be River Highway 14 : 1 time : 1 time The transmission line affects the following houses: Number of affected houses in ROW : 19 hh Number of affected houses outside of ROW (from 16m to 76m): 44 hh C.1.5 Binh Duong Province: Sections ( km) 79. Section 13: G71 to G74 ( km) This section consists of low undulating terrain with small fluctuation of altitude. The average height for this section is 33 m asl. From G71 to G73 the route crosses the Be River several times after which it crosses Provincial road 302 to reach G73. From G73 the transmission line crosses the Tan Hung rubber farm, Provincial road 310 to G74. Vegetation cover along this section mainly consists of rubber plantation belonging to Tan Hung rubber farm and some local people, and some cashews. This section is situated in the following communes of Binh Duong Provinces: - An Long, An Linh, Tan Long communes in Phu Giao district - Lai Uyen, Tan Hung, Lai Hung communes in Ben Cat district. The transmission line crosses the following infrastructure: Be River :4 times Provincial road 310 :1 time Provincial road 302 :1 time The transmission line affects the following houses: Number of affected houses in ROW : 10 hh Number of affected houses outside of ROW (from 16m to 76m): 29 hh. 29

31 80. Section 14: G74-G83 ( km) This section traverses the low slopes of the coastal plain and is generally flat with very small fluctuations in altitude. The average height for this section is 17 m asl. From G74 the transmission line crosses Highway 13, the My Phuoc Binh Long 220kV T/L and the Ben Cat Loc Ninh 110kV T/L to reach G75. From G75 to G76 it crosses Provincial road 743. After G76 it crosses the My Phuoc An Tay 110kV T/L and Provincial roads 874 and 784 to G78. From G78 it runs alongside the boundary fence of the An Tay Industrial Trade Zone to G80. From G80 it crosses Provincial road 743, to G81 where it crosses the Tan Dinh Trang Bang 220kV T/L and Provincial road 743 to G82. From G82 it runs along the right hand side of the Ben Cat Hoc Mon 110kV T/L to G83. The vegetation cover is mainly rubber and cashew plantations. The area is on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City and is densely populated. This section is situated in the following communes of Binh Duong Provinces: Lai Hung, Long Nguyen, An Dien, An Tay communes in Ben Cat district. The transmission line crosses the following infrastructure: HW kV T/Ls 110kV T/Ls Provincial roads : 1 time : 2 times : 2 times : 6 times The transmission line affects the following houses: Number of affected houses in ROW : 57 hh Number of affected houses outside of ROW (from 16m to 76m): 154 hh C.1.6 Ho Chi Minh City: Section 15: G83-G86 ( km) 81. This is the lowest section of the transmission line route with generally low flat, topography. The average height of this section is 5 m asl. Vegetative cover is mainly paddy with a little rubber. From G83 the transmission line passes along the right hand side of the Ben Cat Hoc Mon 110kV T/L, crosses Provincial road 744, and the Saigon River to reach G84. From G84 the route turns left and runs alongside the Ben Cat Hoc Mon 110kV T/L for about 200m, then reaches G85. From G85 it crosses the Ben Cat Hoc Mon 110kV T/L when it is incorporated into the existing Pleiku Phu Lam 500kV T/L (circuit 1) at G86 where it uses this T/L s ROW. This section crosses the following communes: Phu Hoa Dong, Trung An, Tan Thanh Dong and Tan Phu Trung of Cu Chi district, Ho Chi Minh City. The transmission line crosses the following infrastructure: Provincial road 744 Provincial road 8 Provincial road 15 Saigon River : 1 time : 1 time : 1 time : 1 time The transmission line affects the following houses: Number of affected houses in ROW : 5 hh 30

32 Number of affected houses outside of ROW (from 16m to 76m): 124 hh C.1.7 Right of Way and Land Requirements 82. A 32 m wide right of way (RoW) i.e. 16m from either side of the centre line will be required as well as an earth grounding zone for any houses that are situated from 16m to within 72m from the centre line. No houses, buildings or any trees are allowed within the 32m RoW though agricultural crops and low tree crops may be grown providing these do not intruded into the minimum safety clearance of 4.5 m. Use of the RoW is governed by MIT Circular 22/2010/TT-BXD of 03/12/2010 which identifies crops and use that can be undertaken within the RoW. 83. Land acquisition will be both permanent and temporary acquisition. Permanent acquisition is required for the tower foundations, the substations and the optical repeater stations and requires an area of between 100 m 2 to 400 m 2 /tower depending on the type of tower constructed. Total land for tower foundations is 40 ha. Temporary acquisition is required for land along the RoW to guarantee the power transmission company access to maintain vegetation to provide safety clearances between the conductors and the ground. Compensation is paid for this land, apart from growing tree crops land use is not altered and the original landholder continues to use the land as before provided crops do not intrude into the conductor clearance safety zone. Land to be acquired on a temporary basis to provide access rights for the power company within the 32m RoW is 1399 ha. Land to be acquired is shown in Table 8. Table 8: Permanent and Temporary Land Take along the RoW Province Permanent (ha) Temporary (ha) Gia Lai Dak Lak Dak Nong Binh Phuoc Binh Duong Ho Chi Minh City Total

33 Figure 2: Layout of Tower 32

34 Figure 3: 500kV Feeder Bay at Pleiku Substation Feeder Bay 1 Feeder Bay 2 Feeder Bays 1 and 2 connection to existing sub-station 33

35 84. Construction work involves the following and will need to be undertaken simultaneously at several locations to ensure that the transmission line is completed within two years. (i) Demarcation and clearing of the right of way (ii) Removal of houses and buildings from within the RoW and resettlement of affected households. (iii) Preparation of contractor s facilities. (iv) Transport of materials to site for construction of the towers (v) Providing access to the tower bases. (vi) Excavation of tower bases by machinery and construction of tower foundations. (vii) Erection of towers and fitting tower equipment. (viii) Pulling the conductors, tensioning with winches and attaching to the insulators. (ix) Testing and energising the transmission line. 85. The project will use 27 teams to construct the transmission line in 27 separate sections. Construction of transmission towers, stringing and tensioning conductors is a specialised task. Each team will consist of about 90 people of which 70 will be skilled and 20 will be unskilled workers who will be recruited from local communities. In total about 2,500 people may be employed during the construction of the transmission line. 86. Machinery that may be used on the site is shown in Annex 6 and includes a range of heavy and light machinery. Apart from noise none of the machinery will produce excessive and damaging vibrations. Machinery that will have environmental consequences includes the use of a bulldozer though it is probable that an excavator will also be used to excavate the tower foundations and to form access roads as required. Normally access will be closed after construction is completed apart from some that will remain to provide access to the towers for maintenance during operation. A fuel truck will be required for refuelling equipment and vehicles. 87. Materials that will be used on the project includes: cement, aggregate and steel for tower foundations, steel framework for the tower, insulators and conductors. Fuel will need to be stored on site as well paint and paint thinners for protecting steel work. Activities to be undertaken when the project is operational includes the replanting of trees, maintenance of safety conductor clearance through vegetation trimming and cutting, regular inspection of equipment and towers. D.1 Physical Environment D. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT D.1.1 Topography Geology and Soils 88. The transmission line roughly runs parallel to and about km inside the Vietnamese - Cambodia border as roughly defined by the peaks of the Truong Son or Annamite mountain chain. The route traverses six provinces in central and southern Vietnam namely Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Binh Phuoc, Bin Duong and Ho Chi Minh 34

36 City. The transmission line commences at Pleiku at an elevation of about 720m asl and for the first 57 km traverses the Central Plateau within Gia Lai Province. The route progressively descends from the Central Plateau through a series of lower foothills of the Annamite chain 238 m asl (132 km) before it again ascends to reach the highest elevation of 777 m asl at 243 km within Dak Lak Province also within the Central Plateau. From here it descends progressively through the provinces of Binh Phouc, Binh Duong to Ho Chi Minh City which is located on the coastal plain. A classification of elevation classes is shown in Table 9 and slopes in Table 10. Table 9: Elevation classes along Transmission Line Elevation (m) > 750 Total Length (km) % 28% 19% 32% 13% 8% 100% Table 10: Slope Classes along Transmission Line Slope 0-3% 3-10% 10-30% >30% Total Length (km) % Table 9 shows that the bulk (32%) of the transmission line is located within elevation ranges of m asl while m (28%) is the next most common range of elevations. In terms of slope Table 10 shows that the majority (42%) of the transmission line is located on nearly flat land with only 8% located with steep slopes in excess of 30%. The majority of the steep land is located within the highest section within Dak Lak Province. 90. Geo-technical evaluation included 64 exploratory holes which were drilled along the RoW, the substations and the optical repeater stations. Two main geological structures have been identified: 91. Areas of erosion/denudation relief characterise the plateau, hill and mountainous areas. This area of relief characterises the majority of the RoW and includes the section from the starting point at the Pleiku substation to G70 A distance of nearly 375km. The Pleku substation and the Buong Dong and Bu Dang optical repeater stations are also located within this relief. This area of relief includes mountains and high hills which are exhibiting an erosion denudation phase which is particularly evident within the downcutting water courses that descend eastwards to the coastal plain. The area is underlain by a series of Jurassic bedrock formations that include basalt and granite that is overlain by Quaternary deposits of clay, clay loam and boulder clay. 92. The coastal plain or lower areas are formed from accumulation relief. This includes the end section of the RoW from section G70 to the end point of the transmission line a distance of 62 km. The Cau Bong substation is also located within this area of relief. This section is characterised by relatively flat, low relief elevation and includes river terraces and plains with some lakes and swamps. Accumulation relief areas are overlain by deep Quaternary period deposits of clay, clay loam, sand, and sandy clays which are underlain by Holocene period bedrock. 35

37 93. Soils mainly consist of Latosol type hill soils in the plateau, hill and mountainous areas while accumulation soils that have formed on outwash areas on the lower flood plains. 94. The hill soils tend to Latosols and consist of a range of soils with shallow and frequently stony topsoils with low nutrient status overlaying deeply weathered and nutrient deficient acidic clays. Topsoil depth varies according to the position within the landscape and the extent of erosion that has occurred. The majority of these soils have been cleared and are now planted to tree cash crops especially cashew nuts and rubber. Where Latosol type soils have been cleared and depending on slope and cultivation practices these areas will be prone to accelerated erosion. Some of these areas have been reforested with protective tree cover but results can be patchy as revegetation success is determined by the depth of any topsoil remaining as this is only source of plant nutrient in these soils. Where topsoil has been lost or mechanically removed and nutrient poor subsoils have been exposed these do not revegetate and will continue to erode. 95. Soils that have developed on the floodplain are younger and mainly consist of deeper silty clay loams with moderate nutrient status. These soils are poorly drained. All topsoils tend to be slightly acidic. The floodplain soils have now been converted to paddy areas the majority of which are irrigated. Due to their low relief and greater inherent nutrient base these soils are less prone to water based erosion. However as these soils are extensively used for crops, protective cover is often removed and structural breakdown will occur when these are exposed to storms with high rainfall erosivity indices. D.1.2 Climate 96. The climate of project area includes two climate zones; (i) the Central Highland zone, and (ii) the Southern climate zone. 97. The Central Highland climate zone includes higher areas in the provinces of Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Binh Duong and Binh Phuoc. These areas have a cooler climate due to the higher terrain. There is a strong contrast between the wet and dry season which is due to the proximity of the Truong Son mountains and the effect that this has on the monsoon with the SW Monsoon bringing rain from May to October while from November to April the wind moves the NE (the winter monsoon) and is dry. March and April are the hottest and driest months. Due to the high elevation, ( m) the climate is relatively cool and rainy. In the high plateau areas >1000 m asl (such as Da Lat), the climate is temperate all year round. The annual average wind speed recorded on the plateau at the Pleiku, Buon Ma Thuot and Phuoc Long climate stations is m/s. 98. The climate of the South is a tropical monsoon climate which is characterised by high temperatures with very little seasonal variation. Annual average temperature for lowland areas are reasonably constant within a narrow range of o C. The temperature differential between the hottest and coldest month is about 4-5 o C. The area is humid and there is little difference in rainfall between the monsoon seasons. From November to April the wind is mainly from the northeast while from May to October the wind is mainly from the south west and brings heavy rainfall to the eastern slopes of the Trung Son mountains. The annual average wind speed recorded at the Phuoc Long and Tan Son Nhat climate stations is 1.6 to 2.8 m/s. 99. Annual rainfall based on 4 years of record from is highest at Pleiku 2,216 mm and is lower for Dal Lat 1,820mm while Ho Chi Minh City receives 1,397 mm. Climate data for Pleiku, Da Lat and Vung Tau for 2010 is shown in Table

38 Table 11: Climate Data for Pleiku, Da Lat and Vung Tau for 2010 Pleiku Central Highlands Elev 778 m 2010 Unit Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Rainfall mm Sunlight hour Av.Temp o C Av.Humid % Da Lat Central Highlands Elev 840 m 2010 Unit Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Rainfall mm Sunlight hour Av.Temp o C Av.Humid % Vung Tau HCM City Elev 4 m 2010 Unit Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Rainfall mm na Sunlight hour Av.Temp o C Av.Humid % Source: Statistical Yearbook

39 100. Extreme events recorded at the Phuoc Long climate station include the following: highest maximum temperature: C; lowest minimum: C; maximum daily rainfall: 230 mm Thunderstorm days for various localities are shown in Table 12. Thunderstorms occur regularly during the summer months when turbulent conditions arise with the development of cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds building up along the lower slopes of the Truong Son mountains. Table 12: Number of Thunderstorm Days Station Thunderstorm days (no) Pleiku 62 Buon Ma Thuot 73 Phuoc Long 107 Tan Son Nhat Air Pollution values have been assessed in the determination of insulator sizes. The Technical Feasibility study shows that the majority of the section from Pleiku to G69 (nearly 375 km) is rural and has determined that low air pollution values apply to this section apart from where the transmission line passes through residential development with higher traffic volumes where the design adopts the standard for a light air polluted environment. For the last section route from G69 to the end point in Ho Chi Minh City the transmission line traverses areas with high population density, factories and traffic roads. This has been considered as a light to moderate air pollution environment Vietnam lies within a typhoon belt with typhoons developing in the South China Sea which on average cross the coastline every year. A major typhoon (Ketsana) occurred on September 29, 2009, which swept through 14 provinces in the Central and Central Highland provinces of Vietnam after it left the Philippines. Torrential rains resulting from the typhoon caused serious floods, flash floods and landslides in these regions. The total damage loss was estimated to be VND14 trillion (US$778 million). It was considered to be Vietnam s greatest and most devastating storm in the last 40 years. In the Central Highlands provinces, the highest death toll was in Kon Tum with 50 people, followed by Dak Lak (2), Lam Dong (2), Dak Nong (1), and Gia Lai (1). Damage to houses was also highest in Kon Tum with 409 demolished, Dak Lak 40, Lam Dong 22 and Gia Lai 182. Hundreds of thousands of houses were partly destroyed and unroofed. The Quy Nhon - Pleiku 220 kv power grid was broken and isolated on 29/09/2009. The 500 kv voltage line supplying 25% of electricity to the North was temporarily cut, causing the shortage of electricity in the Northern provinces. Much of the flooding from typhoons and high rainfall events is attributed to the loss of protective forest cover in the mountainous areas Vietnam is exposed to climate variation and has regularly experienced extreme weather conditions including; cyclones, landslides, flooding and droughts related to El Nino conditions. Evidence shows that in the Central Highlands over a 30-year period ( ), average annual temperature increased by 0.5 to 0.7 o C, while precipitation 38

40 decreased by 2%. Climate change is affecting the frequency of natural disasters which are becoming more intense and difficult to predict In the Mekong region (Ho Chi Minh City) average temperatures over the last century, have risen between 0.3 to 0.8 C. Further temperature increases are expected along with more extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts, changes in the amount and distribution of rainfall, disruption of seasonal monsoons, and rising sea levels 4. D.2 Water Resources 106. The main rivers that the transmission line crosses include the Be, Serepok and Saigon rivers. At these locations the transmission tower is located outside the river channel and carried across the river in a single span. The rivers have seasonal flow characteristics with highest flows during the wet season from 107. The rivers rise and fall in accordance with the season with floods occurring especially from August to October when heavy rainfall either from frontal systems or occasionally from typhoons may cause the rivers to overtop their lower channels and extend across the floodplains All of the rivers are turbid and carry high loads of suspended sediments and some bed load which consists of large gravels and stones. Gravel and sand is commonly extracted from rivers where there are accessible deposits Water quality is expected to be reasonable in the upper river sections where the river descends through steep mountainous valleys. However, in the lower floodplain sections where residential, agricultural and industrial activity increases water quality deteriorates due to nutrient inflow from agricultural farming systems and untreated waste. Bacterial counts will be unsatisfactory The extensive floodplains with coarse deposits have excellent groundwater resources close to the surface. These are used for community water supplies either as open wells or more recently pumped from bores. D.3 Biological Environment D.3.1 Vegetation and Land Use 111. Vegetation and land use systems occurring within the RoW are shown in Table 13 which shows that the majority of the RoW has been converted from forest to other uses with forest now representing only 18.6% of the area. Of this 15.9% is production forest and 2.8% is protection forest. There is no undisturbed natural forest remaining within the RoW. Both productive and protection forest categories are further subdivided into planted or natural forests with planted forests consisting mainly of forest that has been replenished with economic species from forestry assisted activities. Natural forests have been significantly disturbed to the extent that natural regeneration is affected. 3 Source: Seminar "The impact of climate change and environment in the Central Highlands" by the Dak Lak People's Committee, coordinated by the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology, held in Dak Lak province. 4 Report of the Working Group on Climate Change and Development,

41 Table 13: Vegetation and Land Use by Province within RoW Land Use along Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong T/L RoW (ha) Province Length (km) Crop Tree Productive Protection Water Total (ha) Residential Land Crops Planted Natural Planted Natural bodies Gial Lai Dak Lak Dak Nong Binh Phuoc Binh Dong HCM City Total Distance km % 0.5% 13.9% 60.4% 1.2% 14.7% 1.0% 1.8% 6.6% 100.0% Source: data provided from PECC-4, Natural forest within the ROW is classified either as productive forest (206 ha) or protective forest and occurs in three provinces. Dak Lak has the largest occurrence of natural forest with 130 ha while Dak Nong and Gia Lai both record 38 ha each. Natural forest mainly consists of Dry Deciduous Forest which has been heavily disturbed and mainly consists of poor regenerating forest. The forest has a low productivity of 50-70m 3 /ha which in many places has been replaced by grass and bushes. Tree height averages 7-10m with a few trees >25m. Trees are of small diameter with few >30cm. Dry Deciduous species belong to families such as Dipterocarpus, Fabaceae, Combretaceae, Rubiaceae, and Anacardiaceae. Dominant species typically include Dipterocarpus tuberculatus, Dipterocarpus obtusifolius, Shorea obtusa, Terminalia alata, Shorea siamensis, Dipterocarpus alatus. Where vegetative cover is open grasses and bushes develop, including; Oxytenanthera pusilla, Oxytenanthera nigrociliata, Panicum sarmentosum roxb, Myrtaceae and some Poaceae family In Cu M Lan commune a small area of Evergreen Forest occurs that mainly consist of Lagerstroemia calyculata, Syzygium cumini, Polyathia cerasoides and tree species of the families Fageceae and Lauraceae. This is a very open type of forest with extensive areas of grass developing under the low trees which include Cratoxylon prunifolium and species of the Acanthaceae and Graminaceae family Protective forest has been planted on badly eroded areas in an attempt to stabilise these areas and covers 38.4 ha. This category consists of 13.9 ha of replanted forest, mainly Acacia (10-15m high) and Pine (3-5 m high) while the 24.5 ha of natural protective forest that mainly consists of short poorly grown scattered pine trees within an open grassland which is attempting to re-establish on eroded and nutrient deficient sites There are no occurrences of primary forest inside or immediately adjacent to the RoW. No primary forest will be affected by the RoW. All remaining forest within the ROW is highly disturbed and strongly exploited and does not contain any rare or endangered species All other types of land use are human induced and the largest area (845 ha, 61%) is planted to perennial tree crops such as coffee, rubber, cashews and pepper. Tree crops are grown extensively along the RoW and closer to Ho Chi Minh City the RoW crosses several large rubber plantations The main annual agricultural crop is rice of which 192 ha or 14% of the RoW is planted to rice which is the staple crop for the surrounding communities. Dry land rice is grown in the steep upland areas and where water is available may be grown in wetland situations otherwise in the lower plain areas irrigated paddy is grown. 40

42 D.3.2 Wildlife 118. While the Central Highland provinces extend to extensive mountainous areas with some large areas of forest and wildlife habitat, forest on the lower slopes where the project is located has been significantly exploited for domestic and commercial activities and habitats have been extensively disturbed and are diminished in terms of conservation significance. During baseline surveys along the proposed transmission line, PECC-4 noted the existence of rats and pigs but no rare and endangered species which are listed in the Vietnam s Red Data Book were identified. This situation was also confirmed by district forest and agriculture authorities in the concerned provinces during public consultations. Wildlife has been replaced by domesticated cattle, goats and buffaloes. There are no climbing animals that could interfere with the transmission line. A check of websites e.g. Birdlife International does not identify any bird migration routes through Vietnam. The Asian Flyway does not pass through Vietnam and instead heads south through the Philippines. PECC-4 staff did not know of any reported bird strikes on any transmission line. D.3.3 Conservation Areas 119. Vietnam has designated much of the country as conservation areas and while there are several in the proximity of the transmission line, the route does not cross or intrude on any buffer areas or any possible planned future extension of these areas. This was confirmed by the Forest Protection Department within the Ministry of Agriculture and Development who advised that they had reviewed the EIA prepared for the project and had assessed the location of the transmission lines with regard to their 20-year development plan which included proposed extensions to the conservation areas. The plan was updated in 2010 and the review did not show any conflict with the transmission lines in terms of crossing any existing or proposed conservation area. FPD advised that the closest the transmission line approaches a conservation areas is 22km from the Yok Don National Park. The location of the transmission line relevant to conservation areas is shown in Figure 4. D.3.4 Invasive Alien Species A significant invasive species is Mimosa pigra which is found throughout Vietnam particularly along waterways. Apart from Mimosa pigra there are few other significant terrestrial invasive species that could cause problems along the transmission line. This was also confirmed by PECC-4 technical staff. 41

43 Finish at Cau Bong SubStn Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500kV Transmission line Figure 4: Location of 500kV Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong transmission line with regard to natural conservation areas 42

44 D.4 Socio-economic Conditions D.4.1 Population 121. The transmission line crosses through 71 communes in 21 districts in 6 provinces namely; Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong and Ho Chi Minh City. Population within the immediate project area (as defined by communes through which the transmission line passes) is 2,229,600 persons with 72% of the population being rural based. Population statistics for the five affected provinces and for the part of Ho Chi Minh City in which the transmission line is located is shown in Table 14. Table 14: Population distribution within the project area Province Total Urban Rural % Rural Gia Lai 481, , ,104 58% Dak Lak 283,901 41, ,368 85% Dak Nong 408,882 38, ,291 75% Binh Phouc 434,585 23, ,124 94% Binh Duong 278,022 83, ,755 70% HCM City 343, , ,132 50% Total 2,229, ,214 1,603,774 72% ( Source: Statistical Data from 2009 Census) D.4.2 Ethnic Groups 122. The Central Plateau has one of the largest ethnic groups in Vietnam and includes nine ethnic minority groups Ede, Jarai, Stieng, Mnong, Muong, Nung, Thai and Tay directly impacted upon by this specific Project. Of these nine ethnic minority groups, only three Ede, Jarai and Stieng are indigenous to the Central Highlands. The ethnolinguistic origins and cultural practices of these three groups are quite different to the other groups. The other six ethnic minority groups migrated either as part of an officially sponsored program in the late 1970s to populate and develop this region or because as individuals they realized there could be more opportunities in the Central Highlands Many of the former three ethnic minority groups were deeply involved in swidden agriculture prior to the arrival of other ethnic minority groups and many households still derive a portion of their household livelihood needs from swidden agriculture. However, ethnic minority groups who migrated to the Central Highlands are more likely to be involved in the commercial growing of coffee, pepper, and rubber as smallholders. Poverty rates among the indigenous ethnic minority groups are double those of migrant ethnic minority groups and nearly three times those of Vietnam s major ethnic group the Kinh Ethnic minority groups indigenous to the Central Highlands generally have a greater sense of sustainable environmental development than migrants to the region but officially their persistence with at least some forms of swidden agriculture are considered to be much less sustainable than in the past. Officially there are attempts to wean upland indigenous ethnic minority groups away from swidden agriculture but either the land that has been allocated to them is either less productive than land on which at least coffee and pepper is cultivated or these groups are not able to leverage technical assistance packages as successfully as migrants to the region. Therefore while there have been incremental improvements in living standards these indigenous ethnic minority groups have been far less successful at moving permanently out of poverty than other ethnic minority groups in Vietnam. 43

