China - Ningbo Water Management (GEF) Project

Page 1 1 PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: AB1776 Project Name China-GEF-Ningbo Water and Environment Project Region East Asia and Pacific Sector General water, sanitation and flood protection sector (100%) Project ID P090336 GEF Focal Area International Waters Borrower(s) Ningbo Municipality Implementing Agency World Bank Environment Category [ ] A [X] B [ ] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined) Date PID Prepared August 18, 2005 Estimated Date of Appraisal Authorization April 10, 2006 Estimated Date of Board Approval June 15, 2006 1. Key development issues and rationale for Bank involvement Background East Asia's rapid economic growth has been accompanied by significant environmental degradation. Land-based pollution of the region's coasts, estuaries and rivers is one of its most severe environmental problems and is degrading the region's large marine ecosystems (LMEs). To help littoral states address this problem, and in the context of the broader Strategic Partnership for Sustainable Development of the LMEs of the Seas of East Asia being implemented by UNDP/GEF, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the World Bank have agreed to establish a Partnership Investment Fund for Pollution Reduction in the Large Marine Ecosystems of East Asia (the Fund), the objective of which is to scale up investment in land- based water pollution reduction in the region's coastal areas and major river basins. The Fund would finance activities related to World Bank pollution reduction investment projects that are innovative and can be replicated in other areas. A Brief describing the operation of the Fund is scheduled to be presented to the GEF Council in late 2005. The Ningbo Water and Environment Project (NWEP) is the first World Bank project in China proposed for GEF support from the Fund. The baseline IBRD NWEP was approved by the World Bank Board in March 2005 and has three components: i) Ningbo City Water Supply; ii) Cixi City Wastewater; and iii) Institutional Development. The proposed GEF Ningbo Water and Environment Project (hereafter called