China - Fujian Highway Sector Investment Project

Page 1 INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATASHEET APPRAISAL STAGE I. Basic Information Date prepared/updated: 06/29/2006 Report No.: AC2205 1. Basic Project Data Country: China Project ID: P091020 Project Name: Fujian Highway Sector Investment Task Team Leader: Aurelio Menendez Estimated Appraisal Date: April 17, 2006 Estimated Board Date: October 17, 2006 Managing Unit: EASTR Lending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan Sector: Roads and highways (100%) Theme: Regional integration (P);Rural services and infrastructure (P);Trade facilitation and market access (S);Infrastructure services for private sector development (S) IBRD Amount (US$m.): 320.00 IDA Amount (US$m.): 0.00 GEF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 PCF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 Other financing amounts by source: BORROWER 1,240.00 1,240.00 Environmental Category: A - Full Assessment Simplified Processing Simple [] Repeater [] Is this project processed under OP 8.50 (Emergency Recovery) Yes [ ] No [ ] 2. Project Objectives The project aims to increase the effective use of the road infrastructure in Fujian Province to support its social and economic development. This objective seeks to contribute to: (i) improving living conditions in rural areas-particularly those in the areas of the Province where poverty rates are higher-by enhancing the transport accessibility of the rural communities to economic opportunities and social services; (ii) stimulating higher economic growth in Fujian Province by reducing transport costs; and (iii) facilitating the interconnection across the coastal provinces. In this respect, the project will meet both the provincial government objective to improve the transport network to support the social and economic development of the province (especially in the economically lagging counties), and the central government objective to facilitate transport interconnections across Coastal Provinces. 3. Project Description Component A. Rural Roads Improvement Program (RRIP) The RRIP aims at improving conditions of the lower class of roads that connect administrative villages to the main provincial road network. The Bank loan will support the overall program and finance rural road investments following the rural roads implementation framework (RRIF) agreed upon with FPCD. The RRIF is the integrated Page 2 framework of the Procurement Framework, Environmental Framework, Resettlement and Minorities Nationalities Framework, and Financial Management Framework, and includes the technical and quality control specifications for the rehabilitation and improvement of the rural roads and the implementation arrangements for this component. Disbursements will be processed based on completed outputs. The Bank loan will support a subset of at least 3,500 km out of the 10,000 km of local road sections already identified based on the demand of counties, townships and villages that are part of the 35,000 km provincial rural roads 2004-2010 program. The civil works for the RRIP include the improvement and rehabilitation of lower class rural roads (Class III and IV) and consist mostly of resurfacing the unpaved roads with concrete pavement. A local consulting firm will supervise the implementation of the RRIP component. FPCD will cover the necessary costs for the dissemination of the RRIF and the training of county and local units that wish to implement the framework. Component B. Yong'an - Wuping Expressway (YWE) The YWE will be a 195.2 km long section of the Changchun-Shenzhen expressway, which is one of the North-South corridors of the CNEN. The YWE will connect Yong'an (Sanming Prefecture) with the border of the Fujian and Guangdong Provinces, at Yanqian in Wuping city (Longyan Prefecture). This component includes the acquisition and installation of electrical and mechanical (E&M) works and the construction of buildings and annex areas for service and safety operations. The expressway will consist of four lanes that have been designed for a speed of 80 km/hr in the mountainous terrain from Yong'an to Liancheng, and of 100 km/hr in the remaining section. The final alignment of the expressway has minimized the social and environmental impacts. A joint local- foreign consultant firm will supervise the construction of the YWE. The project's expressway will connect to the North with another expressway currently being completed by the Fujian Province and to the South with another expressway currently under construction in Guangdong province (expected to be completed in 2008), leading to one of China's most industrial and populated cities, Guangzhou. The construction of the expressway segment under the project however will help achieve project's development objective and therefore no linkage issues are present in this case. Component C. Highways Maintenance Pilot Program (HMPP) The HMPP component consists of maintenance by contract in two highway sections of the (non-expressway) provincial highway network. This component seeks to increase the efficiency of force-account maintenance practices, which are currently being applied by FPCD through the city and county Highway Bureaus. This component also includes the supervision of two contract pilots and it is complemented with technical assistance for FPCD maintenance staff as part of the ISP described below. Component D. Institutional Strengthening Program (ISP) The ISP includes a study on toll rates, the impact evaluation and monitoring for the RRIP, the technical assistance for the HMPP, and training for staff of the agencies and institutions involved in the project. The analysis of toll rates will evaluate alternative Page 3 adjustments to maximize the use of the expressway network and optimize its economic value, building upon, expanding and updating a similar study undertaken under the Second Fujian Highway Project. The impact evaluation and monitoring study seeks to establish a knowledge base