45 125. Ethnic groups identified within the RoW include 299 hhs with 1,539 persons which is 9.4% of the total population in the RoW. The figure includes 113 indigenous households who will be permanently affected by the project and 186 indigenous households who will be temporarily affected by the project. D.4.3 Project affected people 126. Communities will be affected by loss of land and loss of assets within the RoW. All households that are affected by permanent or temporary losses will be compensated according to the Resettlement Plan Loss of land includes both permanent and temporary loss of land. Permanent loss: of (i) land includes the loss of 39.7 ha for the construction of the tower bases, feeder bays at the substations and optical repeater stations. This land will be acquired by NPT and will affect 800 households with 3,600 persons. Additionally to maintain conductor clearances and establish safe operating distances 366 households (hhs) that are located within the 32m wide RoW will be moved to new areas outside the RoW and will require the removal of houses and other structures (farm sheds, granaries, etc) Temporary loss: includes the loss of land along the RoW which will be cleared of vegetation. Landholders will be compensated for loss of access to crop areas during conductor stringing when vehicle access will be required along the RoW which will destroy crops and interfere with crop practices. During operation farmers will be able to grow and cultivate crops under the RoW provided these do not intrude into the 4.5m safety height envelope. In total 1400 ha of land will be temporarily affected which will affect 2,200 households with about 9,700 persons. Additionally another 687 households which are located from 16 to 76m from the transmission centre line will be fitted with earth conductors to neutralise any stray EMF radiation. Details of project affected households are shown in Table 14. Table 15: Total number of people/hhs affected within ROW Affected land Houses & Houses Province Permanent Temporary structures earthed Total (ha) hhs People (ha) hhs People hhs People hhs hhs People Gia Lai , ,556 Dak Lak ,370 Dak Nong , , ,018 4,632 Binh Phouc , ,187 Binh Duong , ,717 HCM City TOTAL , ,207 9, , ,373 15,186 D.4.4 Social Infrastructure 129. Public Health. All communes have at least a healthcare station which includes first aid and medical assistance for minor illnesses and maternal services. Medical emergencies are referred to district hospitals where minor operations can be carried out. Services and trained medical staff are increasing HIV/AIDS rates in the rural areas of the Central Highlands are considerably lower than they are elsewhere in Vietnam although among some ethnic minority groups they are higher than among other ethnic minority groups. However, in general few rural ethnic 44

46 minority people migrate to towns and cities in Vietnam where there are greater social risks associated with HIV/AIDS: language, educational, and kinship factors serve to constrain rural ethnic minority groups, especially from the Central Highlands, in seeking work outside of their immediate locality. Due to improved medical extension services rural ethnic minority groups have more knowledge and awareness of HIV/AIDS than in the past Education. Infrastructure for education and literacy is progressively improving In the project area and now most people can read. Most communes can now provide a range of education facilities from primary through to secondary schools. Technical education is available in most districts and tertiary education is available in most provincial centres and Ho Chi Minh City. However, enrolment in high schools and universities is still very low. D.4.5 Local Economy 132. The districts economy is rural based with up to 76% of the project communities living in rural areas. More recently there has been a limited amount of diversification into other industries with development in fisheries, service and tourism industries. Industrial production is extremely limited Agriculture is the main source of subsistence employment and apart from providing food for the families sale of farm produce also generates small surpluses for sale through local village markets or is else bought by farmer organisations. The majority of the value of production is from cultivated crops with about 10% of the value from livestock sales. Bu Dang District in Binh Phuoc Province is the most important agricultural production area with large areas of cultivated crops. Aquaculture is the second largest agro-industry in terms of value in Bu Gia District in Binh Phuoc Province. In comparison to agriculture forestry is a minor industry and Dak Mil District in Dak Nong Province reports the largest value of forestry production but this is insignificant in comparison to agricultural production. D.4.6 Communications 134. Infrastructure for transport, communications and electricity are being constantly improved so that people s standard of living and access to services has improved appreciably The road network is reasonably well developed throughout the project area with several major highways including National Highways 13 and 14 which serve the Central Plateau. A network of provincial, district, commune and village roads also serve the area. The majority of the roads to the central communes have now been upgraded to concrete and asphalt though some commune and village roads still remain unpaved which creates problems for access to markets and services for these communes. D.4.7 Cultural and Heritage Sites 136. There are no historical relics, cultural and religious or architectural monuments of local people in the project area. D.4.8 UXO (unexploded ordnance) 137. UXO is a significant issue in Vietnam after decades of war. The presence of UXO was confirmed by the various military headquarters in which the RoW is located who consider that there is a high risk of UXO remaining within the transmission line RoW. This is greatest for Dak Lak Province where the transmission line will cross areas that saw some of the most intense battles during the Vietnam War. While most of UXO has 45

47 been cleared from agricultural areas the HCM Military HQ says that particular attention should be given to the section G82 G84 where it crosses the Saigon River and in some of the forested areas It is a legal requirement that the safety of construction workers is ensured by having specialized army units clear UXO before construction commences 5. UXO clearing within the RoW is the responsibility of NPT and is not funded as a part of the loan. UXO clearing commenced in mid August 2011 and is planned to be completed by mid February Details of landmine clearance are presented in the Circular 146/2007/TT-BQP by Ministry of Defense dated September guiding UXO clearance for project construction. 46

48 E. ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES 139. This section of the report discusses the potential impacts of the project and recommends environmental mitigating measures to address adverse environmental impacts in following project phases; (i) preconstruction, (ii) construction, and (iii) operation of the transmission line Impacts are based on an initial assessment carried out for the Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA) checklist and the requirements of the Environmental Assessment and Review (EARF) Framework that have been re-appraised during the development of the IEE The project area includes the following; the 32m width of the RoW and the earthing zone out to 76m, the feeder bay to be built on to the existing Pleiku substation and the two optical repeater stations at Buon Don and Bu Dang. Work outside this area will also include the construction of access roads and sourcing of sand and aggregate for concrete The main issues will be (i) clearing of the Right of Way (ii) excavation of the tower bases and sourcing aggregate materials. Stringing and tensioning of the conductors will not create any significant impacts nor will operation. Construction will create a range of expected minor impacts which can be addressed by conditions imposed within the Environmental Management Plan (EMP). Land that will need to be acquired is addressed by the Resettlement Plan. No cultural or heritage sites will be affected nor will any primary forest be cleared The impacts are presented in terms of their impacts on the physical, biological and socio-economic environments. For each of these categories the impacts are discussed in terms of their decreasing order of magnitude. Only the main impacts are discussed in this section while a complete list of impacts and risks together with mitigation measures, areas of responsibility, costs and monitoring requirements are presented later in the EMP section. E.1 Pre-construction Impacts and Mitigation Measures 144. The potential impacts associated with the design and preconstruction phase of the project are related to the siting of the towers and the acquisition of land for the Row. There is potential for the location of the transmission line to affect agricultural land, irrigation and drainage canals, rivers and roads. The construction of the towers will create a visual impact. E.1.1 Loss of Property within RoW 145. The selection of the route has been made to reduce resettlement requirements and the transmission line route has been selected to avoid passing through densely settled areas even though this has slightly increased the length of the transmission line. However, construction of the transmission line will result to the permanent acquisition of 40 ha of land for the tower foundations and the temporary acquisition of 1400 ha of land for the RoW. Additional land will be temporarily required on an as needs basis by the contractors for construction camps, material storage areas, and temporary access roads. Most of the land along the ROW is used for tree crops (60%) mainly rubber and cashew nut tree plantations with crop land accounting for only 14% of the total RoW area. There are 366 houses located within the RoW that will need to be removed while another

49 houses will require earth connections that are situated up to 72m distant from the centre line of the RoW Compensation for land and assets will be dealt with in the Resettlement Plan that is also being prepared as part of the TA. The RP is prepared in accordance with the ADB and national requirements and will be implemented by the District Resettlement and Compensation Committee. E.1.2 Loss of Forests 147. Two types of forest will be cleared to create the RoW; (i) Production and (ii) Protection forests. Both categories are again subdivided within the Vietnamese system as Planted or Natural Forests. Loss of forest by type is shown in Table 16 which is directly derived from Table 13. Table 16: Protected and Production Forest Loss within RoW Protected Forest Category Gia Lai Dak Lak Dak Nong Binh Phuoc Binh Duong HCM City TOTAL ha km ha km ha km ha km ha km ha km ha km Protective artificial forest Protective natural forest TOTAL % 43% 43% 37% 37% 13% 13% 8% 8% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% 100% Production Forest Category Gia Lai Dak Lak Dak Nong Binh Phuoc Binh Duong HCM City TOTAL ha km ha km ha km ha km ha km ha km ha km Production artificial forest Production natural forest TOTAL % 17% 17% 58% 58% 25% 25% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% 100% Source: data from Table Overall loss of production forest is 223 ha. Protective forest losses include 25 ha of natural and 14 ha of planted forest for a total of 40 ha Natural forest within the ROW is classified either as productive 206 ha or protective forest 40 ha. Natural forest mainly consists of Dry Deciduous Forest all which has been heavily disturbed and mainly consists of poor regenerating forest with a low tree stem density of 50-70m 3 /ha which in many places has been replaced by grass and bushes. Tree height averages 7-10m with occasional trees > 25m Protective forest has been planted on badly eroded areas in an attempt to stabilise these areas and covers 38.4 ha. This category consists of 13.9 ha of replanted forest, mainly Acacia (10-15m high) and Pine (3-5 m high) while the 24.5 ha of natural protective forest mainly consists of short poorly grown scattered pine trees within an open grassland which is attempting to re-establish on eroded sites There are no occurrences of primary forest inside or immediately adjacent to the RoW. No primary forest will be cleared or affected by the RoW. All remaining forest within the ROW is highly disturbed and strongly exploited and does not contain any rare or endangered floral species Loss of natural forest will be addressed by a replacement planting program that will replant 40 ha of non forested land. This will be the responsibility of PTC3 and PTC4 who will make the arrangements to undertake the replanting in consultation with the affected communes in Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Binh Phuoc provinces. Replanting will be carried out under the supervision of the Forest companies that are based within the communes. The cost of replanting an equivalent area with productive 48

50 tree species based on a unit cost of $2500/ha 6 for 40 ha is $100,000. This item is carried into the EMP budget. E.1.3 Encroachment Into Areas Of Cultural/Historical Significance 153. The majority of the transmission line is located in remote areas and will not traverse any historical or culturally significant sites. E.1.4 Encroachment Into Ecologically Significant Areas 154. Vietnam has designated much of the country as conservation areas and while there are several conservation areas in the proximity of the transmission line. The selection of the route has been made to avoid these areas and consequently does not cross or intrude on any buffer area or any possible planned future extension of these areas. This was confirmed by the Forest Protection Department within the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) who advised that they had reviewed the EIA prepared for the project and had assessed the location of the transmission lines with regard to their 20 year development plan which included extensions to the conservation areas. The plan was updated in 2010 and the review did not show any conflict with the transmission lines in terms of crossing any existing or proposed conservation area. FPD advised that the closest the transmission line approaches a conservation areas is 22km from the Yok Don National Park. A copy of a letter from the FPD advising that there will be no intrusion of the transmission line into any exiting or planned expansion areas is attached as Annex 2. E.1.5 Impact On Aesthetics 155. The impact of the project on aesthetics has not been identified as a significant issue in the local context. There are existing transmission lines in the vicinity such that the aesthetic impact of additional transmission infrastructure at this location would be less than if such infrastructure was entirely new to the area. The proposed 500kV transmission line will run parallel to several existing 220kV and the main north south 500kV transmission line. It is not possible to mitigate this impact. E.1.6 Presence Of Unexploded Ordnances 156. UXO is a significant issue in Vietnam after decades of war. The presence of UXO was confirmed with the various military headquarters in which the RoW is located who consider that there is a high risk of UXO remaining within the transmission line RoW. This is greatest for Dak Lak Province where the transmission line will cross areas that saw some of the most intense battles during the Vietnam War. While most of UXO has been cleared from agricultural areas the HCM Military HQ says that particular attention should be given to the section G82 G84 where it crosses the Saigon River and in some of the forested areas It is a legal requirement that the safety of construction workers is ensured by having specialized army units clear UXO before construction commences 7. UXO clearing within the RoW commenced in mid August 2011 and is planned to be completed by mid February The cost of clearance for the transmission line, feeder bays and transmission systems is met by NPT and is independent of the loan. 6 The cost of $2,500/ha includes the establishment cost of $1,000/ha plus maintenance over 3 years at $500/ha. 7 Details of landmine clearance are presented in the Circular 146/2007/TT-BQP by Ministry of Defence dated September , guiding UXO clearance for project construction. 49

51 E.2 Potential Impacts During The Construction Phase 158. The following activities will be undertaken during construction that will impact on the environment. While construction activities will be of short duration and the areas will recover quickly the main mitigation measure is to schedule activities so that where possible these are completed during the dry season 159. During construction CPMB will be responsible for supervising the contract and monitoring construction work. The contractor will have prime responsibility for ensuring that the work complies with the Environmental Management Plan (EMP). CPMB will have the overall responsibility of ensuring that the contractor complies with the EMP conditions. This includes ensuring that the EMP conditions are unambiguously carried into the construction contract. E.2.1 Clearing of the Right of Way 160. The ROW is 437 km long and will be cleared to a width of 32m. Actual clearance requirements are shown in Table 13 and total 1400ha of which 346 km or 79% of the RoW will require heavy clearing to remove tree growth 8. Apart from cutting down trees when chain saws will be used all other clearing will be undertaken by hand labour and local communities will be recruited to undertake the work. Where the RoW crosses crop land some minor clearing of scattered trees will be required. Additional clearance will be required on as need basis for removal of vegetation for temporary facilities such as materials storage, construction camp, and assembly areas. Crops will be potentially damaged during the construction of the transmission line when the conductor is strung. This is treated as a temporary RoW loss and will be paid as part of the Resettlement Plan Forest material that can be salvaged is to be identified by the relevant forest company or forest management board who has responsibility for managing the particular forest area. The forest company will identify any trees and then send the list to the Provincial DARD who will approve the removal of the trees. Following this the forest company will remove the salvageable trees. Any remaining vegetation will be cut by the forest company or the project owner who will arrange disposal of the cut vegetation CPMB will arrange the clearing of the RoW with the appropriate forest company. The forest company will be responsible for removal of vegetation following approval by provincial DARD. E.2.2 Access to sites: Soil erosion and Water Quality 163. During construction access to the tower bases will be required which may require construction of temporary access tracks with unformed stream crossings. There will be frequent vehicle movements along these tracks during construction and with exposed soil surfaces these areas will erode and where they are close to water receiving bodies will affect water quality. The impact will be concentrated and of short duration and will terminate when construction and stringing of the conductors has been completed To minimise the adverse effect on water quality and to control soil erosion the following procedures will be required to be completed by the contractor. (i) Schedule construction activities to the dry season to minimize affects on stream crossings and areas exposed by excavation activities. 8 The following categories will require complete removal; Tree crops 264 km; Productive forest 71.7km; Protective forest 12.01km. 50

52 (ii) Access tracks should have moderate gradients and turnoffs to direct runoff away from the road should be provided at 2.0m vertical intervals. (iii) On the completion of construction the access tracks are to be closed. Those that are required to remain for maintenance during operation are to be provided with adequate drainage facilities and the surfaces should be encouraged to revegetate with grass species The contractor will be responsible for these actions which are to be included as a requirement in the contract document. PTC3 and PCT4 will be responsible for including these requirements in the contract documents. E.2.3 Excavation of tower bases: Soil Erosion and Water Quality 166. Each tower base will require about 545 m 3 of soil and rock to be excavated and with 928 towers the excavated material becomes considerable 9 at about 505,805 m 3. Earth accounts for 81% of the excavated material and rock and other materials 19%. Excavated material will be sorted into competent re-usable material and incompetent material that cannot be reused and will need to be disposed of, this will be 19% by volume. Competent material will mainly include topsoil and both topsoil and incompetent material will need to be temporarily stored in secure areas that will not allow the material to enter water courses or become sources of dust. Consideration needs to be given to the re-use of incompetent material, e.g. rock may be able to be used on road surfaces. Any materials that cannot be reused will need to be disposed of and special care will need to be taken with disposal of plant nutrient deficient materials which includes sub-soil and rock. These areas must be covered by topsoil for revegetation Excavation will mainly be done by an excavator and where strong unweathered rock occurs blasting may be required Erosion and adverse water quality effects during project construction will be temporary providing that subsoil (deficient in plant nutrients) dies not remain exposed when the work is completed. Thus on the completion of construction and before the contractor leaves the site all exposed surfaces must be stabilized and revegetated. The contractor will be responsible for these actions which are to be included as a requirement in the contract document. CPMB will be responsible for including these requirements in the contract documents. E.2.4 Additional Impacts On Water Quality 169. The construction of the project facilities will have additional impacts on water quality. These include potential sources of water pollution are from the domestic sewage from construction workers, contamination due to spillage of oil and other lubricants, contamination due to disposal of construction wastes, and wastewater from washing of construction equipment and vehicles The contractor will be required to implement measures to prevent the discharge of wastewater during the construction of the project from entering directly into natural and formed drainage channels and other water bodies. Measures to mitigate impacts on water quality include: (i) Provision of adequate on-site sanitation facilities with septic tanks to prevent untreated sewage from being channelled into the drainage canals, irrigation canals, and river. 9 This quantity was queried with CPMB who slightly revised downwards an earlier figure that had been sent to them asking them to cross check it. 51

53 (iv) Implementation of appropriate solid waste and construction waste collection and disposal system, with provision for waste segregation. (v) Designation of areas for equipment services, refuelling, and wash down. The maintenance area should be provided with oil and grease traps to prevent oil from being washed into the offsite drainage canals. (vi) Preparation of an oil spill emergency response plan Proper implementation of the above measures will ensure that the potential water quality impacts during construction will be insignificant. CPMB will be responsible for including these requirements in the contract documents. E.2.5 Impacts On Air Quality 172. Dust: as construction will be carried out during the dry season dust will an issue from (i) transport and (ii) construction activities Vehicle traffic will increase and where this occurs on unpaved roads construction vehicles will increase dust hazard within villages. Additionally dust will also become a work place hazard at the construction site from the operation of excavation equipment and the movement of vehicles Additionally air quality in the area can be affected by exhaust gases but it is considered that the overall impact on air quality from construction equipment and vehicles will be insignificant and temporary The contractor will be responsible for ensuring that all vehicles and equipment are operated within their specifications to limit excessive release of air pollutants. Vehicles and equipment is to be maintained to meet these specifications and any that show produce excessive air pollution are to be stood down until they have been repaired Dust is to be controlled by spraying water on roads through villages and around the construction site. Vehicle speed and movement should be reduced during this time. Fugitive materials must be covered with tarpaulins when being transported by trucks. The contractor will be responsible for meeting these conditions and these shall be specified in the contract document. Environmental monitoring of dust and exhaust gases will be carried out by CPMB who will be responsible for including these requirements in the contract documents. E.2.6 Vibration 177. Apart from rock breaking machinery that will only be used in rock affected localities no other heavy machinery will be used on site that will cause significant vibration. E.2.7 Noise 178. The major sources of noise will be movement of vehicles transporting construction materials and equipment to the site. However, this impact is considered minor, localized, and temporary. The major construction activities will be basically located in the paddy fields and far from residential houses. The residential houses are located far from the construction site to be affected by construction noise Blasting of rock for foundations may be required. This can only be carried out by licensed blasting operators and prior to any blasting occurring the operator must use best practices to determine the extent of possible risk to life and surrounding property. Surrounding communities are to be given adequate warning prior to blasting commencing and all clear signal must be given when blasting has been completed. 52

54 CPMB will be responsible for including these requirements in the contract documents. E.2.8 Generation Of Construction Wastes 180. During the construction of the transmission towers, construction wastes such as discarded construction materials, cement bags, wood, steel, lubricants, fuels, and vegetation debris will be generated. Packaging materials such as wooden pallets, plastic, foam, and cardboard boxes used for the equipment and electrical parts delivered at the site for installation will also be generated. The construction camp for workers will also result to domestic solid wastes Wastes generated during construction and installation of equipment and parts have the potential to contaminate land and water resources. Oil may potentially leak from improper storage and handling of fuel and lubricants. The packaging materials may have potential for reuse and could be collected separately to avoid being haphazardly left around the construction sites With proper collection and disposal procedures, the generation of construction wastes will have minimal impact on the environment. Construction materials and stockpiles of spoils should be covered to reduce material loss. Particular attention should be made when conducting works near waterways to avoid discharge of wastes into the water course. Stockpiles, lubricants, fuels, and other materials should be located away from steep slopes and water bodies while solid wastes should be disposed of properly in a designated disposal area within the construction site. All domestic solid wastes need to be segregated at source into biodegradable and non-biodegradable for disposal at designated solid waste disposal site. CPMB will be responsible for including these requirements in the contract documents. E.2.9 Disruption To Traffic 183. Two possible impacts are identified; (i) restriction to traffic movement when the conductors are pulled across roads and (ii) increased movement of construction vehicles along provincial and communal roads The transmission line crosses National Highways 3 times and provincial roads 17 times. While these roads carry high traffic volumes there will be little or no restriction to traffic as established construction practice require supports and a platform to be constructed over the road which prevents the conductors fouling the traffic flow when they are being laid. Consequently there will be no restriction to traffic flow Construction will increase traffic volume to and from the construction sites. In particular, the communal roads are relatively narrow, frequently unpaved and movement of large construction vehicles along these roads may cause temporary blockage and nuisance to villagers. This will disrupt the normal traffic patterns and may expose the villagers to risk of injury or accidents CPMB will ensure that supports are erected where the conductors will be carried across major roads. CPMB will also advise communities of upcoming construction activities and the effects that it may have on traffic volumes. CPMB will also ensure that access is not to be impeded by construction operations to agricultural fields and residences. E.2.10 Damage To Infrastructure 53

55 187. The increased movement of vehicles and construction activities may cause damage to public infrastructure such as roads, buildings and irrigation and drainage canals Any damaged infrastructure caused by the construction activities will be repaired at the contractor s cost to at least the same standard and condition as it was before the project. CPMB will ensure that this provision is included as an item in the contract and further stipulates that payment will be with held from the contractor until the damage is repaired. E.2.11 Occupational Health And Safety and HIV/AIDS 189. Construction activities may cause harm and danger to the lives and welfare of workers. The wearing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as hard hats, safety gloves, ear protection etc is to be strictly imposed Construction activities may cause harm and danger to the lives and welfare of workers. The wearing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as hard hats, safety gloves, ear protection etc is to be strictly imposed. The contractor will be required to comply with the Law On HIV/AIDS Prevention And Control (Law No. 64/2006/QH11) and implement an HIV/AIDS and Other STIs Awareness Plan in cooperation with the Ministry of Health. The plan will address both workers and the local communities in raising awareness of these diseases. The HIV/AIDS Awareness Plan will be incorporated within the Health and Safety Plan (HSP) and will be prepared and implemented by the contractor. At least one trained first-aid worker is to be available at each construction site. SPMB will be responsible for including these requirements in the contract documents As existing commune health services may be unable to accommodate additional patients from the construction workforce the contractor will be required to provide first-aid facilities for the workers. At least one trained first-aid worker should be available at each construction camp. CPMB will be responsible for including these requirements in the contract documents. E.2.12 Community Health And Safety 192. Project construction will result in impacts to community health and safety such as increased construction traffic from the transport of materials, fires, emergency spills of materials, and unauthorized entry by the villagers into work areas To mitigate these potential impacts, the civil works contractor will be required to develop a Community Health and Safety Plan (CHSP) that incorporates good international best practice and recognized standards. The CHSP should include emergency response and preparedness procedures to be developed in close consultation with potentially affected communities and local authorities. The plan should include specific emergency response procedures, communication systems and protocols, interaction with local and regional emergency and health authorities, provision of emergency equipment and facilities such as fire truck, emergency service vehicles, and fire drills The CHSP should also include the requirement for the erection of safety barriers either as tape or fencing as determined by the risk to prevent unauthorised access to construction areas. Warning signs around sites are to be printed clearly in Vietnamese language. This will be the responsibility of the contractor. CPMB will be responsible for including these requirements in the contract documents. 54

56 E.3 Impacts During The Operational Phase 195. The expected adverse impacts during the operational phase of the 500kV transmission line are generally related to the occupational and community health and safety issues. The impacts are reversible, manageable, and can be mitigated with proper engineering and management controls. PTC 3 and PTC 4 10 will be responsible for the operation of the 500kV transmission line and its ancillary services. E.3.1 Occupational Health and Safety 196. The occupational health and safety issues inherent to the operation of high voltage transmission line systems include hazards due to exposure to live power lines and high voltage systems, working in heights and risks of accidents, and potential exposure to electric and magnetic fields. Accidents that may occur include; electrocution, lightning strike, fire and explosion Exposure to Live Power Lines and High Voltage Systems. Workers may come in contact with live power lines during the maintenance of the facilities and electrocution from direct contact with high-voltage electricity is a hazard directly related to power transmission lines and facilities PTC 3, PTC 4 should be guided by the IFC (2007) guidelines when carrying out maintenance of the transmission line and substation facilities. Some of the prevention and control measures when working with electrical systems are: (i) Restricting access to electrical equipment to only those workers who are trained and certified to work on electrical equipment. (ii) Adherence to electrical safety standards. (iii) Proper grounding and deactivation of live power distribution lines during maintenance work or if working in close proximity to the lines. (iv) Provision of PPE for workers, safety measures, personal safety devices, and other precautions (v) Observe guidelines regarding minimum approach distances for excavations, tools, vehicles, pruning, and other activities when working around power lines and the substation. (vi) The entrance to all buildings, vaults, rooms, or enclosures containing exposed live parts or exposed conductors should be kept locked unless such entrances are under the observation of a qualified person at all times. (vii) Switchboards, panel boards, industrial control panels, meter socket enclosures, and motor control centres that are likely to require examination, adjustment, servicing, or maintenance while energized should be field marked to warn qualified persons of potential electric arc flash hazards Working in Heights. Accidents may happen when working in heights. However, a worker safety plan may be implemented to reduce risks that include testing 10 PTC 3 is responsible for the transmission line from Kontum to Dak Nong and PTC4 from Binh Phuoc to Ho Chi Minh City. 11 International Finance Corporation (IFC) environmental Health, and Safety Guidelines - Electric Power Transmission and Distribution. 30 April

57 of structural integrity prior to proceeding with the work and the use of fall protection measures Worker Exposure to Electric and Magnetic Fields (EMF). Typically, electric utility workers have higher exposure to EMF than the general public because of working in close proximity to electric power lines. The occupational EMF exposure should be minimized through the implementation of an EMF safety program that includes: (i) Identification of potential exposure levels in the work area including surveys of exposure levels and establishment of safety zones (ii) Limit access to properly trained workers and those equipped with appropriate PPE when entering safety zones. (iii) Utilization of personal monitors during work activities. (iv) Posting of safety signs and warning signs. E.3.2 Community Health And Safety 201. Electrocution Hazards: the community can be exposed to electrocution hazards as a result of direct contact with high voltage electricity or from contact with tools, vehicles, or other devices that come in contact with high-voltage electricity. To prevent these hazards, PTC 3 and PTC 4 will implement the following: Provision of signs and anti climbing devices on all transmission towers. Ensure that any new buildings within the 72 m wide earthing zone are earth grounded Exposure to Electromagnetic Field. The transmission frequency commonly used in transmission systems ranges from 50Hz 60Hz which is considered to be an extremely low frequency (IFC, 2007). Effects reduce with distance and electric fields also become shielded by trees, buildings, and other materials that conduct electricity. In general electric fields are strongest close to the source and diminish with distance The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that there is inconclusive evidence about substantive long-term health issues related to radiation emanating from low frequency electric fields at levels generally encountered by members of the public. The potential health effects associated with exposure to EMF is not well-established due to lack of empirical data demonstrating adverse health effects. However, the public should be warned about the safety distances from the transmission system and power lines through warning signs and the restrictions on erecting any houses or buildings within the RoW and earth zone are to be enforced by PTC 3 and 4. E.3.3 Risks And Emergencies Associated With Transmission Lines and Substations 204. There are several risks that could occur with the operation of transmission lines and substations. For transmission lines these include the likelihood of cable being damaged, vandalism of the equipment along the transmission line, corrosion of the towers over time which could compromise its structural integrity, potential fire events, explosion of equipment, and being hit by lightning. 56

58 205. Lightning arresters will be provided along the transmission line. There should also be provision for ensuring security of the equipment to avoid vandalism. Regular inspections of the line and the facilities would help identify missing or corroded parts In substations fire and explosion may occur from improper functioning of transformers or reactors when cooling systems fail. Transformers and reactors should always be built over a collector pit that has sufficient capacity to collect any oil leaking from the cooling system and additionally rainfall. The collector pit must be fitted with oil and water separator to ensure that capacity is always maintained in the system by regular inspection. A layer of coarse gravel suspended on a grate above the pit will act as a fire suppressing device. Fire control systems are included in the design and these must be regularly checked and maintained as part of the emergency response preparedness for the substation Workers should be trained on emergency preparedness and response procedures and a manual on safety and emergency procedures should be prepared and disseminated to workers for fighting oil fires, e.g. from transformer leaks. The procedure should outline the system to identify potential emergency situations and potential accidents that can have an impact to the health and safety of the workers and to the community This is the responsibility of PTC3 and PTC4 as operators of the 500kV transmission line and the substations. E.3.4 Management and control of vegetation including invasive species along the Transmission Line 209. One of the regular programs to maintain the integrity of the transmission line is the trimming of vegetation within and along the RoW to meet the necessary conductor safety clearances Vegetation maintenance activities will not cause any significant disturbance to local people who can benefit from being hired to undertake the work. NPT uses hand labour to undertake vegetation control which is ideally suited to hiring local people for this activity. NPT does not allow the use of herbicides and pesticides to control vegetation growth. Burning to control vegetation along the transmission RoW is also prohibited as this may cause flash-overs from smoke particles To minimize the impacts associated with the removal of vegetation, clearing will only be allowed within the designated width of the RoW and to achieve the required clearances A significant invasive species is Mimosa pigra which is found throughout Vietnam particularly along waterways. PTC3 and PTC4 will be required to control any spread of invasive species including Mimosa pigra. E.3.5 Bird Collisions 213. Based on the field inspections and interviews with key informants about the path of migratory birds, there are relatively few birds in the project area. The site is not established as a path of migratory birds. PCC4 stated that are no reports about dead birds that may have collided with existing transmission lines. It is recommended that as part of the monitoring procedures that PTC3 and PTC4 arrange for collection of any possible bird collision information and forward the information to the NPT environmental unit. 57

59 E.3.6 Restriction On Development In Transmission Line Row 214. PTC3 and PTC4 will institute restriction on development along the RoW during operation of the line. This will be done to maintain the RoW free of structures within the designated clearance requirements. 58

60 F. ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES F.1.1 Alternatives to Technology 215. A possible technology option would be to lay the transmission line underground but for 500kV voltages the cost/km is up to 10 times higher and to date the maximum length that has been undergrounded for a cable of this magnitude is about 20km For transmitting energy of this magnitude there are no practical technological alternatives. F.1.2 Alternatives to Design 217. Three alternative routes (A1 - A3) were examined which are summarised in Table 17. Table 17: Comparison of line route alternatives Specific parameters Unit A1 A2 A3 The length of route km Number of change angles angle Number of intersections 500kV T/L no Number of intersections 220kV, 110kV T/L no Number of intersection T/Ls < 35kV no Number of intersections of national highway no Number of intersections of provincial roads no Number of hhs affected within ROW hh All three alternatives traversed similar terrain and land use systems including plains. low hills and mountains and coffee, rubber, natural forest, pines, paddies and fruit trees. Alternative 1 has the shortest length and shorter than Alternative 3 by 22.98km while Alternative 2 is the longest route and is km longer than Alternative 1. Alternative 1 has lower displacement of households 366 houses, versus Alternative 3 which will displace 374 houses while Alternative 2 will displace 54 houses. Alternative 1 avoids residential areas, and has a lower impact on infrastructure including roads and transmission lines 219. The alternatives were discussed with the provinces when the selection of the route was being undertaken and all provinces selected Alternative 1 on the basis that it lessened the impact in the ROW with regard to affecting houses and agricultural areas, and fitted better with future development planning. Consequently Alternative 1 has been selected for design. F.1.3 Alternatives to Operation 59

61 220. There are no readily identifiable alternatives to operation as the transmission line will be required to operate on a 24/7 basis. F.1.4 The no project alternative 221. Should the transmission line not be constructed power shortages would become increasingly more acute in the southern part of Vietnam. It would also prevent export of a carbon free source of generation from hydropower projects in Laos and in Central Vietnam to southern Vietnam. This would abrogate Vietnam s agreements with Lao PDR to buy energy from Lao PDR. This would have a knock on effect by jeopardising major investment that has already been committed to developing hydropower potential in Lao PDR to meet this market. Export of energy across borders is seen as one of the significant cooperative advantages for the member countries of the Greater Mekong Region Without the transmission line and access to power exported from Lao PDR alternative sources of generation would need to be provided in southern Vietnam. This would require the development of major thermal energy plants dependent on imported coal and gas. F.1.5 Reasons for selection of the proposed site 223. The project is selected as it meets the energy growth requirements of southern Vietnam by linking southern Vietnam with surplus energy sources generated either from Lao PDR or from the Central Highlands. Of the three route alternatives the shortest route has been selected but this also has advantages in terms of fewer households displaced and less overall impact on infrastructure. 60

62 G. INFORMATION DISCLOSURE, CONSULTATION AND PARTICIPATION 224. This Chapter presents the public consultation process that was undertaken for the project, the results of the surveys and consultation meetings, and the concerns raised by the stakeholders Formal community consultation meetings were held to discuss the location and impact of the transmission line and substations. Public consultations were held in various localities within Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong and Ho Chi Minh City from December 2010 to February Consultation included meetings with 66 communes, 4 forest companies and 1 forest management board. As the transmission line traverses provinces from Central Highland to Eastern South, military authorities including Military Headquarter Zone 5, Military Headquarter Zone 7, and provincial military headquarters of Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong (Military Zone 5), and Binh Phuoc and HCMC (Military Zone 7) were consulted for unexploded ordnance Face-to-face meetings were later carried out by CPMB and PECC-4 with the participation of TA team in several affected communities and households in November 2011 to confirm the reports of the previous consultations and clarify some environmental issues. During the TA meetings were also held with Department of Forest Protection, MARD in Hanoi and to confirm that the proposed transmission line did not encroach into any national park/natural reserves or planned extensions of them in the concerned localities The pertinent environmental issues raised by the stakeholders included the following and in more detail in Annex 7. i. Comments from communal authorities: (i) Contractors must ensure the highest safety for the workers, especially people living around the RoW and take quick remedial action should an accident occur. (ii) The project owner should coordinate with local authorities on compensation, support and site clearance. (iii) During the construction phase, project owner should coordinate with contractors and local workers in the management of workers, prevention of social evils and prevention of forest fires. (iv) Local workers should be employed for unskilled jobs. (v) Project owner should strictly implement measures in the EMP to minimize environmental impacts. (vi) Project owner should ensure that the project construction schedule is met. (vii) Project owner should comply with local regulations and Law on Environmental Protection and adopt policies for compensation for land, crops, and properties for affected households. (viii) Project owner should provide allowances to local staff for supporting the implementation the project. ii. Comments from forest companies and forest management boards: 61

63 (i) Before construction commences the project owner should coordinate with the forest management in forest protection, identification of affected forest area and timber volume within the RoW, and perform inventory check to verify the specific impacts to the forest. (ii) The project owner should apply for converting the use of forest and forest land to the RoW. (iii) The project owner is to design plans for harvest and salvage of vegetation before construction. (iv) During the construction phase, the project owner will coordinate with contractors and local authorities in the management of forests, in particular to ensure that clearing does not encroach upon the area outside the RoW, and properly supervise workers to prevent destruction of forests and forest fires. (v) As the project traverses areas of protection forest land, additional technical measures to minimize the impact on forest resources should be applied. At the same time funds for remediation and reforestation should be provided. (vi) When construction is carried out in the forest area the project owner will be required to coordinate with the forest ranger to supervise and inspect tree felling within the RoW. 62

64 H.1 Purpose of the Mechanism H. GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM 228. During the course of the project it is possible that people may have concerns with the project s environmental performance including the implementation of the EMP. 12 Issues may occur during construction and again during operation. Any concerns will need to be addressed quickly and transparently, and without retribution to the affected party/person (AP). The following Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) is to be used and commences with an attempt to sort out the problem directly at project level. H.2 Access to the Mechanism 229. Any person who has a complaint regarding the environmental performance of the Project during pre-construction, construction and operation phases shall have access to the grievance redress mechanism described in the following section. The Project through the Grievance Point Person (GPP) shall ensure that: (i) (ii) (iii) the grievance redress mechanism is publicly disclosed, and posted in the offices of the affected communes and in strategic places of the Project s area of influence; the grievance redress mechanism is accessible to all segments of affected villages/communes; and the public, most especially the residents living in the vicinity of the area of influence of the Project are aware of their rights to have free and uninterrupted access to the GRM mechanism and legal charges and without adverse action being taken against them. H.3 The Grievance Redress Mechanism 230. The grievance redress procedure will comply with the requirements of ADB SPS (2009) in addressing people s concerns and complaints promptly and in transparent manner. Managing grievances takes a step-by-step process. It requires assigning responsibilities and specifying timelines for prompt responses/actions to grievances to avoid prolonging the concerns of affected person/s (AP/s). The formal mechanism is discussed in the following section. H.3.1 Prior to Construction 231. Prior to the commencement of the Project the CPMB will appoint a member of its staff to be the Grievance Point Person (GPP) to handle grievances lodged during construction. CPMB will ensure that the GPP has sufficient support in terms of facilities to implement the grievance redress mechanism At least one month prior to the start of construction, the GRM is to be disclosed to affected villages and communes by the GPP in coordination with the concerned Commune People Committees (CPCs). It may be disclosed during social preparation, or preferably, during an independent IEE disclosure. The information to be disclosed/ explained shall, at least, include: i) the objective/purpose of the grievance redress mechanism; ii) who can raise grievances; iii) what grievances are within the scope of the Subproject mechanism; iv) potential grievances that are outside the scope of the Project 12 This procedure is for addressing environmental issues. Any grievances dealing with land and compensation issues are to be directed to the Department of Lands who have established procedures for dealing with these issues. 63

65 mechanism and should be directed to established mechanisms outside the Project; v) no cost involved on the part of complainants; vi) the benefits from/advantages of using the grievance redress mechanism, as opposed to an informal resolution approach (e.g., the persons rights and protection are guaranteed, etc.); vi) the step-by-step procedure; vii) the entities involved in the mechanism, persons to contact together with their contact numbers and addresses; (Contractor shall have a grievance action team that should be introduced to the villages & communes during construction mobilization); viii) the timeframe for resolving complaints. H.3.2 During Construction and During Operation 233. During construction complaints may include those related to physical construction works on the towers and substation. During the operational phase of the project complaints that may be related to maintenance activities of the RoW and facilities. The GRM is shown graphically in Figure 5. a. Lodging a Complaint 234. The affected persons (APs) can lodge complaints to i) Commune People Committee of affected communes ii) Contractors, during construction; iii) PTC 3 and PTC 4, during operation; and iv) the CPMB, through its Grievance Point Person, prior to construction and during construction. b. Grievance Documentation/Registration 235. The Grievance Point Person (GPP) and the Central Power Project Management Board (CPMB) will be responsible for documenting and registering complaints received during construction and PTC 3 and PTC 4 during operation. Other potential complaint recipients shall make sure that the received complaints are documented by, and registered with the GPP as soon as possible. The GPP/CPMB shall make sure that documented/registered complaints are acknowledged, duly referenced and complainants informed of the expected action timelines as set forth in the established mechanism. The GPP/CPMB shall inform the AP immediately if the grievance is within, or outside, the purview of the mechanism. If it is outside the scope, AP shall be directed to the proper institution and/or proper mechanism for the complaint. c. Review, Investigation, Resolution 236. If it is covered by the mechanism, the complaint will be immediately reviewed, investigated and discussed together with the Contractor or PTC 3 or PTC 4 s duly designated grievance officer. The review of the complaint should take place immediately the next day. If the issue is minor and can be resolved at this level the contractor or PTC 3 or PTC 4 shall immediately act on the complaint. If the issue is more serious and will need a more comprehensive review and investigate the Contractor or PTC 3 or PTC 4 shall resolve the grievance within 5 days from the day the grievance is lodged. The grievance redress procedure is presented in Figure 1. d. Progress Tracking 237. The CPMB/ PTC 3 or PTC 4 shall keep track of, and document, the progress of each step for record purposes, future reference and for monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of the mechanism. If, according to the AP, the impact has been resolved satisfactorily, GPP/ PTC 3 or PTC 4 shall obtain a written confirmation of satisfaction from the complainant, which will form part of the grievance documentation. e. Monitoring and Evaluation 64

66 238. For at least a week after closure of grievance (that is, when action implemented has been satisfactorily confirmed in writing by the complainant), the CPMB/ PTC 3 or PTC 4 shall monitor the effectiveness of the resolution. Monitoring shall be properly documented. The CPMB/ PTC 3 or PTC 4 shall make sure that the status of grievance management is reported. The report shall provide comprehensive information on number of grievance received, timeframe of actions made, number of action backlogs, efficiency rate, and remarks particularly on the constraints and lessons learned. Reports shall serve as basis for evaluating the effectiveness of the mechanism and shall help in determining improvements to strengthen the mechanism and improve the environmental management Plan. It is also advisable to use the monitoring reports to report back to the concerned villages and communes on the implementation of the grievance redress mechanism. f. Appeal Mechanism for Dissatisfied Complainants/APs 239. In the case that the issue persists, AP can lodge an appeal to District Court. If the complaint is not resolved at the district level, it could be elevated to the People s Committee at the provincial/city level for resolution. Figure 5: Grievance Redress Procedure 65

67 I. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN 240. This section identifies mitigation and management measures to avoid, reduce, mitigate or compensate for adverse environmental impacts that have already been identified in the previous sections. The environmental management plan (EMP) is a management tool and the issues are accordingly addressed with regard to the sequence of operations, i.e. those activities that apply to; pre-construction, construction and operation While the institutional arrangements are dealt with separately in the later part of the EMP it is noted here that the management system that will oversee the EMP consists of: 242. (i) an environmental unit is being established in the Technical Department within NPT Head Office to support technical staff in meeting environmental safeguard requirements. This will consist of one national Environmental Officer (EO) (ii) The CPMB has a PIU in Danang which will contains technical staff but no safeguards staff and for this project needs to be linked to the NPT HO environmental division. The CPMB will have overall responsibility for supervising the construction contract and will appoint a Supervising Engineer (SE) for this purpose. The EO will work in conjunction with the SE. An international Environmental Specialist (IES) will be appointed as an advisor to the EO to assist in implementing the EMP which remains the responsibility of the EO. As there is inadequate representation of safeguard requirements in the PIU the IES will need to be appointed at an early stage in the project so as to assist the EO in developing the preconstruction and construction requirements of the EMP The Contractor will appoint two staff members an Environmental and Health and Safety Officer and a Community Liaison Officer who will be responsible for implementing the EMP Table 18 shows a matrix of the EMP and is attached at the end of this section. The construction section of the EMP including the matrix is to be attached to the contract documents. I.1 Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Measures Needed during the Design/Pre-Construction Phase 245. The design and pre-construction phase will address the environmental mitigation measures that are outlined in this section. The majority of the measures are already established as Best Engineering Design Practices and would normally be expected to be addressed by the technical engineering team using their own procedures. The preconstruction work concludes with the integration of the EMP conditions into the Bid and Contract Documents and the evaluation and selection of the contractor. The responsibility for carrying out this work is shared by the Design Engineer and the EO. No additional costs have been identified for this work and all work required at this time will be covered by the budget for the pre-construction work carried out by CPMB. The following items are to be addressed during pre-construction. Acquisition of land and payment of compensation Review EMP, extract construction section of the EMP and attach to the Bid and Contract Document (B&C). Inclusion of Appendix 5 Prohibited Activities in B&C Document Bid evaluation and selection of contractor 66

68 246. Acquisition of land and payment of compensation: Land acquisition and compensation will be addressed by the Resettlement Plan (RP). All land acquisition and compensation payments must be settled and completed before construction commences. While it is likely that the District Resettlement and Compensation Committee will be selected to implement the RP the CPMB has the ultimate responsibility and will select the organisation to pay the compensation Inclusion of Appendix 5 - Prohibited Investment Activities List - in Bid and Contract Document: It will be necessary to include in the B&C document reference to Appendix 5 - Prohibited Investment Activities List that is found in The Safeguards Policy Statement , especially Item (ii) - production or trade in any product or activity deemed illegal under host country laws and regulations or international conventions and agreements or subject to international phase-outs or bans, such as (a) pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and herbicides (b) ozone-depleting substances, (c) polychlorinated biphenyls and other hazardous chemicals etc.. The Project Manager and EO will be responsible for including reference to Appendix 5 Activities in the B&C document in the section Special Conditions of Contract Review EMP, extract construction section of the EMP and attach to the B&C document: Experience shows that inadequate application of the EMP by the contractor may occur due to weak linkages of the EMP with the contract document. The EMP is a part of the work program and as such it must be addressed by the contractor and carried out as required. If the EMP is not satisfactorily addressed then the environmental safeguards and project sustainability will be compromised While a brief outline of the requirements are shown below, preparation of the Bid and Contract Documents is a specialised task and needs to be carried out by a person skilled in contract preparation. Initially this will be challenging as few B&C templates are available for the inclusion of the EMP with the B&C documents 13. In the B&C section Special Conditions of Contract list the EO will arrange the following; (i) prior to the tender being called the EO will revise and update the EMP and (ii) extract the construction section of the EMP and together with the SE will attach this to the Bid and Contract Documents in section; Part II - Requirements; Section 6 - Employer s Requirements. (iii) in Part 1 the Price Schedule 4 - Bill of Quantities this must include reference to particular requirements e.g. Preparation of Contractor s EMP (CEMP) including procedures and safeguards, as per Specification Clause x.x. which requires the bidder to specify the cost of the item within the Price Schedule. (iv) In the B&C section Special Conditions of Contract list the construction section of the EMP as forming part of the B&C document. The contractor will use this document to cost his compliance with the EMP. This will be the responsibility of the EO and SE who will assist the Procurement Officer in addressing this issue Bid evaluation and selection of contractor: If for any reason the B&C documents have not been prepared with adequate reference to the system outlined in RSC-C00919 (SOL) then the contractor will be required to provide a short statement that confirms the 13 It is recommended that the person preparing the documents obtain a copy of the following document from the Pacific Operations Department in the ADB. ADB TA RSC-C00919 (SOL) Review of Environmental Safeguards Policy Implementation in ADB-Funded Projects in the Solomon Islands. October This document evaluates the application of EMP safeguards to various construction activities undertaken in the Solomon Islands and sets out a practical system for incorporating the EMP into the B&C documents. 67

69 following three points. The statement is to be attached to the Bid in the section Special Conditions of Contract. (i) that the construction section of the EMP conditions have been costed into the bid price, (ii) the contractor is to provide prior experience of working with an EMP, (iii) the contractor is required to provided the name, details of qualifications and experience of the person on the contractor s team who will be responsible for the environmental compliance requirements of the EMP During bid evaluation these strengths will be evaluated and will be awarded 10% of the bid in the selection of the contractor. Should the contractor not provide these details, the bid will be judged to be non-compliant and the bid rejected. The SE will be responsible for ensuring that these conditions are included as conditions in the B&C document 252. Both the SE s representative and EO are to be members of the bid evaluation panel. The EO will evaluate the contractor s environmental capability and present this to the evaluation panel. I.2 Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Measures Needed during Construction 253. Environmental impacts identified during construction are limited in size, are site specific and temporary. The activities would normally be recognised and implemented as part of Best Construction Practices. For construction projects of this magnitude the contractor will require the usual range of facilities including site offices, workshops, storage areas and construction camps During construction the major materials that will be hauled to site includes materials for the tower foundations; reinforcing steel, concrete or materials for making concrete, while the towers will be constructed from pre-cut lengths of galvanised steel that will be bolted together. Some painting may be required where galvanising has been affected by the construction activity but this is expected to be minor. Insulators will be supplied for each tower while conductors will be unwound from large drums before being pulled through pulleys attached to the tower arms and tensioned Machinery that may be used on the site is shown in Annex 6 and includes a range of heavy and light machinery. None of these items have the capacity to create adverse vibration. Bulldozers will expose areas to soil erosion The project plans to construct the transmission line using 27 teams operating in 27 separate sections. Construction of transmission towers, stringing and tensioning conductors is a specialised task. Each team will consist of about 90 people of which 70 will be skilled and 20 will be unskilled workers. The unskilled workers will be recruited from local communities. In total about 2,500 people may be employed for about 2 years during the construction of the transmission line CPMB will arrange contracts for the construction of the transmission line. PTC3 and PTC4 will supervise the contracts Construction work involves the following and will need to be undertaken simultaneously at several locations to ensure that the transmission line is completed within two years. 68

70 (i) Removal of houses and buildings from within the RoW and resettlement of affected households. (ii) Preparation of contractor s facilities. (iii) Transport of materials to site for construction of the towers (iv) Providing access to the tower bases. (v) Excavation of tower bases by machinery and construction of tower foundations. (vi) Erection of towers and fitting tower equipment. (vii) Pulling the conductors, tensioning with winches and attaching to the insulators. (viii) Testing and energising the transmission line Construction is expected to take 2 years with the most critical activity being the erection of the transmission towers. To construct the transmission line and address the above activities the following issues will need to be addressed during construction. These are arranged as much as possible in order of undertaking. Contractor prepares CEMP Induction of contractor to site Control of invasive species Establishment of contractor s facilities; camps, offices, quarries, concrete batching plants etc. Demarcation and clearing of the right of way Replanting of equivalent forest area Preparation of site: excavation, removal and disposal of unusable (incompetent) material. Sourcing concrete making materials Noise and vibration Dust management Prevention of soil erosion on the construction site Storage and handling of, (i) fuel and lubricants and (ii) bitumen. Public access to site Community safety from increased vehicle movements Use of hazardous materials and application of Appendix 5 Prohibited Activities Workplace health and safety Worker Issues - hiring of workers and HIV/AIDS issues Worker issues - location of camps and employment of local labour Worker issues - provision of adequate living conditions within the campsite Worker issues - camp water heating and cooking; use of fuelwood Worker issues - hunting and sale of wildlife Disposal of site waste Chance discovery of archaeological and cultural sites Clearance and rehabilitation of construction sites and removal of contractor s facilities 260. During construction the contractor will work according to the requirements of the Contractors Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) which will be prepared by the 69

71 contractor after the award of the contract and before moving to site. Supervision and monitoring of the CEMP activities will be undertaken as follows; (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) The contractor has the initial responsibility for supervising and monitoring the CEMP which is covered as a supervision item in the works contract. The Project Supervising Engineer appointed by CPMB (SE) will direct the contractor with regard to compliance with the CEMP. The SE will be supported by the Environmental Officer (EO) from NPT. The EO will carry out independent monitoring of the work and can issue Defect Notices to the SE who will issue these to the contractor. The contractor will have three representatives on site who will be responsible for the EMP (a) the Contractor s Site Engineer (CSE) who will be responsible for implementing the contract and complying with the CEMP; (b) an Environmental and Health and Safety Officer (EHS) who will be responsible for monitoring compliance with the EMP and the health and safety plans and (ii) a Community Liaison Officer (CLO) who will act as the contact point between the local communities and the contractor Contractor prepares CEMP: following the award of the contract and before commencing work the contractor will be required to prepare a Contractors Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) that addresses the conditions of the construction EMP that has been attached to the B&C Documents. The CEMP will amplify how the contractor will address the activities in the construction section of the EMP. An outline of the CEMP will be provided by the EO. The contractor will submit the CEMP to the EO for approval and will forward this to the ESP for final approval. The contractor has 10 days to prepare the CEMP, the EO has 5 days to review the CEMP as has the ESP (5 days) Induction of contractor to site: Following the selection of the contractor and the approval of the CEMP, the contractor together with the person on the contractor s staff who will be responsible for supervising the CEMP will meet the EO on-site where the CEMP conditions will be confirmed with the contractor. When the EO is confident that the contractor understands and can comply with the CEMP, the EO will advise the SE that the contractor can now commence work Control of invasive species: invasive species have the ability to out compete local vegetation and the introduction of these into new areas is to be avoided Prior to the contractor mobilising the EO will arrange to review the site and determine whether there are any infestations of invasive species in the area. (i) The contractor is to advise where his machinery was last used and whether the area is infested with any invasive species. Depending on the state of any infestation at the project construction site then the SE will advise the contractor whether or not machinery must be cleaned before moving to the site. This includes the removal of any potential seed sources such as earth and organic material that may be attached to the machinery. (ii) The contractor and the EO will be required to observe for any infestations. (iii) Should infestations occur on construction sites that are due or are not due to the contractor s activities the contractor will be required to control the infestation. (iv) Control and avoidance of the introduction of invasive species is the contractor s responsibility and this also extends to any sub-contractors that are working under his control. This will be the responsibility of the contractor. The SE and the EO will responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the contractor for this activity. 70

72 265. Establishment of contractor s facilities: This applies to all of the contractor s facilities, offices, worker camps, storage areas, workshops, quarries, concrete batching areas etc. The sites are to be selected so that: (i) they do not interfere with the welfare of surrounding communities in terms of noise dust and vibration from construction activities and their social wellbeing from their proximity to contractor s labour camps, (ii) the areal extent of the contractor s facilities are to be limited to reduce unnecessary clearing of vegetation, (iii) sanitary waste and grey water is not to be released untreated into surface water systems. (iv) sites are to be properly drained. Paved areas, including vehicle parking areas, workshops and fuel storage areas are to drain to an oil and water separator. (v) Fuel storage areas are not to be located within 20m of a water course. (vi) The contractor s facilities are to be contained within an adequate security fence. (vii) Concrete batching areas are to be provided with bunds to control movement of runoff to waterways. The location and development of contractor s facilities are to be approved by the SE and the EO Demarcation and clearing of the RoW and ancillary facilities: this applies to the Right of Way, temporary access road and the contractor s site facilities The ROW is 437 km long and will be cleared to a width of 32m. Actual clearance requirements are shown in Table 12 and total 1400ha of which 346 km or 79% of the RoW will require heavy clearing to remove tree growth 14. Apart from cutting down trees when chain saws will be used all other clearing will be undertaken by hand labour and local communities will be recruited to undertake the work. Where the RoW crosses crop land some minor clearing of scattered trees will be required. Additional clearance will be required on as needs basis for removal of vegetation for temporary facilities such as materials storage, construction camp, and assembly areas. Crops will be potentially damaged during the construction of the transmission line when the conductor is strung. This is treated as a temporary RoW loss and will be paid as part of the Resettlement Plan Forest material that can be salvaged is to be identified by the relevant forest company or forest management board who has responsibility for managing the particular forest area. The forest company will identify any trees and then send the list to the Provincial DARD who will approve the removal of the trees. Following this the forest company will remove the salvageable trees. Any remaining vegetation will be cut by the forest company or the project owner who will arrange disposal of the cut vegetation CPMB will arrange the clearing of the RoW with the appropriate forest company. The forest company will be responsible for removal of vegetation following approval by provincial DARD. (i) Wherever possible limit area to be cleared and avoid excessive machine disturbance of the topsoil as this is required to be removed and stored. (ii) The area to be cleared is defined by a clearly established boundary. 14 The following categories will require complete removal; Tree crops 264 km; Productive forest 71.7km; Protective forest 12.01km. 71

73 (iii) A 10 m wide buffer zone is to be established around watercourses and no clearing is permitted within this area. (iv) Where machinery is used to undertake any clearing, machinery operators must be shown the boundaries of areas to be cleared before commencing work. (v) Waste vegetation should be made available to villagers as fuelwood (vi) If the material is an impediment to workers it may need to be burnt to clear the area. Wherever possible limit burning and if this is to be done ensure that the wood is dry so as allow a hot clean burn that produces little smoke This will be the responsibility of the contractor. The SE and the EO will responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the contractor Compensation planting of equivalent forest area: Overall loss of natural forest is 40 ha. (See Table 16) Loss of forest will be addressed by a replacement planting program that will replant 40 ha of non forested land. Replanting will be carried out under the supervision of the Forest companies that are based within the communes. The cost of replanting an equivalent area with productive tree species based on a unit cost of $2500/ha 15 for 40 ha is $100,000. This item is carried into the EMP budget. This will be the responsibility of PTC3 and PTC4 who will make the arrangements to undertake the replanting in consultation with the affected communes in Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Binh Phuoc provinces Preparation of site: Excavation, removal and disposal of incompetent materials: this applies to all cleared sites where excavation will be undertaken and includes the transmission towers, access road etc. The contractor is to arrange the following. (i) Limit the areas to be excavated to a size that can be effectively managed and protected. (ii) Topsoil is removed and stored in separate heaps that are located in stable areas for later re-use for site rehabilitation. (iii) Excavated material is sorted and stored as either competent (able to be reused) and incompetent (to be disposed of) materials. (iv) At completion of work dumping areas to be re-topsoiled and revegetated. This will be the responsibility of the contractor. The SE and the EO will responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the contractor Sourcing concrete making materials: all material is to be sourced from outlets that have been given exploitation approval by MONRE or DONRE. The contractor has no authority to open any material site and must source all concrete making material from MONRE or DONRE approved sites Noise and Vibration: this applies to all machinery, vehicles and construction sites where noise and vibration may affect susceptible receptors. The principle sources of noise and vibration will be construction equipment. The contractor will be responsible for ensuring that noise and vibration does not affect the surrounding communities. While it is unlikely that noise and vibration will be an issue due to the distance between the activities and the communities the contractor must abide by the National Technical Regulation on Noise (QCVN 26:2010/BTNMT) which caps noise in normal residential at 70 dba between 0600 and 2100 hrs and 55 dba between 2100 hrs hrs. Should 15 The cost of $2,500/ha includes the establishment cost of $1,000/ha plus maintenance over 3 years at $500/ha. 72

74 vibration become an issue the contractor is to curtail activities to daylight hours (0700hrs hrs). This will be the responsibility of the contractor. The SE and the EO will responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the contractor Dust management: this applies to all construction sites, haul roads, topsoil and spoil dumps. Work that is carried out during the drier time of the year and especially when wind speeds increase may create localised dusty conditions. During construction when dust may be generated the contractor is to monitor the worksite conditions and apply dust control measures which includes reducing traffic movements and spraying water on exposed areas. Use of oil for dust control is not allowed. The contractor is to maintain a Dust Control Record that shows where and when dust control practices were carried out. This is to be made available as required when requested by the SE and/or the EO This will be the responsibility of the contractor. The SE and the EO will responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the contractor Prevention of soil erosion on construction site: this applies to all excavated sites. The contractor will be responsible for ensuring that the site is stable and that erosion is contained by appropriate soil conservation protection methods. (i) Limit the extent of excavation to reduce soil erosion potential. (ii) Soil conservation protection methodology is to be applied to susceptible areas to avoid storm water runoff carrying eroded materials either, off-site to susceptible areas or, else onto already finished work areas. (iii) Where excessive areas are to be opened, soil protection is unlikely to be effective or storm water drainage is likely to discharge sediment into neighbouring water courses, sediment traps are to be used to settle eroded particles. (iv) Avoid excavating areas and operating machinery in wet ground conditions. (v) Excavated areas are to be revegetated as soon as possible at the completion of the site work. This will be the responsibility of the contractor. The SE and the EO will responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the contractor Storage and handling of construction materials. (i) Fuel and lubricants and (ii) : Only small amounts of construction materials are likely to be brought to site. These will include sand, gravel and cement for concrete manufacture, reinforcing rods and steel mesh, wood and other construction materials, paint and thinners, fuel and lubricants. (i) Storage areas to be prepared to avoid deterioration of materials. (ii) Fuel should be stored in properly sealed containers. Storage of large quantities of fuel > 5000 l are to be stored in tanks above a bunded concrete platform with 110% storage capacity that drains to an oil and water separator. (iii) All fuel storage areas to be security fenced. Fuel hoses and shut off valve to be locked. (iv) All refuelling to be done at least 20 m away from waterways by trained personnel. (v) All waste oil and oil filters to be collected and if possible recycled, otherwise they are to be disposed of in secure landfills. (vi) The contractor is develop a Fuel Handling and Accidental Spill Reaction Procedure and to train refuelling personnel in these procedures. 73

75 280. Any major spill into the watercourse is to be reported to the DONRE. All waste oil, oil and fuel filters are to be collected and disposed of in secure landfill areas. At the closure of the site all contaminated soil is to be excavated, removed and replaced with fresh topsoil. This will be the responsibility of the contractor. The SE and the EO will responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the contractor Public access to the site: this applies to the contractor s site and work areas. Access is to be controlled to the contractor s facilities. All visitors will be required to report to a site security area before being allowed to enter the site. Work areas will be demarcated by barrier tape and signs erected as required to warn people that there is no right of entry to these areas. This will be the responsibility of the contractor. The SE and the EO will responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the contractor Community safety from increased vehicle movements: this applies to all vehicles and in particular haul trucks that have to pass through villages. The contractor is to ensure that all vehicles that are required to pass through villages are operated and transport equipment and materials safely without endangering these communities. The contractor is to ensure: (i) that trucks and other vehicles are maintained in a safe operating condition, (ii) all drivers and machinery operators act responsibly, (iii) all loads are to be secured and all loads with fugitive materials (e.g. excavated soil and sand) are to be covered with tarpaulins, (iv) the contractor is to immediately remove any drivers that ignore any of the community safety requirements. This will be the responsibility of the contractor. The SE and the EO will responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the contractor Use of (i) hazardous materials and (ii) Prohibited Activities: 284. (i) Hazardous Materials: Care will need to be taken should any hazardous (HAZCHEM) materials be required to be used during construction. It is recommended that the contractor uses the HAZCHEM system And follow the QCVN 07: 2009/BTNMT - National Technical Regulation on Hazardous Waste Thresholds. The contractor will be required to prepare a list of all materials that are proposed to be brought to site together with their HAZCHEM rating. The EO is to verify the HAZCHEM rating and approve the use of any HAZCHEM rated chemicals. Should HAZCHEM materials be used in the work place the contractor will be required to display Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) in all work areas and to train workers in the safe use of these materials, including the provision of protective equipment for handling these substances (ii) Prohibited Activities: The contractor is to be aware of the activities shown in Appendix 5 of the of the ADB's Safeguard Policy Statement, Prohibited Investment Activities List that became effective in January Any listed Appendix 5 activities are prohibited. The SE and EO are to verify that the contractor is aware of the Appendix 5 requirements and that none of these activities will be sanctioned during construction. This will be the responsibility of the contractor. The SE and the EO will responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the contractor Workplace health and safety: The contractor will meet the requirements of the Vietnamese Labour Code as amended The main workplace safety issues include: 74

76 Hazards from working at heights on the transmission towers. Electrocution hazards when working with high voltage equipment. Hazards from operating machinery including direct hazards to the machine operators and to workers working in the vicinity of the machine Hazards from working in the tower foundation trench where in excessively wet conditions sides may collapse. Hazards to workers exposed from heavy materials being lifted by cranes. Refuelling hazards. Exposure to HAZCHEM materials. Traffic accident hazards 287. Before commencing work in any of these activities (and in any other areas that the contractor identifies), the contractor will be required to prepare a brief Work Statement (WS) that identifies hazards that apply at a particular site together with an outline of the approved work procedure and details of protective safety equipment to be used by any person entering the specified work area. The WS is also to include an Emergency Response Procedure (ERP) to address serious accidents and nominate a person who is to be immediately contacted should an accident occur. A copy of the WS and the person to contact in case of an emergency is to be posted at the site where it is visible to all workers. Before commencing work the contractor is required to discuss the WS and ERP requirements with the workers. The WS is to be submitted to the SE at least one week prior to work commencing on the site The contractor is to make the following arrangements. i. Erect warning signs and barriers around work areas ii. No drugs or alcohol allowed on-site iii. Noise and dust to be controlled. iv. All workers provided with safety equipment appropriate for the task in which they are employed. v. To be supplied on-site for workers: Potable water, chemical toilet, changing place with clothes storage, and facilities for washing and showers. vi. Prepare Work Statements for each activity vii. Prior to starting work for the first time all workers are to be inducted to the site and site hazards explained together with an explanation of work site safety procedures. ix. Provision of medical and first aid facilities together with a person qualified in first aid. A Record of Accidents and time lost from accidents will be required to be kept by the contractor which will be forwarded each month to the SE s representative for the attention of the EO. The SE or EO will inspect and approve the adequacy of these arrangements Worker Issues: (i) Hiring of Workers and HIV/AIDS issues: HIV/AIDS rates in the rural areas of the Central Highlands are considerably lower than they are elsewhere in Vietnam although among some ethnic minority groups they are higher than among other ethnic minority groups While the majority of workers may be sourced from local communities the contractor will also need to bring in workers from other localities to undertake specialised 75

77 work on the transmission line. It is this group that may contain at-risk or HIV/AIDS infected persons who can transmit the disease to uninfected communities. It will be necessary to ensure that workers employed on the Project from other localities be targeted via an HIV/AIDS and Other STIs Plan. The contractor will be required to comply with the Law On HIV/AIDS Prevention And Control (Law No. 64/2006/QH11) and.implement an HIV/AIDS and Other STIs Awareness Plan in cooperation with the Ministry of Health. The plan will address both workers and the local communities in raising awareness of these diseases. The SE and EO will approve the contractor s HIV/AIDS and Other STIs diseases plan which will be implemented by the contractor s Community Liaison Specialist Worker issues: (ii) location of camps and employment of local labour: Each construction site may house up to 90 workers. There is a potential for conflict to develop with local communities should they be marginalised by the introduction of outside workers who then enjoy an enhanced economic status in comparison the local communities. The contractor will make the following arrangements: (i) Local communities to be preferentially offered employment for unskilled work. (ii) Camps to be sited well away from villages if there is any potential for social conflict to arise. (iii) Each camp should have a solid waste disposal site and a soakage pit to pretreat camp wastewater. This will be the responsibility of the contractor. The SE and the EO will responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the contractor Worker issues: (iii) provision of adequate living conditions within campsite: Workers will need to be provided with adequate housing, sanitation and recreational facilities The contractor will provide acceptable camp facilities with potable water, adequate food rations and recreational facilities to either meet requirements of the Vietnamese labour requirements or an acceptable international standard whichever is the higher. The contractor will be required to provide: (i) adequate shelter (ii) potable water (iii) Sanitation and washing facilities, (iv) Kitchen with adequate cooking facilities (v) Nutritionally adequate food rations, This will be the responsibility of the contractor. The SE and the EO will responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the contractor : Worker issues: (iv) camp water heating and cooking - use of fuel wood: To avoid sudden and unsustainable loss of any resources to the detriment of surrounding communities, the contractor will be required to address these issues as follows. (i) Preferentially the contractor will provide gas and kerosene for water heating and cooking. (ii) Locate camps away from significant forest areas, and: limit collection and use of fuel-wood. 76

78 This will be the responsibility of the contractor. The SE and the EO will responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the contractor Worker issues: (v) hunting and sale of wildlife: While there are unlikely to be significant wildlife found in the area it is possible that during clearance of the RoW that wildlife will be disturbed and may present opportunities for hunting. To avoid loss of scarce wildlife resources the contractor will be required to address this issue as follows. (i) All workers are to sign a clause in their employment agreement specifying that they will not hunt or trade in wildlife. If they do then their employment will be terminated. (ii) The contractor enforces the employment agreement that bans hunting and trading in wildlife by workers. (iii) Contractor is to provide nutritionally adequate camp rations The contractor will be responsible for inserting this clause in the employment agreement. The SE and the EO will responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the contractor Disposal of site waste: All construction waste materials including steel and timber off-cuts, sand and gravel, cement bags etc are to be collected and sorted. If these cannot be recovered for scrap value these materials are to be taken to an approved landfill sites and dumped there. This will be the responsibility of the contractor. The SE and the EO will responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the contractor Chance discovery of archaeological and cultural sites: Archaeological sites are protected under the Law of Cultural Heritage (2001). While there are no known archaeological or cultural sites within the project boundaries, it is possible that chance discoveries may be made during development of the site. In the case of special discovery, the constructor/se will inform the Department of Culture-Sport and Tourism for further action and is to immediately stop work where the discovery has been made to allow the discovery to be evaluated. Following evaluation the contractor will be advised whether or not it is possible to resume work on the site. This will be the responsibility of the contractor. The SE and the EO will responsible for the supervision and monitoring of the contractor Clearance and rehabilitation of construction sites and removal of contractor s facilities: It is the contractor s responsibility to clean up the site when construction is completed. This includes the removal all waste materials, machinery and any contaminated soil. All construction sites and work areas are to be rehabilitated so that these can be returned as close as possible to their previous use. This includes the stabilization and landscaping of all of the construction sites to re-establish site drainage. Any contaminated soil must be removed from fuel and oil storage areas and the site revegetated. No waste is to remain behind after work is completed that will not naturally and safely decompose. Should waste not be removed the PTC3 or PTC4 is entitled to withhold payment and arrange the clean up and deduct the cost of the clean-up from the final payment amount less an additional 10% for arranging the task. The SE is to ensure that all waste is removed and the site restored. The EO will also inspect and approve the clean up of the site. I.3 Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Measures Needed during Operation 299. During operation the main issues will be : 77

79 (i) Control of vegetation along the RoW (ii) Control of development within the RoW. PTC3 and PTC4 will be responsible for complying with the EMP requirements during operation. The EO will arrange to audit compliance with the EMP requirements. Other issues such as work place safety when operating within high voltage areas will be addressed by PTC3 and 4 s own safety operating procedures which they will apply Control of vegetation along the RoW: One of the regular programs to maintain the integrity of the transmission line is the trimming of vegetation within and along the RoW to meet the necessary conductor safety clearances Vegetation maintenance activities will not cause any significant disturbance to local people who can benefit from being hired to undertake the work. PTC 3 and PTC4 normally uses hand labour to undertake vegetation control which is ideally suited to hiring local people for this activity. NPT does not allow the use of herbicides and pesticides to control vegetation growth. Burning to control vegetation along the transmission RoW is also prohibited as this may cause flash-overs to occur from smoke particles. To minimize the impacts associated with the removal of vegetation, clearing will only be allowed within the designated width of the RoW and to achieve the required clearances A significant invasive species is Mimosa pigra which is found throughout Vietnam particularly along waterways. PTC3 and PTC4 will be required to control any spread of invasive species including Mimosa pigra Control of development within the RoW: PTC3 and PTC4 will institute restriction on development along the RoW during operation of the line. This will be done to maintain the RoW free of structures within the designated clearance requirements. PTC3 and 4 will monitor this requirement as one of their tasks when they carry out their annual inspection of the RoW. 78

80 Table 18: ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN IMPACT MITIGATION Applies Project Activity to PRE-CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES Acquisition of land and payment of compensation. Constructed area Potential Environmental Impact and/or consequence Social disaffection with project. Proposed Mitigation Measure Resettlement Plan Implementing Responsibility District Resettlement and Compensation Committee or organisation as selected by CPMB Mitigation Cost To be determined Inclusion of Appendix 5 Prohibited Investment Activities in B&C document B&C documents Loss of environmental values from application of banned materials. Appendix 5 Prohibited Activities to be included as a requirement under Special Conditions of Contract within the B&C document. SE and EO Project cost Review EMP and extract construction section of EMP. EMP Avoids loss of environmental competence in project EMP to be revised before extraction of construction conditions to B&C document. EMP re-issued before construction commences. EO Project cost EMP construction conditions included in Bid Documents B&C documents Loss of environmental values and project sustainability. EMP construction conditions included in B&C documents in Part II - Requirements; Section 6 - Employers Requirements. List EMP construction section as a Special Condition of Contract. SE and EO Project cost Bid evaluation and selection of contractor CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES Contractor Selection of competent contractor will ensure that the environmental integrity of the project is maintained. EO to evaluate each bid for environmental competence of contractor. Rank bids and advise Bid Evaluation Panel. EO Project cost Contractor prepares CEMP Contractor Maintains environmental integrity of the project. Contractor prepares Contractor s Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) that establishes the contractor s management and compliance requirements with the construction section of the EMP. Contractor Contractor s cost. Induction of contractor to site. Control of invasive species Construction site Construction site Maintenance of environmental values by ensuring that contractor understands and addresses the CEMP conditions. Loss of indigenous vegetation. Before commencing work the CEMP conditions are confirmed with the contractor at an on-site meeting. When the EO considers that the contractor is competent to comply with the CEMP the EO advises the SE that the contractor can now mobilise. i. EO to evaluate sites for presence of invasive species. ii. If site is not infested with invasive species the SE is to advise the contractor that if moving from an infested site all earth must be removed from machinery and machinery washed down before moving to site. iii. Any outbreaks are to be controlled and this is the contractor s responsibility. iv. Applies to all sub-contractors under the contractors EO and SE EO, SE and contractor Project cost. Costed by contractor and cost carried into contract. 79

81 IMPACT MITIGATION Project Activity Applies to Potential Environmental Impact and/or consequence Proposed Mitigation Measure responsibility. Implementing Responsibility Mitigation Cost Establishment of contractor s facilities (camps, offices, quarries, concrete batching areas etc). Demarcation and clearing of RoW and ancillary facilities Construction site RoW i. Maintains environmental integrity of site. ii. Avoids water and soil pollution, iii. Maintains harmonious relationships with surrounding communities. Loss of vegetation resources i Sites are located so that they do not interfere with the welfare or social cohesion of surrounding communities ii. Site is limited to reduce unnecessary clearing of vegetation. iii. Sanitary soakage areas from offices and camps to be sited so that effluent is treated. iv. No discharge of grey water or sewage allowed to surface water systems. v. Workshops to be provided with oil and water separators. vi. Fuel storage areas not to be located within 20m of watercourse. vii. Contractor s storage facilities may need to be surrounded by a security fence. viii. Concrete batching areas to be provided with bunds to control movement of runoff to waterways. i. Define the 32m RoW width. ii. Identify useable trees within the RoW and arrange for these to be approved for removal. iii. Limit area to be cleared iv. Identify areas with any significant vegetation. v. Areas to be defined by a clear boundary. vi. Clearing boundaries shown to machinery operators. vii. Vegetative material to be offered to communities for disposal as fuel wood or viii if an impediment to work may otherwise be disposed of by clean burning fires. Contractor CPMB and Provincial DARD. Costed by contractor and cost carried into contract. Costed by contractor and cost carried into contract. Compensation planting of 40 ha As identified Loss of vegetation resources Replant equivalent area of forest cleared. PTC 3 and 4. Preparation of site: excavation, removal and disposal of unusable (incompetent) materials. Any areas to be excavated including road approaches a. Lowered water quality from eroded material. b. Loss of visual amenity from poorly located and finished dumpsites i. Limit area to be excavated. ii. Topsoil to be removed and stored for re-use. ii. Excavated incompetent material to be disposed of outside and away from the work area. iii. At completion of work dumping areas to be retopsoiled and revegetated. a. Contractor to arranges location of topsoil and material dump sites with SE. b. SE and EO $100,000 to be met from MFF. Costed by contractor and cost carried into contract Noise and vibration Dust management Construction site including road approaches Construction site including Noise and vibration nuisance to surrounding communities. Impact will be mainly limited to pile driving and compaction of access road. Dust may be generated from activities. Will affect air quality of workplaces and i. If particularly noisy activities are required work may need to be limited to daylight hours. ii. Noise not to exceed 55dBA at boundary of any residential area between hrs and 70 dba between 2100 and 0600hrs. When dust is carried towards residential areas or becomes problematic on-site, the contractor is to apply i. and ii. contractor Contractor Costed by contractor and cost carried into contract. Costed by contractor and 80

82 IMPACT MITIGATION Project Activity Prevention of soil erosion on construction site. Storage and handling of: fuel and lubricants Applies to road approaches and aggregate heaps. Construction site i. Fuel storage and handling equipment. Refuelling of plant and machinery. Potential Environmental Impact Implementing Mitigation Proposed Mitigation Measure and/or consequence Responsibility Cost surrounding areas dust control measures cost carried into contract. a. Loss of soil resources. b. Water quality affected. c. Eroded soil interfering with construction activities. Pollution of soil and water resources i. Apply soil conservation and erosion protection technologies. ii. Avoid operating machinery in adverse ground conditions. iii. Protect and revegetate newly excavated areas as soon as possible i. Storage areas to be prepared to avoid deterioration of materials. ii. Fuel should be stored in properly sealed containers. Larger than 5000 l to be stored on bunded concrete platform with 110% storage capacity. iii. All fuel storage areas to be security fenced and provided with oil and water separators. Fuel hoses and shut off valve to be locked. iv. All refuelling to be done at least 20 m away from waterways by trained personnel. v. All waste oil and oil filters to be collected and if possible recycled, otherwise to be disposed of to landfills. vi. The contractor is to train refuelling personnel in these procedures. vii. The contractor is to have developed an accidental spill handling action plan. Contractor EO will advise on revegetation requirements Contractor Costed by contractor and cost carried into contract Costed by contractor and cost carried into contract Public access to site Community Safety from increased vehicle movements i. Use of hazardous materials and ii. Prohibited activities Construction site Villages situated on haul roads. Construction site Accidents to surrounding communities Accidents to surrounding communities from vehicles transiting villages. Health dangers to workers and the environment. Loss of water quality i. Erect warning signs and barriers around work areas. ii. Site can only be accessed with permission of contractor. iii. Visitors to be inducted to site with an explanation of the site hazards that may be experienced. i. All vehicles to be properly maintained and operated in accordance with road laws. ii. All loads to be properly secured and fugitive loads to be covered. iii. Drivers to be fired if ignore safety requirements. i. Contractor to provide list of all HAZCHEM products to be used on site ii. List verified against HAZCHEM. iii. Contractor to display MSDS sheets in work areas. iv. Contractor to abide by Appendix 5 Prohibited Activities (SPS, June 2009) and: QCVN 07: 2009/BTNMT -National Technical Regulation on Hazardous Waste Thresholds Contractor Contractor Contractor and EO. Costed by contractor and cost carried into contract. Costed by contractor and cost carried into contract. Costed by contractor and cost carried into contract. Workplace health and safety Labour Workplace accidents and health of Contractor to abide by: Vietnamese Labour Code as Contractor Costed by 81

83 IMPACT MITIGATION Project Activity Worker issues (i): Hiring of workers and HIV/AIDS issues. Worker issues (ii): Location of camps and employment of local labour Worker issues (iii): provision of adequate living conditions within campsite. Worker issues (iv): Camp water heating and cooking. Use of fuel wood. Worker issues (v): Hunting and sale of wildlife by workers Applies to working on construction site labour and surrounding communities i.surrounding communities ii. labour Labour Labour Labour Potential Environmental Impact and/or consequence workers. Loss of productivity. Spread of communicable diseases into unaffected communities from unsafe sex. Social unrest from poor location of camps and perceived bias in employment policy if local workers not hired Poor health and loss of worker productivity. i. Unsustainable removal of forest resources to detriment of surrounding communities. ii. Disturbance to forests, wildlife, and biodiversity i. Unsustainable loss of wildlife and ii. affect on biodiversity. Proposed Mitigation Measure amended Workers to be provided with safe working environment including: i. Erect warning signs and barriers around work areas ii. No drugs or alcohol allowed on-site iii. Noise and dust to be controlled. iv. All workers provided with safety equipment appropriate for the task in which they are employed. v. To be supplied on-site for workers: Potable water, chemical toilet, changing place with clothes storage, and washing and showering facilities. vi. Work Statements prepared for each activity vii. Prior to entering site for first time workers to be inducted to site and site hazards explained together with explanation of work site safety procedures. ix. Medical and first aid facilities provided together with a person qualified in first aid. Contractor to implement HIV/AIDS awareness program. i. Local communities to be preferentially offered employment for unskilled work. ii. Camps to be sited to avoid social conflicts. iii. Each camp should have a solid waste disposal site and a soakage pit to pre-treat camp wastewater Camp conditions to meet Labour Law requirements. Provide: i. adequate shelter ii. potable water iii. Sanitation and washing facilities, iv. Kitchen with adequate cooking facilities v. Nutritionally adequate food rations, PREFERENTIALLY i. the contractor will provide gas and kerosene for water heating and cooking. ii. Locate camp away from significant forest areas, and: limit collection and use of fuel-wood. i. Labour employment agreement enforced by contractor that bans hunting and trading in wildlife by workers. ii. Labour who disregard this requirement are handed over to Forest Protection Department for prosecution and immediately dismissed. Contractor is to provide nutritionally adequate camp rations Implementing Responsibility Contractor Contractor Contractor Contractor Contractor Mitigation Cost contractor and cost carried into contract. Costed by contractor and cost carried into contract. Costed by contractor and cost carried into contract. Costed by contractor and cost carried into contract. Costed by contractor and cost carried into contract. Costed by contractor and cost carried into contract. Disposal of site waste Construction Soil and water pollution. All waste materials to be collected and sorted; Contractor Costed by 82

84 IMPACT MITIGATION Project Activity Chance discovery of archaeological and cultural sites Clearance and rehabilitation of construction sites and removal of contractor s facilities. OPERATION ACTIVITIES Applies to site Construction site Construction site Potential Environmental Impact and/or consequence Loss of cultural values Re-establishes environmental values Proposed Mitigation Measure (i). those that can be recycled and (ii) those that need to go to an approved landfill site for disposal. No known sites. Chance discoveries are to be notified to the SE who will advise the EO. EO to advise on procedure for dealing with chance discoveries. i. All solid waste to be removed from sites and disposed in approved landfills. ii. All contaminated soil to be removed. iii. All sites to be rehabilitated and restored to original condition. iv. Drainage to be re-established. v. To be included as part of Final Inspection before payment made. Implementing Responsibility Contractor, SE and EO Contractor Mitigation Cost contractor and cost carried into contract Costed by contractor and cost carried into contract. Costed by contractor and cost carried into contract Control of vegetation along i. Vegetation cut and controlled to safe operating limits. RoW Unsafe operation of transmission line RoW ii. Use hand labour Control of development within i. All buildings kept out of 32 m RoW i. Unsafe habitation within RoW the RoW. RoW ii. All buildings outside 16m RoW width from centreline ii. Unsafe operation of transmission line. to 72 m earthed. EO = Environmental Officer attached to NPT; SE = Project Engineer based with CPMB; MSDS material safety data sheet PTC 3 and PTC 4. PTC 3 and PTC 4. PTC3 and 4 operating cost PTC3 and 4 operating cost 83

85 I.4 Monitoring 304. A monitoring matrix summarizing the monitoring that is required for the EMP is attached as Table 19 which shows the monitoring measures that are required together with the frequency of measurement, the means of verification and who is responsible for monitoring the activity. Due to the nature of the work and the small size of the excavation works, no water, noise or air quality monitoring is required. Dust will be an issue but it is unrealistic to establish dust monitoring stations on work of this size and instead construction site monitoring is carried out as visual observations. Additionally dust that may be generated from unpaved roads within village communities can be reported to the contractor via the Grievance Redress Mechanism. Monitoring is carried out as follows: 305. Pre-construction: during preconstruction the EO will monitor the tasks identified within the EMP Construction: During construction monitoring of construction activities is carried out to ensure that construction work complies with the requirements of the EMP. Monitoring responsibilities are arranged as follows. (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) The contractor has the initial responsibility for monitoring compliance with the IEE as reflected in the Contractors Environmental Management Plan (CEMP). The responsibility for undertaking this is identical and similar to the contractor s responsibilities for monitoring construction works. CPMB Supervising Engineer (SE) is responsible for monitoring the contractor s compliance with the CEMP. The SE will be assisted in this role by the EO. In the initial stage of the project the EO is assisted by the IES. The EO also monitors the work but has more of an auditing role. The EO can issue Defect Notices for non-compliant work and depending on the seriousness of the work may instruct the contractor that this is to be completed by a certain date. The Defect Notice is given to the SE who directs the contractor to undertake the work as shown in the Defect Notice. If the work is not completed by the due date then the SE can arrange for the work to be completed by another contractor and the cost deducted from the contract plus 10% as a management charge. Monitoring may also be carried out by a Third Party e.g. MONRE or DONRE. Both of these may make spot checks on the work being undertaken Operation: During operation monitoring will be undertaken by the EO. 84

86 Table 19: ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PLAN Project Activity Applies to Proposed Mitigation Measure PRE-CONSTRUCTION Acquisition of land and payment of compensation. Inclusion of Appendix 5 Prohibited Investment Activities in B&C document Review EMP and extract construction section of EMP Preconstruction Bid and Contract Documents EMP Resettlement Plan Appendix 5 Prohibited Activities to be included as a requirement under Special Conditions of Contract within the B&C document. EMP to be revised and re-issued at the completion of the preconstruction tasks. Parameter to be monitored i. RoW land transferred to NPT ii. Landowner satisfaction Appendix 5 attached to B&C documents EMP revised and changes incorporated in it. Frequency and means of Verification Once verify transfer Once verify that Appendix 5 has been attached ot the B&C documents. Once. EMP reissued. Monitoring responsibility EO EO and SE SE Achieved Yes or No Date of Verification Name of person verifying Signature of person verifying Remarks: e.g. Defect Notice Issued etc EMP construction conditions included in Bid Documents Bid and Contract Documents EMP construction conditions included in B&C documents in Part II - Requirements; Section 6 - Employers Requirements. List EMP construction section as a Special Condition of Contract. EMP construction conditions attached to B&C documents. Once verify EMP construction section attached to B&C documents. EO and SE Bid evaluation and selection of contractor Bid and Contract Documents EO to evaluate each bid for environmental competence of contractor. Rank bids and advise Bid Evaluation Panel. Bids evaluated for compliance with environmental conditions. Once. EO has verified environmental conditions of Bids. EO and SE CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES Contractor prepares CEMP Contractor Contractor prepares Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) that establishes CEMP prepared by contractor and approved by EO and ESP Once. CEMP; (a) prepared and (b) approved. EO 85

87 Project Activity Applies to Proposed Mitigation Measure Induction of contractor to site. Control of invasive species Establishment of contractor s facilities (camps, offices, concrete batching areas Contractor Contractor and all construction sites. Construction sites the contractor s management and compliance requirements with the construction section of the EMP. Before commencing work the CEMP conditions are confirmed with the contractor at an on-site meeting. When the EO considers that the contractor is competent to comply with the SEMP the EO advises the SE that the contractor can now mobilise. i. EO to evaluate sites for presence of invasive species. ii. If site is free of invasive species the SE is to advise the contractor that all earth must be removed from machinery and machinery washed down before moving to site. iii. Any outbreaks are to be controlled and this is the contractor s responsibility. iv. Applies to all subcontractors under the contractors responsibility. i Sites are located so that they do not interfere with the welfare or social cohesion of surrounding communities ii. Site is limited to Parameter to be monitored Record of induction meeting and decision advising contractor to mobilise. Site kept free of invasive species. Compliance with proposed mitigation measures Frequency and means of Verification Once. Verify that induction has been carried out and contractor is competent to undertake CEMP. Monthly during wet season or as required until site has been cleared of introduced invasive species. Verify that contractor has washed down machinery. At commencement of site establishment, then as required. Monitoring responsibility EO EO, SE and contractor Contractor Achieved Yes or No Date of Verification Name of person verifying Signature of person verifying Remarks: e.g. Defect Notice Issued etc 86

88 Project Activity Applies to Proposed Mitigation Measure etc). reduce unnecessary clearing of vegetation. iii. Sanitary soakage areas from offices and camps to be sited so that effluent is treated. iv. No discharge of grey water or sewage allowed to surface water systems. v. Workshops to be provided with oil and water separators. vi. Fuel storage areas not to be located within 20m of watercourse. vii. Contractor s storage facilities may need to be surrounded by a security fence. viii Concrete batching areas to be provided with bunds to control movement of runoff to waterways. Parameter to be monitored Frequency and means of Verification Monitoring responsibility Achieved Yes or No Date of Verification Name of person verifying Signature of person verifying Remarks: e.g. Defect Notice Issued etc Demarcation and clearing of RoW and ancillary facilities RoW i. Define the 32m RoW width. ii. Identify useable trees within the RoW and arrange for these to be approved for removal. iii. Limit area to be cleared iv. Identify areas with any significant vegetation. v. Areas to be defined by a clear boundary. vi. Clearing boundaries shown to machinery operators. vii. Vegetative material i. All salvageable trees removed. Salvageable ii. trees approved by DARD. iii. RoW cleared to 32m. ii. All material removed to provide clear RoW. At commencement of clearing and then as required. Contractor, SE and EO 87

89 Project Activity Applies to Proposed Mitigation Measure to be offered to communities for disposal as fuel wood or viii if an impediment to work may otherwise be disposed of by clean burning fires. Parameter to be monitored Frequency and means of Verification Monitoring responsibility Achieved Yes or No Date of Verification Name of person verifying Signature of person verifying Remarks: e.g. Defect Notice Issued etc Compensation planting of 40 ha Noise and vibration Dust management Prevention of soil erosion on construction site. Storage and handling of construction materials. Fuel As identified Construction sites Construction sites Construction sites Storage areas for materials, fuel and Replant equivalent area of forest cleared. i. If particularly noisy activities are required work may need to be limited to daylight hours. ii. Noise not to exceed 55dBA at boundary of workplace between hrs and 70dBA between hrs.. When dust is carried towards residential areas or becomes problematic on-site the contractor is to apply dust control measures i. Apply soil conservation and erosion protection technologies. ii. Avoid operating machinery in adverse ground conditions. iii. Protect and revegetate newly excavated areas as soon as possible i. Storage areas to be prepared to avoid deterioration of materials. 40 ha of forest has been replanted. i. Noise complaints from surrounding communities. ii. Noise measurement Work areas are acceptable with regards to generation of dust. Soil erosion and sediment supply to water courses controlled. Storage areas prepared. Fuel and oil storage and handling Initially every 2 months and then annually for next 3 years until program has been completed. At start of noisy activities then as required. Community complaints. Noise measured at workplace boundary. i. As determined by wind and site conditions.. ii. Complaints from communities. Monthly and then as required. Sites are stable. Initially once to approve storage and handling procedures then as required. PTC 3 and 4. Contractor, SE and EO Contractor, SE and EO Contractor, SE and EO Contractor, SE and EO 88

90 Project Activity Applies to Proposed Mitigation Measure and lubricants. lubricants ii. Fuel should be stored in properly sealed containers. Larger than 5000 l to be stored on bunded concrete platform with 110% storage capacity. iii. All fuel storage areas to be security fenced and provided with oil and water separators. Fuel hoses and shut off valve to be locked. iv. All refuelling to be done at least 20 m away from waterways by trained personnel. v. All waste oil and oil filters to be collected and if possible recycled, otherwise to be disposed of to landfills. vi. The contractor is to train refuelling personnel in these procedures. vii. The contractor is to have developed an accidental spill handling action plan. Public access to site Community Safety from increased Construction sites Villages along haul routes i. Erect warning signs and barriers around work areas. ii. Site can only be accessed with permission of contractor. iii. Visitors to be inducted to site with an explanation of the site hazards that may be experienced. i. All vehicles to be properly maintained and operated in accordance Parameter to be monitored procedures practiced and well understood Warning signs and barriers erected around work places. Access to work areas controlled. Trucks and vehicles operated safely Frequency and means of Verification Verify that storage and handling of construction materials, fuel and lubricants meet these requirements. Weekly. Accident reports involving community. Weekly. Accident reports. Community Monitoring responsibility Contractor, SE and EO Contractor, SE and EO Achieved Yes or No Date of Verification Name of person verifying Signature of person verifying Remarks: e.g. Defect Notice Issued etc 89

91 Project Activity Applies to Proposed Mitigation Measure vehicle movements i. Use of hazardous materials and ii. Prohibited activities Workplace health and safety Materials brought to site Construction sites with road laws. ii. All loads to be properly secured and fugitive loads to be covered iii. Drivers to be dismissed if ignore safety requirements. i. Contractor to provide list of all HAZCHEM products to be used on site ii. List verified against HAZCHEM. iii. Contractor to display MSDS sheets in work areas. iv. Contractor to abide by Appendix 5 Prohibited Activities (SPS, June 2009) Workers to be provided with safe working environment including: i. Erect warning signs and barriers around work areas ii. No drugs or alcohol allowed on-site iii. Noise and dust to be controlled. iv. All workers provided with safety equipment appropriate for the task in which they are employed. v. To be supplied on-site for workers: Potable water, chemical toilet, changing place with clothes storage, and washing and showering facilities. Parameter to be monitored a. List of chemical compounds and their hazard ratings. b. Appendix 5 activities Provision of safe and healthy workplace, safety procedures and equipment. First aid equipment. Frequency and means of Verification complaints At start of work and whenever any hazardous compounds are to be brought to site. b. No Appendix 5 activities initiated Spot checks and weekly inspections. Accident record. Monitoring responsibility Contractor, SE and EO Contractor, SE and EO Achieved Yes or No Date of Verification Name of person verifying Signature of person verifying Remarks: e.g. Defect Notice Issued etc 90

92 Project Activity Applies to Proposed Mitigation Measure Worker issues (ii): Location of camps and employment of local labour Worker issues (ii): Location of camps and employment of local labour Worker issues (iii): provision of adequate living conditions Worker issues (iv): Camp water heating and cooking. Use of Surrounding communities and labour Worker camps and surrounding communities Worker camps and workers Worker camps and workers vi. Work Statements prepared for each activity vii. Prior to entering site for first time workers to be inducted to site and site hazards explained together with explanation of work site safety procedures. ix. Medical and first aid facilities provided together with a person qualified in first aid. Contractor to implement HIV/AIDS awareness program. i. Local communities to be preferentially offered employment for unskilled work. ii. Camps to be sited to avoid social conflicts. Camp conditions to meet Labour Law requirements. Provide: i. adequate shelter ii. potable water iii. Sanitation and washing facilities, iv. Kitchen with adequate cooking facilities v. Nutritionally adequate food rations, i. the contractor will preferentially provide gas and kerosene for water heating and cooking. Parameter to be monitored HIV/AIDS awareness program completed i. Local people employed ii. Harmonious conditions established (lack of complaints) Worker satisfaction i. Gas or kerosene used for camps. ii. Limited harvesting of fuel Frequency and means of Verification Monthly i. Monthly checking of employment records. ii. Grievance records from surrounding communities. i. Monthly checking of first aid records. ii. Complaints from workers. Monthly verify i. camp cooking facilities. ii. access to forests for fuel wood. Monitoring responsibility Contractor Contractor and SE, EO Contractor and SE, EO Contractor and SE, EO Achieved Yes or No Date of Verification Name of person verifying Signature of person verifying Remarks: e.g. Defect Notice Issued etc 91

93 Project Activity Applies to Proposed Mitigation Measure fuel wood. Worker issues (v): Hunting and sale of wildlife by workers Disposal of site waste Chance discovery of archaeological and cultural sites Clearance and rehabilitation of construction sites and removal of contractor s facilities. Worker camps and workers Construction sites Construction sites Construction sites Worker camps Contractor s work areas ii. Locate camp away from significant forest areas, and: limit collection and use of fuel-wood. i. Labour employment agreement enforced by contractor that bans hunting and trading in wildlife. ii. Provision of adequate camp rations All waste materials to be collected and sorted; (i). those that can be recycled and (ii) those that need to go to an approved landfill site for disposal. No known sites. Chance discoveries are to be notified to the SE who will advise the EO. EO to advise on procedure. i. All solid waste to be removed from sites and disposed in approved landfills. ii. All contaminated soil to be removed. iii. All sites to be rehabilitated and restored to original condition. iv. Drainage to be reestablished. v. To be included as part of Final Inspection before payment made. Parameter to be monitored wood Wildlife being traded from camp area Sites cleaned of materials. Materials dumped in approved sites Contract document, and specification Sites cleared, waste removed, sites landscaped and revegetated. Frequency and means of Verification Monthly Verify prosecution and dismissal of employees for wildlife infringements.. Spot checks and weekly inspections. Waste being collected and disposed of to meet requirements. Yearly. Notification of chance discoveries At completion of construction. Site has been cleared of materials, rehabilitated and returned to original state. Monitoring responsibility Contractor and SE, EO Contractor, SE and EO Contractor, SE and EO Contractor, SE and EO Achieved Yes or No Date of Verification Name of person verifying Signature of person verifying Remarks: e.g. Defect Notice Issued etc EO = Environmental Officer attached to NPT; SE = Project Engineer based with CPMB; MSDS material safety data sheet. 92

94 I.5 Implementation Arrangements I.5.1 Implementation Schedule 308. The PPTA will be funded as a Multi-Tranche Financing Facility (MFF) which will be made available to NPT who will act as the implementing agency. CPMB will act as the executing agency. The project will be constructed over a 2-year period starting in early I.5.2 Institutional Arrangements 309. NPT as the Executing Agency (EA) will arrange for CPMB to act on their behalf as the implementing agent. CPMB will arrange for a Supervising Engineer (SE) to have overall responsibility for implementing the contract which includes the EMP. Other organisations involved in implementing the EMP include. (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) District Resettlement and Compensation Committee who will be responsible for assessing and paying compensation NPT, CPMB and PTC 3 and PTC4: as executing and implementing agents have responsibilities for implementing the EMP. MONRE and DONRE who will carry out third party environmental monitoring of the project. The Contractor who will be responsible for complying with the EMP and reporting on environmental activities during construction The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will be responsible for the following: (i) (ii) (iii) The ADB will review and approve the IEEs as required to meet the MFF tranche releases. Reviewing the quarterly reports sent to the ADB that contain the contractor s monthly environmental reports. Undertaking site inspection as required The District Resettlement and Compensation Committee will be responsible for applying the Resettlement Plan (RP), assessing and paying the compensation to affected households NPT, CPMB and PTC 3 and PTC4: as executing and implementing agencies have responsibilities for implementing the EMP. NPT recruited an Environmental Officer in-charge of reviewing environmental compliance within the Technical Department of NPT. This person will be responsible for environmental management activities throughout NPT and its subsidiary organisations i.e. CPMB and the PT Companies MONRE and DONRE. Both organisations are responsible for the enforcement of the Environment Protection Law 2005 and its accompanying decrees and guidance circulars. MONRE has already approved the EIA that was submitted by NPT to meet GoV requirements and accordingly MONRE s activities now relate to third party monitoring and auditing of the project. Similarly DONRE will undertake these activities at the district level The Contractor. The contractor s responsibilities include; 315. At the time of bidding the contractor will submit the names and experience for two full time staff positions. These will be (i) Environmental and Health and Safety Specialist and (ii) Community Liaison Specialist, the requirements for these positions are given in Annex 4. 93

95 (i) Prior to commencement of construction, the contractor will address the construction section of the EMP which has been attached to the Bid and Contract Documents and develop this into a detailed Construction Environmental Plan (CEMP) that amplifies the conditions established in the EMP. The CEMP also identifies persons who will be responsible for undertaking the work within the contractor s team. It will include a basic monitoring plan and a reporting program. (ii) The contractor will prepare a Community Awareness Program (CAP). The CAP will show how the contractor will arrange a series of community meetings whereby the construction program, an HIV/AIDS awareness program and opportunities to provide unskilled workers on the construction site will be explained to the local communities. (iii) The contractor arranges for the CEMP and the CAP to be submitted to the EO for approval. (iv) Following approval of the CEMP and the CAP the contractor is required to attend a site induction or orientation meeting where the CEMP and the CAP is discussed directly with the contractor to ensure that all compliance conditions are clearly understood. (v) Following clearance from the EO, the contractor can now commence work. (vi) The contractor will maintain a Control Record which is to be available as requested for inspection by the Supervising Consultant. (vii) The contractor will prepare a quarterly compliance report that will be submitted to the PIU. The report will also contain the Monthly Accident Report. (viii) The EO will submit the report to the ADB and include a copy for DONRE in the project s quarterly progress report prepared to meet the ADB loan requirements. I.5.3 Reporting Requirements 316. The following reports will be required: Monthly: contractor s report to NPT on compliance with the EMP Quarterly or bi-annual report 16 from NPT to ADB concerning monitoring compliance with the EMP. I.5.4 Staff Requirements 317. NPT recruited in February 2012 an environmental specialist whose role will be to develop environmental awareness and establish compliance requirements for the NPT with the Environmental Protection Law, 2005, as well as with ADB s environment safeguards requirement. The person has been appointed to the Technical Division of the NPT and will provide guidance to all of NPT s subsidiary corporations such as the Power Project Management Boards and the Power Transmission Companies. The Environmental Officer is well qualified and holds a Masters in Environmental Conservation from a UK university. The appointee has a good command of English and language will not present a challenge.. It would be opportune for a training component to be developed to support the introduction of safeguard systems within the NPT. 16 To be advised by ADB. 94

96 318. CPMB proposes to hire three (3) national safeguard specialists for environment or Environment Officers (EO) who will be working as consultants for 16 persons-months each over a period of 2.5 to 3 years Additionally an International Environmental Specialist (IES) will be appointed to the NPT to assist in the introduction of safeguard systems and to assist and train the NPT EO in the adoption of these procedures. The IES would also use the construction of the transmission lines as an opportunity to assist/train the NPT EO and the CPMB and SPMB EOs in the application of the EMP within an actual situation as an on-the-jobtraining. The IES would be recruited for 6 person-months over a period of 2.5 to 3 years The IES and national safeguard specialists for environment will need to be appointed prior to the establishment of the Bid and Contract document to ensure that the EMP conditions are transferred into the document. The ToR for the IES is attached as Annex Contractor s staff: the EMP requires the appointment of two safeguards staff to the contractor s team. These are an Environmental and Health and Safety Officer (EHS) who will be responsible for monitoring compliance with the EMP and the health and safety plans and (ii) a Community Liaison Officer (CLO) who will act as the contact point between the local communities and the contractor Terms of Reference for (i) the IES and (ii) for the EHS and the CLO are given in Annex 4. I.5.5 Capacity Building 323. Capacity building is recommended for NPT and it subsidiaries (the PPMBs and the PTCs), and possibly for the contractor for this project. The need for capacity building within the contractor will be evaluated by the IES and the EO The objective of capacity building is to strengthen compliance with (i) the Vietnam legislation and safeguard requirements and (ii) the ADB safeguard requirements. This will be addressed by the appointment of an experienced international IES and national safeguard specialists for environment to anchor the safeguard systems within the NTP and its subsidiary organisations. I.5.6 Budget 325. The EMP budget is costed at US$504,000 and shown in Table 18 and will be met from the MFF tranche. The cost of US$100,000 is for replanting 40 ha of forest and US$194,000 for the hiring of three national environment safeguards specialist to help strengthen environmental safeguards within CPMB The NPT will provide budget for hiring an International Environmental Specialist in the amount of $210,000 and training support to the national environment safeguard specialists of CPMB and SPMB for the overall supervision and guidance on the program. These amounts need to be carried through to the overall project budget. 95

97 Table 20: Budget requirements Item Unit Cost ($) Year Total A. International Environment Specialist (IES) (a) A.1 Remuneration 2 months per year 48,000 48, ,000 A.2 Per Diem 180 days 9,000 9,000 9,000 27,000 A.3 Domestic travel expenses $/yr 1,800 1,600 1,600 5,000 A.4 International travel 2 trips/yr 10,000 10, ,000 A.5 Seminars, workshops, training (public awareness, consultations) 2,000 2,000 Sub-total (A1+A2+A3+A4+A5) 70,800 68,600 68, ,000 Contingency ,000 TOTAL (A) 71,600 69,200 69, ,000 B. National Environment Safeguards Specialist (3 national experts) for CPMB B.1 Remuneration $2,500 per 16 months 40,000 40, ,000 B.2 Per Diem 40 days 6,000 6,000 6,000 18,000 B.3 Domestic travel expenses 1,000 1,000 1,000 3,000 B.4 Vehicle hire $150 per 70days 10,500 10, ,500 B.5 Report preparation, production 1,400 1, ,000 B.6 Seminars, workshops, training (public awareness, consultations) 5,000 5, ,000 Sub-total (B1+B2+B3+B4+B5+B6) 63,900 63,800 63, ,500 Contingency ,500 TOTAL (B) 64,800 64,600 64, ,000 C. Tree planting C.1 Replanting 40 ha of forest $2500/ha 50,000 40,000 10, ,000 GRAND TOTAL (A+B+C) 186, , , ,000 Notes: (a) Cost of hiring an International Environment Safeguards Specialist will be budgeted by NPT to supervise and monitor implementation by the CPMB and SPMB of environment safeguards under this program. 96

98 J. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 327. The proposed project will construct a 437 km long 500kV transmission line, three substations and two repeater stations from Pleiku to Cau Bong. The transmission line is part of a national plan to address future energy requirements. The line will transmit surplus energy from the Central Highlands and from export hydropower projects in Laos to southern Vietnam where energy shortages are arising The IEE report has reviewed the environmental impacts associated with the project and has developed a comprehensive EMP to address these activities. The main impact associated with the project will occur from the clearing 40 ha of degraded natural forest within the 32 m wide RoW. An equivalent area will be replanted. Construction impacts are concentrated at 928 towers along the 437 km length where temporary access will be required and the excavation of about 350m 3 of earth and rock for each tower foundation. Land acquisition includes the permanent acquisition of 32 ha for the towers while 1399ha will be temporarily acquired for the RoW. Low crops can continue to be grown within the RoW providing these do not intrude into the safe operating distance required for the conductor. Within the RoW 360 houses that are situated within the 32m wide RoW will be required to be removed to new areas outside the RoW while a further 830 houses have been identified as requiring earth grounding. Land ownership and compensation issues have been addressed by a Resettlement Plan which will be supervised by the District Resettlement and Compensation Committee. The Row including the forested areas are significantly disturbed and no significant flora or fauna will be affected by the project. The population who will benefit from the project includes the population of southern Vietnam. The transmission line traverses the Central Highlands an area that has lagged behind the rest of Vietnam in terms of development and has limited but improving levels of social infrastructure. The Central Highlands is also home to the majority of Vietnam s ethnic minorities. The transmission line will not affect these communities as the energy will be transmitted to southern Vietnam and especially Ho Chi Minh city Pre-construction requirements include payment of land compensation, and the preparation of the EMP as a contractual document Construction activities will be concentrated initially on clearing the RoW, at each tower site and then pulling, tensioning and attaching the conductors to insulators. To replace lost forest an equivalent area of 40 ha will be replanted and the establishment managed over a four-year period. Despite the magnitude of the length of project all other impacts are of a relatively small size. No primary forest will be cleared, the transmission line route does not pass through any existing or planned extensions to any protected areas and will not affect any cultural or heritage object. All impacts can be addressed by the EMP. Local communities will be encouraged to seek work on the project and a mechanism has been introduced into the EMP to advise the local communities of possible opportunities by a series of planned awareness meetings. During construction the contractor will be initially responsible for monitoring and supervising compliance with the EMP. The SE will be assisted by the EO to supervise the contractor while the EO will monitor the work and report any defects to the SE as required. The cost of the EMP has been determined as US$504,000 of which US$100,000 is to cover the cost of replanting 40 ha of forest. The remaining budget is to cover costs of hiring three national environment safeguards specialists and an international environment safeguards consultant for the strengthening of safeguard mechanisms within NPT and CPMB. All costs are met from the MFF facility. 97

99 331. Based on the above it is concluded that the project has few adverse impacts and all impacts can be satisfactorily managed by the application of the EMP. H. CONCLUSIONS 332. The Project is classified as a Category B project that requires an IEE to be completed. The IEE shows that all impacts can be satisfactorily mitigated and an EMP has been prepared that contains practical and realizable mitigation measures The IEE concludes that adverse environmental impacts arising from the construction and operation of the 500kV Pleiku Binh Phuoc Cay Bong transmission line can be addressed by the EMP and reduced to acceptable levels. Therefore, a full EIA is not warranted. 98

100 REFERENCES ADB, Safeguard Policy Statement, ADB Policy Paper, June ADB, Review of Environmental Safeguards Policy Implementation in ADB-Funded Projects in the Solomon Islands. ADB TA RSC-C00919 (SOL). Pacific Operations Department. October ADB, Environmental Assessment and Review Framework. Project No (EARF for ADB TA-7742-VIE) PECC-4, Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500 kv Transmission Line Initial Environmental Examination. Version 3 in English. July PECC-4, Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500 kv Transmission Line Environmental Management Plan. Version 3 in English. July PECC-4, Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500 kv Transmission Line EIA.(in Vietnamese). July PECC-4, Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500 kv Transmission Line: Feasibility Study.(in Vietnamese). July

101 Annex 1: EIA Approval Decision by MONRE (translation) Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment No.1599/QD-BTNMT Hanoi, August Decision on approving the environmental impact assessment report of the Pleiku- My Phuoc-Cau Bong 500 kv transmission line Project Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Pursuant to Law on Environmental Protection January 29, 2005 Pursuant to Decree No. 25/2008/ND-CP dated March 4, 2008 of the Government on functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Pursuant to Decree No. 29/2001/ND-CP dated 18/4/2011 of the Government on strategic environmental assessment, environmental impact assessment and environmental commitment Pursuant to Circular No. 05/2008/TT-BTNMT December 8, 2008 by MONRE guiding strategic environmental assessment, environmental impact assessment and environmental commitment On the request by the evaluation panel for the report on environmental impact assessment of Pleiku -My Phuoc-Cau Bong 500 kv transmission line project going through the provinces of Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong and HCMC meeting on 18/06/2011 at HCMC On evaluation of the contents of the report on environmental impact assessment of the Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong 500 kv transmission line project that has been revised and supplemented with the attached letter of explanation no.2522/atm-td on 07/18/2011 by the Central Power Projects Management Board On the request by the General Director of Vietnam Environment Administration Decides: Article 1. Approval of the contents of the environmental impact assessment report of the Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong 500 kv transmission line project (hereinafter referred to as the Project) of the Central Power Projects Management Board (hereinafter referred to as the Project Owner) Article 2. The Project Owner shall comply with the contents stated in the environmental impact assessment report and the following mandatory requirements: 1. Coordinate with the management boards of protected forests, forest plantation companies whose land acquired by the Project and with the related authorities to carry out the checking, compensation plans and agreements on reforestation and restoration for the damaged forest areas. 2. Coordinate with the local competent authorities to mark the right of way of the transmission line and boundary for construction sites and to carry out site clearance and compensation of property and crops in conformity with Decree No. 81 / 2009 of the Government dated October 12, 2009 and the provisions of current legislation on compensation and site clearance before starting construction. 3. Restore the areas and landscape as sites serving for construction and coordinate with local authorities to locate the dumping site for sludge and waste generated during the construction process and only dispose at the sites prior agreed with the local authorities. 4. Disseminate information about the project construction activities to local government and communities where the line go through. 100

102 5. Implement measures to prevent fires and other managerial and technical solutions during construction and operation of the power line to ensure compliance with requirements on environmental sanitation and safety for workers and communities. 6. Implement strictly the environmental monitoring program as proposed in the environmental impact assessment report; update and store monitoring data for report and supervision by the competent environmental agency when necessary. 7. Collect, transport and treat all domestic solid wastes, regular solid wastes and hazardous solid wastes generated during project implementation as stipulated in Decree No. 59 / 2007/ND-CP dated April 9, 2007 by the Government on management of solid waste, Circular no.12/2011/tt-btnmt dated April 14, 2011 of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on management of hazardous wastes. Article 3. The Project Owner shall prepare, approve and publicly disclose environmental management plan of the project and assume all obligations prescribed in Decree No. 29/2011/ND-CP dated April 18, 2011 by Government on regulations on strategic environmental assessment, environmental impact assessment and environmental protection commitment and other regulations related to the project implementation process. Article 4. The environmental impact assessment Report of the project and the requirements in Article 2 and 3 of this Decision are the basis for the competent state agencies to inspect and supervise the performance of environmental protection by the project. Article 5. During project implementation, if there are changes to the contents of the approved report on environmental impact assessment the Project Owner shall report in written and apply changes only after retrieving written approval from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Article 6. The Vietnam Environment Administration, in collaboration with Departments of Natural Resources and Environment in the provinces of Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong and HCMC and other relevant units under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment conduct the monitoring, inspection and certification of the implementation of environmental protection as stated in the approved environmental impact assessment report and the requirements set out in Article 2 and 3 of this Decision. Article 7. This Decision takes effect from the date of its signing Signing on behalf of the Minister - Deputy Minister Bui Cach Tuyen signed and sealed To: - Central Power Projects Management Board - Minister (for report) - Provincial People's Committees of Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong and HCMC - Departments of Natural Resources and Environment of the provinces of Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong and HCMC - MONRE Inspectorate, VEA Inspectorate - Archival: Admin. Office, VEA, TD (4). Tr

103 Annex 2: Letter from Forest Protection Department (translation) MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT VIETNAM ADMINISTRATION OF FORESTRY No. 1661/TCLN-BTNN Reference: reply for the direction of the transmission line DZ 500 Kv from Pleiku-My Phuoc- Cau Bong and surrounding areas VIETNAM SOCIALISTIC REPUBLIC Independent-Freedom-Happiness Hanoi 30 th November 2011 To: National Power Transmission Corporation The Vietnam Administration of Forestry has received a document No NPT-KT+HTQT dated 4 th of November 2011 of the National Power Transmission Corporation regarding the confirmation that the DZ 500 Kv Pleiku-My Phuoc- Cau Bong does not cross the conservation areas, the Vietnam Administration of Forestry has the following opinions: According to the technical design layout of line direction in the Environmental Impact Assessment report for the transmission line 500 kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Project, the section starting from Chupak (Gia Lai Province) to ending point Thuan An (Dong Nai Province) does not go through the special forest areas in Gia Lai, Dac Lac, Dac Nong, Binh Phuoc and Dong Nai and the Environmental Impact Assessment has been approved by Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment by Decision No. 1599/QD-BTNMT dated 17 th of August According to the document sent by the National Power Transmission Corporation to the Vietnam Administration of Forestry (copy version), the transmission line goes through some protective and production forest areas that are under management of protective forest Management Boards and forest production Companies such as: Duc Hoa Forestry Company, Quang Tin Forestry Company, Phu Nhon protective Forest Board, Sea Lake (Gia Lai Province); Chu Mlanh Forestry Company (Dac Lac); Bu Dang protective forest Management Board (Binh Phuoc). Those companies/boards have certified by official documents with the Project Management Board. Thus, the forest and productive/protective forest land conversion as well as resettlement activities must be complied with legal regulations. The Vietnam Administration of Forestry replies the document No NPT- KT+HTQT dated 4 th of November 2011 to the National power transmission Corporation for information and implementation based on current regulations On behalf of the Director of the Vietnam Administration of Forestry Vice-director Signed 102

104 Annex 3: Rapid Environmental Assessment Instructions: RAPID ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (REA) CHECKLIST (i) The project team completes this checklist to support the environmental classification of a project. It is to be attached to the environmental categorization form and submitted to Environment and Safeguards Division (RSES) for endorsement by Director, RSES and for approval by the Chief Compliance Officer. (ii) This checklist focuses on environmental issues and concerns. To ensure that social dimensions are adequately considered, refer also to ADB's (a) checklists on involuntary resettlement and Indigenous Peoples; (b) poverty reduction handbook; (c) staff guide to consultation and participation; and (d) gender checklists. (iii) Answer the questions assuming the without mitigation case. The purpose is to identify potential impacts. Use the remarks section to discuss any anticipated mitigation measures. Country/Project Title: Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500KV Transmission Line Sector Division: Screening Questions Yes No Remarks A. Project Siting Is the Project area adjacent to or within any of the following environmentally sensitive areas? CULTURAL HERITAGE SITE x No cultural or historical heritage sites are affected. Protected Area i. While the transmission line is located within the vicinity of several protected areas at no point does the transmission line enter or cross into any of these areas. The closest the T/L comes to a national protected area is the Yok Don NP in Dak Lak Province and the separation distance is 22km. Quoted by Mr Dung in Forest Protection Department MARD 21/10/2011. ii. The transmission line traverses several areas that have been classified as Protection Forest within Gia Lai (2.95km), Dak Lak (4.4 km), Dak Nong (0.26km) and Binh Phuoc (0.73km) Provinces. These areas have been set aside for erosion control purposes in headwater areas. As such the areas are severely degraded and due to intrusion by settlers are now even further disturbed. Protection forest areas have been assigned to forest companies for reforestation with economic tree species such as pine, rubber, cashew. Thus while the term Protection Forest has been used it does not relate to pristine forest. Due to the highly disturbed state of these areas the intrusion of the transmission line through these areas is of little consequence. WETLAND x The transmission line does not cross any wetland areas. 103

105 Screening Questions Yes No Remarks MANGROVE x Not applicable. ESTUARINE x The project is mainly located in hilly areas and does not cross any estuarine areas. BUFFER ZONE OF PROTECTED AREA x The project does not intrude into the buffer zone of any protected area. SPECIAL AREA FOR PROTECTING BIODIVERSITY x The project does not cross any special areas that have been set aside for protecting biodiversity. B. POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS WILL THE PROJECT CAUSE encroachment on historical/cultural areas, disfiguration of landscape and increased waste generation? encroachment on precious ecosystem (e.g. sensitive or protected areas)? x x The transmission towers are between m tall and being sited on ridge tops will create adverse aesthetic impact on the landscape. As the transmission line needs to be located on ridge tops it will be difficult to mitigate this impact. Short access roads will be required to access the towers. None of these roads nor the transmission RoW will increase access to any precious ecosystems. alteration of surface water hydrology of waterways crossed by roads and resulting in increased sediment in streams affected by increased soil erosion at the construction site? damage to sensitive coastal/marine habitats by construction of submarine cables? deterioration of surface water quality due to silt runoff, sanitary wastes from workerbased camps and chemicals used in construction? increased local air pollution due to rock crushing, cutting and filling? risks and vulnerabilities related to occupational health and safety due to physical, chemical, biological, and radiological hazards during project construction and operation? chemical pollution resulting from chemical clearing of vegetation for construction site? x x During construction some small watercourses will be crossed. As construction at each tower is expected to be completed within 11 days during the dry season there will limited impact. The design will use high towers to suspend the transmission line across rivers. No towers will be constructed in waterways. Not applicable. x Work will be undertaken along the whole route in 27 construction groups. Each group has about 88 people. Depending on the location of the group some will be located within urban areas, others in rural areas. Wastes generated from workers living activities will be collected and treated. The overall impact on water quality is assessed to be small and short duration. x x Impacts to air environment are caused mainly by the excavation of the tower foundations and by transportation along haul roads. Mitigation measures include spraying water for dust control and covering materials with tarpaulins that can be released into the air during transportation. Impact is of short duration. There are limited and well established risks during construction. These particularly apply to the construction of towers and stringing and lifting the conductors. The construction companies are experienced in these procedures and construction will not present any unknown risks. x The project will not use chemicals in site clearance process. 104

106 Screening Questions Yes No Remarks x noise and vibration due to blasting and other civil works? dislocation or involuntary resettlement of people? x Tower foundations will be excavated by machines. In some locations blasting may be required. Before blasting the local authority will inform residents. Blasting is carried out according to regulations on use of safety in use of explosives. The project will require resettlement of 366 households. Resettlement is addressed by a Resettlement Plan. disproportionate impacts on the poor, women and children, Indigenous Peoples or other vulnerable groups? social conflicts relating to inconveniences in living conditions where construction interferes with pre-existing roads? hazardous driving conditions where construction interferes with pre-existing roads? creation of temporary breeding habitats for vectors of disease such as mosquitoes and rodents? x x x x 10% of affected peoples are ethnic minorities most of who are indigenous to the Central Highlands. Any negative impacts on any poor or other vulnerable groups will be addressed by the Ethnic Minority Development plan. Such measures include compensation at replacement cost for assets or moveable assets required. Income restoration measures will be applied to severely affected people including Grievance Redress Mechanisms for potential issues that may arise. The conductor will cross existing roads. Where this occurs the conductor will be carried across the road on specially built gantries that will prevent the conductor sag obstructing traffic flow. There will be limited interference with traffic flow. Construction will mainly occur in remote areas with short concentrated use of roads for this time. Construction will mainly take 11 days at each site. Construction will occur during the dry season and this is not considered to be an issue. dislocation and compulsory resettlement of people living in right-of-way of the power transmission lines? environmental disturbances associated with the maintenance of lines (e.g. routine control of vegetative height under the lines)? facilitation of access to protected areas in case corridors traverse protected areas? x Vietnamese regulation for high voltage network safety, requires all houses and structural works under ROW of 500 kv T/L (about 32m wide) to be moved out of RoW. For Pleiku - Cau Bong - My Phuoc 500kV the number of houses and structural works that need to be moved are 366. x The RoW will require removal of all vegetation above 4.5m height. Vegetation will be periodically removed by hand labour recruited from surrounding communities. Chemical clearance methods are not expected to be used. x The project doesn t cross any protected areas. disturbances (e.g. noise and chemical pollutants) if herbicides are used to control vegetative height? x Vegetative control will be controlled by cutting by local worker groups. Herbicides are not intended to be used. large population influx during project construction and operation that cause increased burden on social infrastructure and services (such as water supply and sanitation systems)? x Work will be undertaken along the whole route in 27 construction groups. Each group has about 88 people and construction at each tower is expected be completed within 11 days. The overall impact on the resource base is expected to be limited to this period which will limit opportunistic migration to the project site. 105

107 Screening Questions Yes No Remarks x social conflicts if workers from other regions or countries are hired? poor sanitation and solid waste disposal in construction camps and work sites, and possible transmission of communicable diseases from workers to local populations? x The project will hire both skilled and unskilled labour. Unskilled labour will be hired from surrounding communities for work on clearing the RoW and foundation excavation. - About 2500 workers in 27 camps will produce on average about 35kg/day. Mitigation measure will require the contractor to provide daily rubbish collection and transport to locally approved rubbish dump. - With upwards of 2500 workers in 27 worker groups, risks are present for sexually transmitted diseases. Mitigated by requiring health examination of workers before hiring and HIV/AIDS awareness progress carried out for contractor s workers.. risks to community safety associated with maintenance of lines and related facilities? community health hazards due to electromagnetic fields, land subsidence, lowered groundwater table, and salinization? risks to community health and safety due to the transport, storage, and use and/or disposal of materials such as explosives, fuel and other chemicals during construction and operation? community safety risks due to both accidental and natural hazards, especially where the structural elements or components of the project (e.g., high voltage wires, and transmission towers and lines ) are accessible to members of the affected community or where their failure could result in injury to the community throughout project construction, operation and decommissioning? x x x x PT2 and PT4 will undertake maintenance of the transmission lines. These companies are well experienced and skilled in line and RoW maintenance. Herbicides are not used in vegetation control During operation the conductors will produce a corona noise but as these will be 60-70m above ground and all settlement is excluded from the 32m wide RoW the effect on human habitation is minimised. The tower height has been designed to provide a minimum height that will minimise the EMF effects. Decree 106/2005/ND-CP establishes minimum safety distances for high voltage lines and prescribes the signage to be placed around high voltage grids. EMF effects on health is assessed as being within prescribed safety limits. The T/L will not cause subsidence, lower groundwater or cause salinization. There is a slight risk that accidents could happen but it is not expected to be significant. The project is designed to withstand natural hazards and regular maintenance will reduce the risk of major avoidable issues. Impact level is small. The local communities are already well aware of the dangers of electricity. Towers will also be fitted with anti-climbing devices. Decommissioning will not present any unusual hazards. Climate Change and Disaster Risk Questions The following questions are not for environmental categorization. They are included in this checklist to help identify potential climate and disaster risks. Yes No Remarks 106

108 Is the Project area subject to hazards such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, tropical cyclone winds, storm surges, tsunami or volcanic eruptions and climate changes (see Appendix I)? Could changes in precipitation, temperature, salinity, or extreme events over the Project lifespan affect its sustainability or cost? Are there any demographic or socio-economic aspects of the Project area that are already vulnerable (e.g. high incidence of marginalized populations, rural-urban migrants, illegal settlements, ethnic minorities, women or children)? Could the Project potentially increase the climate or disaster vulnerability of the surrounding area (e.g., increasing traffic or housing in areas that will be more prone to flooding, by encouraging settlement in earthquake zones)? x x x x Towers sites have been assessed by geotechnical surveys which will have assessed landslide hazards. Additionally towers will be sited on ridge lines which will reduce hazard to landslides. The towers and conductors are designed to absorb cyclonic events. Climate change is not perceived as having any particular threat to the project. No changes have been identified with regard to these climate or soil variables. The project will not result in any significant changes to marginalized groups. Apart from growing tree crops the RoW will continue as before to be available to any of these communities for their use. The transmission line will not increase the perceived risk from any of these parameters. 107

109 Annex 4: TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SAFEGUARD POSITIONS INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT STAFF 1.1 International Environmental Specialist - IES - Part-time, 12 person-months Objective/ purpose of assignment Ensure that environmental safeguard policies of the ADB that are identified in the Safeguard Policy Statement (June 2009) are applied. The reference base for these will be the documents that have been prepared for the project during the PPTA which include the: the IEE, EMP, the EARF and the Resettlement Plan. Scope of work: One position of International Environmental Specialist (IES) will be appointed who will assist and train the NPT Environmental Officer. The IES will have capacity and experience in the following: (i) (ii) (iii) Be an experienced environmental specialist with sufficient experience in conducting environment studies and preparing IEEs and EMPs to comply with the ADB Safeguard Policy Statement, Have sufficient knowledge of the following: (a) ADB Bid and Contract documentation and procedures, and (b) monitoring contractors compliance with environmental provisions of the contract. Ability to train NPT staff in environmental safeguards. The IES will assist the EO in undertaking the following activities during detailed design: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) Ensure that the recommendations contained in the IEE EMP are incorporated into the detailed design; Update the EMP as necessary to revise or incorporate revised or additional environmental mitigation and monitoring measures, budget, institutional arrangements, etc, that may be required based on the detailed design; If required, prepare a new or supplementary environment assessment report for additional components or changes in the project during detailed design (for example if there is a substantial change in the project s location which would affect the alignment) that would result in adverse environmental impacts not within the scope of the IEE; Assist in the review of IEEs for other transmission lines etc as required to meet the timelines for delivery of the tranches. IEEs will be prepared according to the requirements of the EARF that was prepared during the PPTA. Ensure that any EMP has been revised as required to reflect changes in project design that may have affected the environmental parameters; 17 The Terms of Reference for these positions are suggested only and are provided to the ADB for their consideration with regards to framing any scope of work for subsequent consultancy services. 108

110 (vi) (vii) (viii) (ix) (x) Ensure that the requirements of the construction EMP are carried as specifications into the Bid document; Ensure that the bidding documents and civil works contracts contain provisions requiring contractors to comply with the mitigation measures in the EMP and that relevant sections of the project EMP (or updated EMP, if prepared) are incorporated in the bidding and contract documents; Arrange for the approval of IEEs by the ADB; Arrange for distribution of IEEs to MONRE for their information; Assist the Bid Evaluation Committee in evaluating and ranking the bids for compliance with the environmental specifications; 2. CONTRACTOR S STAFF The contractor is to appoint two staff as fulltime positions. These staff will be located at the construction site. 2.1 Environmental and Health and Safety Officer (EHS) The EHS Officer will be responsible for the contractor and his staff complying with (i) the CEMP and (ii) health and safety requirements. The EHSO will have suitable qualifications and be experienced in both of these areas. The EHSO reports to the Contractor s Site Engineer (CSE) and will be responsible for the following: (i) Preparation of the CEMP (ii) Ensuring the contractor and sub-contractors comply with the CEMP requirements. (iii) Preparation of a Fuel Handling and Accidental Spill Reaction Procedure. (iv) Training of personnel in these procedures. (v) Monitoring the CEMP and taking correction action as required to address issues arising from the monitoring. (vi) Preparation of Emergency Response Procedure (ERP) - to be submitted to the SE before one week before work begins on site. (vii) Preparation of Work Statements to the SE one week before a new activity commences. (viii) Arranges for the following: a. Display of Work Statements (WS) at the construction site b. Issuing of safety equipment c. Induction of workers and visitors to site d. Liaising with the EO on all environmental and health and safety issues. e. Preparing the monthly Environmental and Health and Safety Report and sending this to the EO. 2.2 Community Liaison Officer (CLO) The CLO will be appointed by the contractor and will be responsible for ensuring that good community relationships are developed between the contractor and the affected communities. The CLO reports to the SE and will be responsible for the following: (i) Preparation of a community liaison program that encapsulates the requirements of the IEE and the GoVN. (ii) Before the contractor commences work the CLO will arrange meetings with the affected communities and explain the work program to them including its hazards and benefits in terms of recruiting workers. 109

111 (iii) (iv) Implement the Grievance Redress Mechanism within the contractor s organisation. Establishment of the HIV/AIDS program with the Ministry of Health. 110

112 Annex 5: LIST OF MACHINERY THAT MAY BE REQUIRED DURING CONSTRUCTION - all construction sites No Equipment Name Qty ton truck 12 2 Mobile crane 12 3 Bulldozer 12 4 Excavator 12 5 Concrete mixer 28 6 Soil compactor 28 7 Concrete needle vibrator 33 8 Concrete platform vibrator 33 9 Pulling, braking, sag measuring tools Welding machine kva generator Powered and hand operated winch Pole erector Earth resistance meter Hydraulic pressing machine Optical Fusion Splicer 7 17 Optical Testing machine 7 18 COLE pump (pumping water out of foundation)

113 Annex 6: PUBLIC CONSULTATION Sample of letters received from Committees approving the EIA. Gia Lai Province Chu Pah District Nghia Hoa Commune People s Committee No. 05/CV-UBND Nghia Hoa, May Re: Public consultation on EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project To: CPMB Nghia Hoa Commune People s Committee received Letter no.4444/ AMT-TD dated Dec from CPMB and the attached EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project (notifying about key environment impacts and mitigation measures). After reviewing the report and relevant documents, our opinions are as follows: 1. On the adverse socio-economic and natural impacts by the Project. - Agreeing with the impacts addressed in the report 2. On the mitigation measures for adverse socio-economic and natural impacts - Agreeing with the measures proposed in the report 3. Petitions to the Project Owner: - Agreeing for the line to cross over the land area of Nghia Hoa Commune - During the construction phase, the project owner should work well with contractors and local authorities in managing their workers, compensation, support and site clearance. Vice Head of CPC signed and sealed. Cao Thi Minh Hoa 112

114 Gia Lai Province Chu Pah District Nghia Hoa Commune Father Front Committee No. 02/CV-UBMTTQ Nghia Hoa, May Re: Public consultation on EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project To: CPMB Nghia Hoa Commune Father Front Committee received Letter no.4444/ AMT-TD dated Dec from CPMB and the attached EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project (notifying about key environment impacts and mitigation measures). After reviewing the report and relevant documents, our opinions are as follows: 1. On the adverse socio-economic and natural impacts by the Project. - Agreeing with the impacts addressed in the report 2. On the mitigation measures for adverse socio-economic and natural impacts - Agreeing with the measures proposed in the report 3. Petitions to the Project Owner: - Agreeing with opinions made by Nghia Hoa Commune People s Committee - The project owner should completely ensure working safety for workers and local people and take quick remedial action if accidents happen. Head of CFFC signed and sealed. Phan Thi Thu Hang 113

115 Dak Lak Province Ea Sup District Cu M Lan Commune People s Committee No. 02/CV-UBND Cu M Lan, January Re: Public consultation on EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project To: CPMB Cu M Lan Commune People s Committee received Letter no.4462/ AMT-TD dated Dec from CPMB and the attached EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project (notifying about key construction components, environment impacts and mitigation measures). After reviewing the report and relevant documents, our opinions are as follows: 1. On the adverse socio-economic and natural impacts by the Project. - Agreeing with the impacts addressed in the report 2. On the mitigation measures for adverse socio-economic and natural impacts - Agreeing with the measures proposed in the report 3. Petitions to the Project Owner: - Agreeing for the line to cross over the land area of Cu M Lan Commune - During the construction phase, the project owner should work well with contractors and local authorities in managing their workers, controlling forest fires and social evils. - The project owner should work with local authorities on compensation, support and site clearance and strictly keep up with construction schedule. Head of CPC signed and sealed. Pham Van Thuoc 114

116 Dak Lak Province Ea Sup District Cu M Lan Commune Father Front Committee No. 01/CV-UBMTTQ Cu M Lan, January Re: Public consultation on EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project To: CPMB Cu M Lan Commune Father Front Committee received Letter no.4462/ AMT-TD dated Dec from CPMB and the attached EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project (notifying about key construction components, environment impacts and mitigation measures). After reviewing the report and relevant documents, our opinions are as follows: 1. On the adverse socio-economic and natural impacts by the Project. - Agreeing with the impacts addressed in the report 2. On the mitigation measures for adverse socio-economic and natural impacts - Agreeing with the measures proposed in the report 3. Petitions to the Project Owner: - Agreeing for the line to cross over the land area of Cu M Lan Commune - During the construction phase, the project owner should work well with contractors and local authorities in managing their workers and controlling forest fires. - The project owner should completely ensure working safety for workers and local people living around the right of way and take quick remedial action if accidents happen. Head of CFFC signed and sealed. Huynh Ba Chan 115

117 Dak Nong Province Cu Jut District Ea Po Commune People s Committee No. 02/CV-UBND Ea Po, January Re: Public consultation on EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project To: CPMB Ea Po Commune People s Committee received Letter no.4467/ AMT-TD dated Dec from CPMB and the attached EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project (notifying about key construction components, environment impacts and mitigation measures). After reviewing the report and relevant documents, our opinions are as follows: 1. On the adverse socio-economic and natural impacts by the Project. - Agreeing with the impacts addressed in the report 2. On the mitigation measures for adverse socio-economic and natural impacts - Agreeing with the measures proposed in the report 3. Petitions to the Project Owner: - Agreeing for the line to cross over the land area of Ea Po Commune - During the construction phase, the project owner should work well with contractors and local authorities in managing their workers and controlling forest fires. - The project owner should work with local authorities on compensation, support and site clearance. Acting Head of CPC signed and sealed. Luong Van Thang 116

118 Dak Nong Province Cu Jut District Ea Po Commune Father Front Committee No. 05/CV-UBMTTQ Ea Po, January Re: Public consultation on EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project To: CPMB Ea Po Commune Father Front Committee received Letter no.4462/ AMT-TD dated Dec from CPMB and the attached EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project (notifying about key construction components, environment impacts and mitigation measures). After reviewing the report and relevant documents, our opinions are as follows: 1. On the adverse socio-economic and natural impacts by the Project. - Agreeing with the impacts addressed in the report 2. On the mitigation measures for adverse socio-economic and natural impacts - Agreeing with the measures proposed in the report 3. Petitions to the Project Owner: - Agreeing for the line to cross over the land area of Ea Po Commune - The project owner should completely ensure working safety for workers and local people living around the right of way and take quick remedial action if accidents happen. - During the construction phase, the project owner should properly dispose and handle generated domestic and solid waste to prevent pollution. - The project owner should ensure the progress of project. Head of CFFC signed and sealed. Le Van Khiem 117

119 Binh Phuoc Province Bu Dang District Phu Son Commune People s Committee No. 01/CV-UBND Phu Son, January Re: Public consultation on EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project To: CPMB Phu Son Commune People s Committee received Letter no.96/ AMT-TD dated Dec from CPMB and the attached EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project (notifying about key construction components, environment impacts and mitigation measures). After reviewing the report and relevant documents, our opinions are as follows: 1. On the adverse socio-economic and natural impacts by the Project. - Agreeing with the impacts addressed in the report 2. On the mitigation measures for adverse socio-economic and natural impacts - Agreeing with the measures proposed in the report 3. Petitions to the Project Owner: - Agreeing for the line to cross over the land area of Phu Son Commune - The project owner should work with local authorities on compensation, support and site clearance. CPC signed and sealed. Le Van Nang 118

120 Binh Phuoc Province Bu Dang District Phu Son Commune Father Front Committee No. 05/CV-UBMTTQ Phu Son, January Re: Public consultation on EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project To: CPMB Phu Son Commune Father Front Committee received Letter no.96/ AMT-TD dated Dec from CPMB and the attached EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project (notifying about key construction components, environment impacts and mitigation measures). After reviewing the report and relevant documents, our opinions are as follows: 1. On the adverse socio-economic and natural impacts by the Project. - Agreeing with the impacts addressed in the report 2. On the mitigation measures for adverse socio-economic and natural impacts - Agreeing with the measures proposed in the report 3. Petitions to the Project Owner: - Agreeing with opinions made by Phu Son CPC. - The project owner should completely ensure working safety for workers and local people living around the right of way and take quick remedial action if accidents happen. Head of CFFC signed and sealed. Le Ngoc Khanh 119

121 Binh Duong Province Ben Cat District Lai Uyen Commune People s Committee No. 07/ UBND - KT Lai Uyen, January Re: Public consultation on EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project To: CPMB Lai Uyen Commune People s Committee received Letter no.109/ AMT-TD dated Dec from CPMB and the attached EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project (notifying about key construction components, environment impacts and mitigation measures). After reviewing the report and relevant documents, our opinions are as follows: 1. On the adverse socio-economic and natural impacts by the Project. - Agreeing with the impacts addressed in the report 2. On the mitigation measures for adverse socio-economic and natural impacts - Agreeing with the measures proposed in the report 3. Petitions to the Project Owner: - Agreeing for the line to cross over the land area of Lai Uyen Commune - The project owner should ensure the progress of project. - Strictly comply with local regulations and Law on Environmental Protection. - During the construction phase, the project owner should work well with contractors and local authorities in managing their workers. Vice Head of CPC signed and sealed. Vuong Van Phuoc 120

122 Binh Duong Province Ben Cat District Lai Uyen Commune Father Front Committee No. 11/CV-MTTQ Lai Uyen, January Re: Public consultation on EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project To: CPMB Lai Uyen Commune Father Front Committee received Letter no.109/ AMT-TD dated Dec from CPMB and the attached EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project (notifying about key construction components, environment impacts and mitigation measures). After reviewing the report and relevant documents, our opinions are as follows: 1. On the adverse socio-economic and natural impacts by the Project. - Agreeing with the impacts addressed in the report 2. On the mitigation measures for adverse socio-economic and natural impacts - Agreeing with the measures proposed in the report 3. Petitions to the Project Owner: - Agreeing with opinions made by Lai Uyen CPC. - The project owner should completely ensure working safety for workers and local people living around the right of way and take quick remedial action if accidents happen. - The project owner should work with local authorities on compensation, support and site clearance. Lai Uyen CFFC signed and sealed. Pham Van Thang 121

123 Ho Chi Minh City Cu Chi District Trung An Commune People s Committee No. 21/ CV-UBND Trung An, January Re: Public consultation on EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project To: CPMB Trung An Commune People s Committee received Letter no.110/ AMT-TD dated Dec from CPMB and the attached EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project (notifying about key construction components, environment impacts and mitigation measures). After reviewing the report and relevant documents, our opinions are as follows: 1. On the adverse socio-economic and natural impacts by the Project. - Agreeing with the impacts addressed in the report 2. On the mitigation measures for adverse socio-economic and natural impacts - Agreeing with the measures proposed in the report 3. Petitions to the Project Owner: - Agreeing for the line to cross over the land area of Trung An Commune - During the construction phase, the project owner should work well with contractors and local authorities in managing their workers. - Strictly implement the environmental management and monitoring program during construction. Head of CPC signed and sealed. Vo Van Minh 122

124 Ho Chi Minh City Cu Chi District Trung An Commune Father Front Committee No. 09/CV-MTTQ Trung An, January Re: Public consultation on EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project To: CPMB Trung An Commune Father Front Committee received Letter no.110/ AMT-TD dated Dec from CPMB and the attached EIA report of the 500kv Pleiku-My Phuoc-Cau Bong Transmission Line Project (notifying about key construction components, environment impacts and mitigation measures). After reviewing the report and relevant documents, our opinions are as follows: 1. On the adverse socio-economic and natural impacts by the Project. - Agreeing with the impacts addressed in the report 2. On the mitigation measures for adverse socio-economic and natural impacts - Agreeing with the measures proposed in the report 3. Petitions to the Project Owner: - Agreeing with opinions made by Trung An CPC. - Cooperate with local authorities in protect security and prevent social evils during construction in the commune. - The project owner should completely ensure working safety for workers and local people living around the right of way and take quick remedial action if accidents happen. Trung An Vice Head of CFFC signed and sealed. Duong Minh Trang 123

125 ANNEX 7.1: RECORD OF PUBLIC CONSULTATION No. Province/distri ct/commune I GIA LAI PROVINCE I.1 Chu Pah district I.1.1 I.1.2 Nghia Hoa commune Nghia Hung commune I.2 Ia Grai district I.2.1 I.2.2 Ia Sao commune Ia Der commune Implemen tation time Feb. 10, 2011 Feb. 11, 2011 Feb. 12, 2011 Feb. 13, 2011 Results Feedbacks Number of participants Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority - Agreeing completely that the project corsses over the commune - For houses, structural works, trees and crops, they should be compensated, assisted at market at compensation implementation time - Households (HHs) under the right of way (ROW) who can be impacted great by electromagnetic have to be assited as at tower foundation location. - It should have suitable assistance, mitigation measures against dust, exhausts, noise. - Holding training cources for communal staves. - Assisting equipments for the commune in oreder to serve the project - Agreeing completely that the project corsses over the commune. - Compensation unit price for residents is appropriate (applying according to unit price promulgated by provincial people's committee). - Requesting compensation for trees, crops on land according to market price. - In construction process, requesting construction unit to have environmental impact mitigation such as dust, exhausts and noise. - Agreeing completely that the project corsses over the commune. - For compensation price: it need appropriate and suitable to the fact. - Requesting Project Owner to use labour resources in the commune for works without high technical requirement. - Holding training cources for communal staves. - Agreeing completely that the project corsses over the commune. - Appropriate compensation for trees and crops for HHs - Assisting, creating job for people who are impacted to much productive land under Total number of participants: 21 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 18people Male: 4 Female : 17 Total number of participants: 6 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 03 people Male: 1 Female : 5 Total number of participants: 32 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people - Inhabitants in the project area 29 people. Male: 28 Female : 4 Total number of participants: 9 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people 124

126 No. I.3.3 Province/distri ct/commune Ia Pech commune I.3 Plieku city I.3.1 I.3.2 Ia Kenh commune Chu Pong commune Implemen tation time Feb. 14, 2011 Feb. 15, 2011 Feb. 16, 2011 I.4 Chu Prong district I.4.1 Ia Pang Feb. 17, commune 2011 Results Feedbacks Number of participants support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local ROW. - Requesting PO to coordinate closely with the locality to implement well workers management in order to avoid to conflicts occurence among workers and local residents - Agreeing completely that the project corsses over the commune. -Coordinating closely with the locality to implement well workers management - For HHs impacted much, requesting to have assistance policy on livelihood for them - Coordinating to well implementate compensation at market price - Agreeing completely that the project corsses over the commune. - Compensation unit price is appropriate for residents. - Requesting to have noise, dust and exhausts impact mitigation measures to great impact avoid for residents. - Requesting PO to implement well workers management in order to avoid conflicts occurence among construction workers and local residents - Having mitigation measures in construction process: dust, solid waste, noise. - Mitigating impacts due to erosion for the route. - Mitigating impacts to crops, trees in construction pocess. - Clearing entirely after finishing the T/L construction - Agreeing completely policy that the project corsses over the commune. - Coordinating with the locality to solve complaints in the locality - Inhabitants in the project area: 6 people Male: 9 Female : 0 Total number of participants: 15 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 11 people Male: 13 Female : 2 Total number of participants: 23 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 20 people Male: 19 Female : 4 Total number of participants: 34 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 30 people Male: 27 Female : 7 Total number of participants: 33 people. Including: 125

127 No. I.4.2 I.4.3 I.4.4 I.4.5 Province/distri ct/commune Ia Tor commune Ia Ve commune Ia Pia commune Ia Lau commune Implemen tation time Feb. 18, 2011 Feb. 19, 2011 Feb. 20, 2011 Feb. 21, 2011 Results Feedbacks Number of participants authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority - For T/L sections cross over roads, suggesting construction units to inform the locality in order to happen accidents without expection - Agreeing completely that the project corsses over the commune. - It need have measures to recover traffic jam when implementing wire pull and scatter. - For works without much technical requirement, requesting PO to use local labour resources - Agreeing completely that the project corsses over the commune. - Having dust, noise mitigation measures for HHs surrounding ROW in cosntruction process. - For trees, crops under ROW, suggesting PO to have compensation policy at market price. - Agreeing completely that the project corsses over the commune. - Ensuring to cleanly clear after finishing the project construction in the locality. - Coordinating closely with the locality to well compensation implementation in order to avoid unbalanced grievences and complaints occurence in implementation process. - Agreeing completely that the project corsses over the commune. - In construction process, suggesting PO to have soil erosion mitigation measures due to excavation, filling, leveling, tower foundation construction process. - CPC s leadership: 03 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 30 people Male: 26 Female : 7 Total number of participants: 7 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 3people Male: 0 Female : 7 Total number of participants: 34 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 30 people Male: 3 Female : 31 Total number of participants: 16 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 13 people Male: 0 Female : 16 Total number of participants: 21 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people 126

128 No. Province/distri ct/commune I.5 Chu Puh district I.5.1 I.5.2 II II.1 II. 1.1 Ia Hla commune Ia Blu commune Implemen tation time Feb. 22, 2011 Feb. 23, 2011 DAK LAK PROVINCE Ea Sup district Ia Jloi commune Feb. 10, 2011 Results Feedbacks Number of participants support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - Having forest fire risk prevention measures and countermeasures - People dân trong vùng du án 18 people Male: 3 Female : 18 - Suggesting PO to use local labour resource for works without high technical level. - Coordinating with the locality to well implement security ensurement in the commune. - Coordinating with the locality to compensation - For trees, crops, suggesting to have compesation, assistance policy at market price - Agreeing completely that the project corsses over the commune.. - Coordinating with the locality to well implement compensation and site clearance. - Requesting PO to coordinate with the locality to implement well workers management in order to avoid social evil occurence in the locality - Cash compensation payment should be carried out before carrying out land acquisition and site clearance for the project construction - Land, trees, crops and structural works inventory should have participation of the project affected people (PAPs), PO and local authority to ensure justice and not be lacked - In the project consturction and operation process, it has used some roads which are constructed by residents' contribution, thus PO is responsible for repair or cash compensation to the locality repair in order to ensure thoroughly traffic if happening Total number of participants: 32 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 18 people Male: 24 Female : 8 Total number of participants: 5 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 2 people Male: 5 Female : 0 Total number of participants: 16 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 12 people Male: 15 Female : 1 127

129 No. II.1.2 Province/distri ct/commune Ea Rok commune Implemen tation time Feb. 10, 2011 Results Feedbacks Number of participants Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. damage due to construction materials transportation for constructing the project. - The project crosses over forest areas, thus in the project construction and operation, PO has to ensure workers to obey strictly regulation on forest fire fight and prevention - The project crosses over area where topography is slope, landslide can occur, thus in design and cosntruction process, it has to have landslide prevention measures and countermeasures which can cause unsafety for the project and threat residents' - Cash compensation safety. payment for the damage of land and assets of PAPs should be carried out before carrying out land acquisition and site clearance - Besides compensation for the damage of land and assets, suggesting PO to have policy to assist for PAPs, specially PAPs who are impacted much, poor PAPs, ethnic minority PAPs. - PO must obey regulations on forest protection - Domestic and cosntruction waste has to be collected and transpoted to rubbish dumps of the locality. - Electromagnetic field impact prevention and protection must be cared to avoid impacts to residents' health living near the project. - PO has to inform construction shedule to the locality in order to know and have plan to manage socical order and security. Total number of participants: 22 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 17people Male: 18 Female :4 II. 1.3 Cu Kbang commune Feb. 11, 2011 Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - Damage inventory caused by the project should have participation of the project affected people (PAPs), PO and local authority to ensure justice - Compensation should be carried out before carrying out land acquisition and site clearance. - PO should have policy to assist for PAPs, specially PAPs who are impacted much, poor PAPs, ethnic minority PAPs. - Informing construction and operation shedule to the local authority in order to know and have plan to manage socical order and security. - Requesting PO to use local labour resources for works without high technical requirement in order to creat job for them and decrease in workers concentration who arrive the locality from another places and can cause social unoder and unsecurity. Total number of participants: 16 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 12 people Male: 15 Female : 1 128

130 No. Province/distri ct/commune Implemen tation time Results Feedbacks Number of participants - PO has to ensure forest fire prevention and protection - Payment of compensation on land and asset for PAPs should be conducted before land acquisition and site clearance - In addition to PAPs having affected land and assets receive compensation cost, suggesting that PO should have more assistance for households who much affected by the project, or poor households, ethnic minority households - PO has to conforming to regulations on forest protection - Rubbish and construction's waste must be collected and dumped into the local waste area. II.1.4 Ea Le commune Feb. 11, 2011 Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - Protection of electromagnetic field need to be considered to avoid impacting on health of people living near to the proejct area - PO should inform construction schedule to locality to have social oder management plan Total number of participants: 20 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 16 people Male: 17 Female :3 II.1.5 Cu M'Lan commune Feb. 12, 2011 Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - Verifying and counting the project impacts have to be conducted with participation of local authorities and PAPs. - Payment of compensation cost should be conducted before time of land compensation, site clearance. - Beside damage compensation as stipulation, suggesting PO having more assistace for difficult houshold such as much affected HHs, poor HHs, ethnic minority HHs. - Rubbish should be collected and dumped into the local waste area. - The project crosses over some road, so during scattering conductor over the road, contractor has to cooperate with management unit to avoid obstucting traffic and happening accident. - Excavated soil from tower foundation has to compacted to avoid spilling out surrounding and cause pollution. Total number of participants: 14 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people -Inhabitants in the project area: 10 people Male: 11 Female : 3 II.2 II.2.1 Cu M'Gar district Ea Kiet commune Feb. 12, 2011 Local people and local authority - Compensation the project impacts on land, tree, crop has to implement openly, impartialy, and before land compensation, site clearance. - Contractor should compensate and repair traffic road (constructed by local people) Total number of participants: 24 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people 129

131 No. Province/distri ct/commune Implemen tation time Results Feedbacks Number of participants support chosen alternative route. which is damaged by constructional material, equipment transportation. - Conforming to engagements mentioned in report on environmental impact assessment approved by authorized agency. - Suggesting PO using local labor for works which are not required high technical knowlegde, in order to avoid concentrating many works affecting to social order and security - At sections crossing roads which have high traffic mean density, during scattering conductor contractor should cooperate with local management unit to control traffic and avoid traffic jam and accident. - Inhabitants in the project area: 20 people Male: 20 Female : 4 II.2.2 Ea M'Droh Feb. 13, 2011 Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - Compensation for land, tree, crops and assets which are affected by the project need be implemented before time of land aquisition, site clearance. - Compensaton has to be conducted openly with participation of local authorities and PAPs. - PAPs suggest PO having more assistance policy for difficult HHs such as much affected HHs, poor HHs, ethnic minority HHs. - Need to have measures against electromagnetic field effects for households living near to the project area. - Worker's rubbish and construction waste should be collected and tranfered to the local dump area. - At section crossing the exisitng transmission lines, during construction, there should be suitable construction method to avoid cut power on the existing T/L but ensuring labour safety. - During construction and operation, workers must obey law on labour and law on forest protection. Total number of participants: 24 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 20 people Male: 19 Female : 5 II.2.3 Quang Hiep commune Feb. 13, 2011 Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - Verifying and counting the project impacts have to be conducted with participation of local authorities, PO and PAPs in order to ensure impatiality and sufficiency. - Payment for compensation is implemented before time of land acquisition, site clearance. - PO has to detail construction plan to local people have production plan. Total number of participants: 21 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 02 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 19 people 130

132 No. II.3 II.3.1 III III.1 III.1.1 III.1.2 Province/distri ct/commune Implemen tation time Results Feedbacks Number of participants - Conforming local regulation in declaring temporary residence of workers in order to avoid conflict between local people and wokers. - Suggesting PO using local labor for works which are not required high technical knowlegde - Contractor must obey forest fire protection regulation during construction. Buon Don district Tan Hoa Consultants have contacted to CPC but CPC hasn't arranged time to hold the public consultation meeting commune DAK NONG PROVINCE Cu Jut district Ea Po commune Nam Dong commune Feb. 15, 2011 Feb. 15, 2011 Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - Compensation need to be conducted before land acquisition and site clearance. - Inventorying damages on land, assets of PAPs caused by the project have to be conducted openly with participation of local authorities, and PAPs. - During construction, suggesting PO using local labor for works which are not required high technical to reduce worker from other places and creating job for local people. - At sections crossing the local roads which have high traffic mean density, so during construction, contractor should ensure to throughly traffic and avoid traffic jam and accident. - During construction, workers must obey regulation on labour safety to avoid accident - PO has to cooperate with local authority in inventorying the project's damages on land of local people. - Cash compensation payment should be conducted and completed before land acquisition and site clearance. - Suggesting PO to have policy to assist for PAPs, specially PAPs who are impacted much, poor PAPs, ethnic minority PAPs in order that they rapidly stable their life and production. - The project having voltage of 500kV, so electromagnetic field effects are large. Therefore, it is neccesary to have mitigation measures in design and construction Male: 19 Female : 2 Total number of participants: 26 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 22 people Male: 23 Female :3 Total number of participants: 18 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 02 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 16 people Male: 16 Female : 2 131

133 No. Province/distri ct/commune Implemen tation time Results Feedbacks Number of participants against effects on the local people living near to the project area - Contractor has to inform local authority abour construction plan and number of workers to the authory manage and ensure social order. III.1.3 Cu Knia Commune Feb. 16, 2011 Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - Cash compensation payment has to implemented before time of land acquisition, site clearance. - Asset inventory has to have participation of local authority and PAPs. - In addtion, suggesting PO to have policy to assist for PAPs, in order that they rapidly stable their life and production. - Water pumped from tower foundation has to be collected into suitable place in order to avoid spill out road causing pollution. - The project has some sections crossing over roads, hence, scattering conductor through these roads has to be cooperated with management unit to avoid traffic jam and accident. - The project having voltage of 500kV, so electromagnetic field effects are large. Therefore, it is neccesary to have mitigation measures in design and construction against effects on the local people living near to the project area Total number of participants: 19 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 15 people Male: 16 Female : 3 III.1.4 III.2 III.2.1 Truc Son commune Dak Mil district Dak Gan commune Feb. 16, 2011 Feb. 17, 2011 Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local - PO has to cooperate with local authority in inventorying the project's damages on land and crops of local people and calculate compensation cost according to regulations. - Compensation works have to conducted openly, synchronously before land acquisition, site clearance and project construction. - Beside compensation according to regulation, suggesting PO to have assistance policy. - The project mainly crosses though mountain, hills which has not developed traffic roads, thus project construction need to built temporary access road which will affect to assets of local people. PO has to reached agreement with local people and authority. - PO cooperates with locality to count and verify damages on land, assets of organization and individual who are affected by the project in oder to ensure Total number of participants: 16 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people -Inhabitants in the project area: 12people Male: 13 Female : 3 132

134 No. III.2.2 III.3 III.3.1 Province/distri ct/commune Dak Sak commune Krong No district Dak Sor commune Implemen tation time Feb. 17, 2011 Feb. 18, 2011 Results Feedbacks Number of participants authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. sufficiency. - Verifying and counting land, assest on land and calculating compensation cost, as well as compensation implementation should be conducted before land acquisition and site clearance, project construction. - Compensation shoule be conducted openly to local people know. - Project management unit has to ensure construct on schedule to local people active in production land living activities. - The project having voltage of 500kV, so electromagnetic field effects are large. Therefore, it is neccesary to have mitigation measures in design and construction against effects on the local people living near to the project area - With feature of the highland area having dust in dry season and muddy in rain seasion, thus excavated soil from tower foundation should be compacted to avoid spill outside environment causing pollution. - PO and relavent agencies cooperate with locality to count and verify damages on land, assets of local people in order to ensure sufficiency of compensation for damages. And compensation has to conduct before land acquisition, site clearance and project construction. - The project has some section crossing over the existing power transmisison line, thus the project construction and operation have to have suitatble methods to ensure not affect to local people production, life and labour safety - The project having voltage of 500kV, so electromagnetic field effects are large. Therefore, it is neccesary to have mitigation measures in design and construction against effects on the local people living near to the project area - Inventoring damages on land, asset of organization, individual has to have participation of local people, local authorities and PO. - Cash compensation payment should be conducted openly and before time of land acquisition, site clearance and project construction. - PO has to repair or compensate by cash for local people self-repair roads which are Total number of participants: 13 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people -Inhabitants in the project area: 10 people Male: 11 Female : 2 Total number of participants: 11 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 7 people 133

135 No. Province/distri ct/commune Implemen tation time Results Feedbacks Number of participants damaged by the project construction's material transportation. - Besides compensation for the damage of land and assets, suggesting PO to have policy to assist for PAPs, specially PAPs who are impacted much, poor PAPs, ethnic minority PAPs in order to they rapidly stable their life and production. - Material, equipment transportation means have to be ensured in technic to avoid traffic accident. Male: 9 Female : 2 - Worker's rubbish and construction waste should be collected and tranfered to the local dump area. - Suggesting PO to have policy to assist for constructing public cultural site of ethnic minority people III.3.2 Nam Da commune Feb Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - PO cooperates with locality to inventory damages caused by the project in oder to ensure impartiality and sufficiency. - Cash compensation payment should be conducted before time of land acquisition, site clearance - Suggesting PO to have policy to assist for PAPs, specially PAPs who are impacted much, poor PAPs, ethnic minority PAPs in order that they rapidly stable their life and production. - Suggesting PO to carry out construction in dry season - At sections crossing roads which have high traffic mean density, contractor should cooperate with local management unit to control traffic and avoid traffic jam and accident. - Construction waste (rubbish and construction waste) have to be collected and traffered to the local waste area in order to disposal outsite surrounding environment causing pollution. - At sections crossing through forest, PO ensure not cut tree and fire rubbish to avoid forest fire. Total number of participants: 16 people. Including: -CPC s leadership: 02 people -Inhabitants in the project area: 14 people Male: 16 Female : 0 III.3.3 Nam Xuan commune Feb. 19, 2011 Local people and local authority - Suggesting PO to conduct cash compensation payment before time of land acquisition, site clearance - Compensation work has to be carried out openly and impartialy with participation of Total number of participants: 21 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people 134

136 No. Province/distri ct/commune Implemen tation time Results Feedbacks Number of participants support chosen alternative route. PAPs. - The project construction and operation use some roads which is constructed by local peple, thus PO is responsible for repair or compensate by cash for repair if there are damages caused by material, equipment transportation. - Suggesting PO using local labor for works which are not required high technical to reduce worker from other places and creating job for local people. - During construction and operation, PO has to inform local authority about construction plan to they have management plan. - Inhabitants in the project area: 17 people Male: 18 Female : 3 III.3.4 III.3.5 Dak Mam town Tan Thanh commune Feb. 19, 2011 Feb. 20, 2011 Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - In local people's land, trees, crops and structural works inventory, PO should cooperate with local authority to statistic PAPs' damages to ensure impartiality and sufficiency. - Cash compensation payment should be conducted before carrying out land acquisition and site clearance. - If there are damages on village roads due to material, equipment transportation, PO will be responsible for repair or cash compensation for repair. - There must be measures agaist electromagentic field impacts on people living near to the project area. - Construction watse has to collected to tower foundation in order to avoid affecting to surrouding environment. - The transmission line mainly crosses over mountain with high risk of landslide, especially in rain season, thus there must be measures against landslide which can cause unsafety for project and local people. - Suggesting PO to cooperate with local authorities to inventory the project's damages on local people's assets before time of land acquisition, site clearance. - Cash compensation payment has to be carried out with participation of representatives of PAPs and before time of land acquisition. - Suggesting PO to have policy to assist for PAPs, specially PAPs who are impacted much, poor PAPs, ethnic minority PAPs in order that they rapidly stable their life and production. Total number of participants: 15 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area:1 1people Male: 10 Female : 5 Total number of participants: 16 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 12people Male: 15 Female : 1 135

137 No. III.4 III.4.1 Province/distri ct/commune Dak Song commune Dak Mol commune Implemen tation time Feb. 21, 2011 Results Feedbacks Number of participants Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - PO has to cooperate with local authorities in damages inventory to ensure sufficiency for local people. Compensation works have to implement before land acquisition, site clearance. - During site clearance, the local people's complaint has to be solved absolutely. - Suggesting PO to have policy to assist for PAPs, specially PAPs who are impacted much, poor PAPs, ethnic minority PAPs in order that they rapidly stable their life and production. - During construction, PO should use local labour for works which are not required high technical knowledge, in order to create job for local people and avoid conflict between workers from other places with local people. - PO has to declare construction and operation plan in order that local authority has managment plan. - Suggesting PO to conform provisions mentioned in report on Idigenous People Plan. Total number of participants: 16 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 12 people Male: 12 Female : 4 IIII.4.2 Dak Hoa commune Feb. 21, 2011 Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - During the project construction and operation, material and equipment transportation uses some village roads which is constructed by local people contribution, this can damage these roads. Hence, PO is responsible for repairing these damages. - During construction, there are workers from other places to construct the project, suggesting PO to be responsible for declare temporary residence with local authority to manage. - The project has some sections crossing over traffic road, so cosntruction at these sections has to be cooperated with appropriate authority to control traffic and avoid traffic jam. - For compensation works, suggesting PO to cooperate local authority in inventory in order that compensation is sufficiency for local people. - Compensation unit price is right according to the existing regulations of Viet Nam law based on replacement price. - Suggesting PO to have policy to assist for PAHs, especially PAHs who are impacted much, old PAHs, poor PAHs, ethnic minority PAHs. Total number of participants: 12 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 8 people Male: 10 Female : 2 136

138 No. III.4.3 Province/distri ct/commune Nam Binh commune Implemen tation time Feb Results Feedbacks Number of participants Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - All the project impacts on land, tree, crops have to be agreed by local authority and local people before implementation. - PO cooperate with local authority to inventory the project's damages on local people assets and calculate compensation price according to regulation of Viet Nam law based on replacement price. - During construction, suggesting PO to use local labour for simple works. - The project crosses over the existing power transmission line, so there are suitable construction measures to avoid accident. - During construction, contractor has to declare temporary residence to local authority in order that they have management plan and avoid conflict between local people and workers. - The transmission line mainly crosses over mountain topography with high risk of landslide, especially in rain season, thus in design and construction, there must be measures against landslide which can cause unsafety for project and local people. Total number of participants: 16 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people -Inhabitants in the project area: 13 people Male: 14 Female : 2 IIII.4.4 III.4.5 Nam Njang Truong Xuan commune Feb. 23, 2011 Feb. 24, 2011 Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local - PO and relavent agencies cooperate with locality to inventory damages on land, assets of local people before land acquisition, site clearance and project construction. - Compensation works have to be carried out openly in order to avoid long complaints. - Suggesting PO to have policy to assist for PAPs, specially PAPs who are impacted much, poor PAPs, ethnic minority PAPs in order that they rapidly stable their life and production. - The project is mainly far from residential area, so project construction and operation will use some village roads which are constructed by local people. Thus, PO has to repair damages on these roads caused by the project during project construction and operation. - The project having voltage of 500kV, so electromagnetic field effects are large. Therefore, it is neccesary to have mitigation measures in design and construction against - PO and effects relavent on the agencies local people cooperate living with near locality to the project to inventory area local people's damages and compensate for them before land acquisition, site clearance and project Total number of participants: 15 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 11 people. Male: 13 Female : 2 Total number of participants: 19 people. Including: 137

139 No. III.5 III.5.1 III.5.2 III.5 III.5.1 IV IV.1 VI.1.1 Province/distri ct/commune Tuy Duc district Quang Tan commune Dak Ngo commune Implemen tation time Feb. 25, 2011 Results Feedbacks Number of participants authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. construction. - Compensation works have to be carried out openly. - Beside compensation according to regulations of Viet Nam law, suggesting PO to have policy to assist for PAPs, specially PAPs who are impacted much, poor PAPs, ethnic minority PAPs - PO and relavent agencies cooperate with locality to inventory local people's damages and compensate for them before land acquisition, site clearance. - Suggesting PO to have policy to assist for PAPs, specially PAPs who are impacted much, poor PAPs, ethnic minority PAPs in order that they rapidly stable their life and production. - During construction, contractor will use workers from other places for construction, suggesting contractor to declare temporary residence to local authority in order that they have management plan. Consultants have contacted to CPC but CPC hasn't arranged time to hold the public consultation meeting Dak R'Lap district Quang Tin Consultants have contacted to CPC but CPC hasn't arranged time to hold the public consultation meeting commune BINH PHUOC PROVINCE Bu Dang district Phu Son commune Feb. 10, 2011 Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - Beside allowances based on the province's regulation, it should have more allowances for annual tree land, perennial tree land (industrial tree) when tranfering land use purpose. - Project construction and operation has to ensure safety for local people living near to the project area. - CPC s leadership: 03 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 16 people Male: 15 Female : 4 Total number of participants: 17 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 13 people Male: 16 Female :1 Total number of participants: 17 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 13 people Male: 17 Female : 0 IV.1.2 Tho Son Feb. 11, Local people - Vegetation cover situation under ROW is mainly rubber and cashew (perennial Total number of participants: 138

140 No. IV.1.3 IV.1.4 IV.1.5 Province/distri ct/commune Implemen tation time commune 2011 and local authority support chosen alternative route. Doan Ket commune Binh Minh commune Minh Hung commune Feb. 11, 2011 Feb. 12, 2011 Feb. 13, 2011 Results Feedbacks Number of participants Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. industrial tree), after acquisition, these vegetation cover will be tranfered to annual industrial tree that will have low productivity, thus there need to be more assistance for these land when change tree. - It is neccesary to manage and educate worker to live friendly with local people and respect lcoal maners and customs, especcially in sections crossing ethnic minority habitats, the S'teng people. - Damage inventory, compensation, assistane, and resettlment should be conducted obviously, especially as compensation unit price, in order that local people know and supervise. - PO need to supervise strickly waste to ensure not impact on local people life. - It is neccesary to have better assistance policy for indigenous people - the S'teng people - Reserttlment plan (RP) well implements compensation policy as the State's regulation, with assistance policy to ensure life stability for local people. - Well implementing environmental management and monitoring works as mentioned in the report - The transmission line runs near to the Sok Bom Bo planning area which is habitat of indegenous people - the s'teng people, thus it is neccesary to well implement assistance policies such as Program 135 stage 2, program 134, program 30a, and other support policy for poor people. - In Minh Hung commune, there are no households locating in ROW, only trees, crops and land are impacted but impact level isn't also great, however need compensate appropriately to residents stabilize life. - Types of waste emitted in construction and maintainance process need be collected and treated to avoid impacts to residents near to the project area. 19 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 17people Male: 15 Female : 4 Total number of participants: 18 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 14 people Male: 16 Female : 2 Total number of participants: 20 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 17 people Male: 17 Female : 3 Total number of participants: 11 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 9 people Male: 7 Female : 4 IV.1.6 Duc Lieu Feb. 14, Local people - In the next phase, when carrying out inventory, compensation, allowances and Total number of participants: 139

141 No. IV.2 IV.2.1 IV.2.2 IV.2.3 Province/distri ct/commune Implemen tation time commune 2011 and local authority support chosen alternative route. Bu Gia Map district Phuoc Tan commune Nghia Binh commune Phu Trung commune Feb. 15, 2011 Results Feedbacks Number of participants Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. resettlement, need coordinate with CPC, Bu Dang district compensation and site clearance committee to implement well compensation and site clearance to avoid residents to grieve and complain. - T/L crosses over the territory of Duc Lieu commune with land use situation under ROW is main rubber, cashew. thus after compensation, need clear and treat the remaining to avoid risk of forest fire. - RP must be implemented exactly as regulation of the State and Binh Phuoc province to ensure life stability of residents. - Implementing well EMP, EMDP as reported. Consultants have contacted to CPC but CPC hasn't arranged time to hold the public consultation meeting Feb. 16, 2011 Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - Opinions of Trieu Ngoc Dinh - Vice chairman of CPC: Requesting PO to create conditions in order to residents stabilize life. + Requesting PO to compensate and give special treatment on policy to create the most advantageous conditions in order to residents feel secure for production to stabilize life early +Agreeing with policy on Pleiku My - Phuac - Cau Bông 500kV T/L construction crossing over the territory of Phú Trung commune. - PAHs' opinions + Agreeing with policy on Pleiku My - Phuac - Cau Bông 500kV T/L construction crossing over family's land. Requesting the project to compensate appropriately for my family and give other special treatments in order to my family stabilize life early. - Communal Fatherland Front Committee's opinions: + Agreeing with CPC's opinions, in construction process, solid wastes and domestic 21 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 02 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 18 people Male: 16 Female : 5 Total number of participants: 21 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 17 people Male: 18 Female : 3 Total number of participants: 17 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 13 people Male: 13 Female : 4 140

142 No. IV.3 IV.3.1 Province/distri ct/commune Dong Phu district Dong Tam commune Implemen tation time Feb. 17, 2011 Results Feedbacks Number of participants Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. wastes must be collected and treated affectively to avoid ambient environmental pollution. - Requesting PO to carry out well compensation, allowances and resettlement to ensure residents' life to be better than or at least maintain as old residential place after displacement. - In operation phase, often maintain, repair timely; not happen risks of explosion, fire... - Area where the project crosses over, not have ethnic minority people, thus not need to establish ethnic minority development plan for T/L section crossing over the commune. Total number of participants: 22 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 19 people Male: 12 Female : 10 IV.3.2 Thuan Loi commune Feb. 17, 2011 Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - Implementing compensation, allowances and resettlement as stipulated by the State and Binh Phuoc province to ensure that they have better life or at least maintain as old residential place after displacement. - Caring indigenous ethnic minority households allowance to develop economy. - In construction and operation process, must ensure strictly safety for local residents Total number of participants: 26 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 22 people Male: 19 Female : 3 IV.3.3 Thuan Phu commune Feb. 18, 2011 Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - Having appropriate policy on compensation for PAHs to ensure that their life is better than or at least maintains as old residential place after displacement. - Having policies for indigenous ethnic minority households which is cared more than (the Nùng, the Tày,.. ). - Appropriately assisting change in occupation for the affected land area. Total number of participants: 19 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 16people Male: 18 Female : 1 IV.4 IV.4.1 Chon Thanh district Minh Lap commune Feb. 21, 2011 Local people and local authority - Compensating appropriately for PAHs, besides need have additional allowance policy in order to them stabilize life after displacement Total number of participants: 27 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people 141

143 No. IV.4.2 IV.4.3 IV.4.4 Province/distri ct/commune Minh Thang commune Nha Bich commune Minh thanh commune Implemen tation time Feb. 22, 2011 Feb. 25, 2011 Feb. 26, 2011 Results Feedbacks Number of participants support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - In Minh Thang commune, not have households impacted to house. However, for households impacted to land, need have appropriate compensation for trees, crops, land. - PO, consultancy coordinates with local authority to monitor strictly waste emission in construction process - Giving special treatment for poor ethnic minority household besides programs 135, 134 & 30a. - Implementing well Vietnam's and ADB's policy on compensation, allowances and resettlement in RAP. - Ensuring strict safety for workers and residents near to the project area, especially T/L sections cross over roads, river, lake, reservoir, other T/L. - Project management board need propose that when acquiring land under ROW, paying 100% unit price, consider to assist higher price level than the one of the State for rubber tree. - Agreeing survey location is optimal, need ensure every policy to be appropriate. Households out ROW but have risk to be impacted, must assist them to construct house in other place to ensure safety when T/L crosses over. - Trees and crops clearance and compensation unit price for is too low, need consider to adjust compensation level. Must increase in other allowance level in order to residents having land within ROW aren't handicaped. - Consultancy has explained some opinions such households having risk of impact will be considered to solve detailed every household. For exact implementation of - Inhabitants in the project area: 24 people Male: 21 Female : 6 Total number of participants: 18 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 01 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 17people Male: 13 Female : 5 Total number of participants: 16 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 13 people Male: 14 Female : 2 Total number of participants: 13 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 9 people Male: 13 Female : 0 142

144 No. Province/distri ct/commune Implemen tation time V BINH DUONG PROVINCE V.1 Phu Giao district V.1.1 V.1.2 V.1.3 An Long commune An Linh commune Tan Long commune V.2 Ben Cat district V.2.1 V.2.2 Lai Uyen commune Tan Hung commune Feb. 10, 2011 Results Feedbacks Number of participants Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. allowance policies sequence, will consider every specific object. - PO must coordinate with district site clearance board and provincial people' committee to apply compensation unit price on time to make basis for compensation for PAHs' damage. - PO considers to additionally assist for PAHs (who must displace house, are damaged crops, trees, animals on land) in order to PAHs stablize life. Consultants have contacted to CPC but CPC hasn't arranged time to hold the public consultation meeting Feb. 11, 2011 Feb. 12, 2011 Feb. 14, 2011 Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority - Implementing well compensation, allowances and resettlement policies as mentioned in RAP. - Often monitor, inspect construction process to ensure not emit waste pollutants without control - Often maintain, monitor to avoid and prevent risks of explosion and electrical leakage - In Lai Uyen commune, there are no households impacted to house. Households are only impacted to land and crops, trees on land. - Requesting PO to have appropriate compensation policy for PAHs. - In the commune, not have ethnic minority households, thus needn't have ethnic minority development plan - Suggesting PO to compensate appropriately for PAHs. - In construction, inventory and compensation process, PO must coordinate with local authority to solve rising issues Total number of participants: 28 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 25 people Male: 26 Female : 2 Total number of participants: 12 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 9 people Male: 11 Female : 1 Total number of participants: 29 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 02 people 143

145 No. V.2.3 V.2.4 V.2.5 V.2.6 VI VI.1 VI.1.1 Province/distri ct/commune Lai Hung commune Long Nguyen commune An Dien commune Phu An commune HO CHI MINH CITY Cu Chi district Phu Hoa Dong commune Implemen tation time Feb. 16, 2011 Feb. 18, 2011 Feb. 21, 2011 Results Feedbacks Number of participants support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - Often observe Electromagnetic Fields under ROW to ensure residents living near to T/L not impacted to health. - Implementing satisfactory compensation for PAHs in order to them have better life or at least maintain as old residential place after displacement. - Implementing satisfactory compensation for PAHs by T/L. - Overcoming quickly when happening risks such as explosion and fire Consultants have contacted to CPC but CPC hasn't arranged time to hold the public consultation meeting Consultants have contacted to CPC but CPC hasn't arranged time to hold the public consultation meeting Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - In Phu Hoa Dong commune, there are 2 households impacted to house and some households impacted to agicultural production land, thus requesting PO to satisfactorily compensate in order to eusure their life stability. - Inhabitants in the project area: 27 people Male: 21 Female : 8 Total number of participants: 30 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 27 people Male: 24 Female : 6 Total number of participants: 26 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 23 people Male: 16 Female : 10 Total number of participants: 9 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 02 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 7 people 144

146 No. VI.1.2 VI.1.3 VI.1.4 Province/distri ct/commune Trung An commune Tan Thanh Dong commune Tan Phu Trung commune Implemen tation time Feb. 23, 2011 Feb. 26, 2011 Results Feedbacks Number of participants Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. Local people and local authority support chosen alternative route. - Coordinating with Trung An communal authority to solve well site clearance to ensure residents' life stability after displacement. - In Trung An commune, not have indigenous ethnic minority people, thus not need to implement ethnic minority development plan. - PO need implement well environmental management plan to avoid impacts to residents. - Pleiku - My Phuoc - Cau Bong 500kV T/L crossing over the territory of Tan Thanh Dong commune is the same existing 500kV T/L, little impact to residents' life. However, in construction process need ensure strict safety for workers and local residents. - In the territory of the commune, there are no ethnic monority people, thus needn't implement ethnic minority development plan. Consultants have contacted to CPC but CPC hasn't arranged time to hold the public consultation meeting Male: 7 Female : 2 Total number of participants: 27 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 04 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 23 people Male: 21 Female : 6 Total number of participants: 25 people. Including: - CPC s leadership: 03 people - Inhabitants in the project area: 22 people Male: 17 Female :5 145

147 Annex 7: Site Photos Site for Cau Bong sub-station with existing north-south 500kV transmission towers. Pleiku 500kV sub-station. The two additional feeder bays will be located outside the security fence on LHS of image and will connect back into the existing circuits 146

148 View of land immediately outside the Pleiku sub-station that will be acquired for the two additional feeder bays. Pleiku 500kV substation showing concrete block explosion protection walls and fire fighting services (red pipes) fitted between transformers. 147

149 Pleku 500kV substation showing 500kV reactor. Each of the two additional 500kV feeder bays will require a reactor like this. To be mounted over oil leak collection trough and fitted with fire control (red pipes) and fire suppression devices (gravel). Reactor with suspended stone apron above oil collection pit for fire suppression. 148