of the impacts of the RRIP on rural livelihoods as an analytical base for the design of future interventions on those types of roads across Fujian Province. The technical assistance for FPCD maintenance staff will provide the knowledge and analytical elements for exploring alternative mechanisms for contracting of maintenance activities as well as for the preparation, implementation, supervision, and assessment of the preferred contractual scheme under the HMPP. The training activities were built upon those previously carried out under the Second Fujian Highway Project, and will focus chiefly on: road asset management, operational management of roads and expressways, construction quality control, road safety, and design and operational safety considerations for tunnels, innovative mechanisms for tolling and traffic surveillance systems, and intelligent transportation systems (ITS). They will include both domestic training and courses and study tours outside of China as defined in the project training program. 4. Project Location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis The RRIP consists of the paving of existing lower class roads (Class III and IV) with concrete pavements. The roads contained in the RRIP databank (a total of 34,868 km in all of the nine cities in Fujian Province) are eligible for a subsidy from FPCD if the completed works meet the quality and eligibility standards required by FPCD. The Bank loan will finance the RRIP roads in line with the criteria already being applied by FPCD, as well as other World Bank requirements including environmental and social safeguards. The roads are scattered over the entire province. They constitute the access from the administrative villages to the provincial network. The roads have an average distance of about 5 km and are mostly unpaved and under poor riding conditions. The project will help to improve their condition through paving. The table below summarizes its main physical characteristics. =============================================================== Fujian Rural Road Improvement Program Data Bank =============================================================== Number of Projects Number of Km Average No. Percent No. Percent Distance ---------------------------------------------------------------- According to size 7,475 34,868 Less than 5 km 5,184 69% 14,346 41% 2.77 Between 5 and 10 km 1,739 23% 12,485 36% 7.18 Between 10 and 15 km 401 5% 5,020 14% 12.52 More than 15 km 151 2% 3,017 9% 19.98 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Page 4 According to road class Class IV 7,003 94% 31,567 91% 4.51 Class III 472 6% 3,301 9% 6.99 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Type of works Rehab/Upgrading 7,245 97% 34,043 98% 4.70 Major Improvement 230 3% 825 2% 3.59 =============================================================== The YWE starts at Jishan (south of Yongan City), and ends at Yanqian (Wuping County) at the border between Fujian and Guangdong provinces, with a total length of 195 km. The expressway consists of four lanes and be designed for a speed of 80 km/hr in the heavy mountainous terrain from Yogn?an to Liancheng (73.6km), and of 100 km/hr for the remaining section (120.8km). 5. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists Mr Chaohua Zhang (EASSD) Mr Peishen Wang (EASEN) Mr Hiroshi Ono (EASEN) 6. Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01) X Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04) X Forests (OP/BP 4.36) X Pest Management (OP 4.09) X Cultural Property (OPN 11.03) X Indigenous Peoples (OP/BP 4.10) X Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) X Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4.37) X Projects on International Waterways (OP/BP 7.50) X Projects in Disputed Areas (OP/BP 7.60) X II. Key Safeguard Policy Issues and Their Management A. Summary of Key Safeguard Issues 1. Describe any safeguard issues and impacts associated with the proposed project. Identify and describe any potential large scale, significant and/or irreversible impacts: The construction and operation of YWE would cause such potential large scale impacts on the environment as follows: a) Although there are no protected areas or other valuable natural habitats within the project area, the alignment would occupy 605 ha of forestland including 405 ha of production forests that mainly consist of cedar and pine plantations. b) The alignment would clear 1,317 ha of land and involve 54 million m3 of soil/stone works, soil erosion and subsequent water pollution during construction phase will be one Page 5 of the major environmental problems. Water pollution may also be caused by the discharge of untreated wastewater from service areas and toll stations as well as spilled oil and hazardous materials. c) Among the 85 sensitive sites (near populated areas), noise levels were predicted to exceed the standards at 3 locations during day time and at 27 locations during night time in 2010. Construction works including heavy machinery operation and earth works may also cause noise and air (dust) problems. The expressway component will require land acquisition and relocation of houses. Census and inventory survey shows that this component would require the acquisition of 22,738 mu of land, including 8,996 mu of cultivated land and 11,612 of forest and unutilized land. It will also require the demolition of 281,251 m2 of housing. The total population affected is 47,990 people of 10,784 households, including 9,522 households who will lose part of their land and 1,638 households who will lose houses. There are no ethnic minority communities in the project areas. Because of its rehabilitation nature largely within existing rights-of-way, the RRIP is not expected to require land acquisition or structure relocation. Though to a reduced extent, the implementation of RRIP could cause limited impacts on the environment including soil erosion and subsequent water pollution, damage on vegetation and wild animals, and noise and dust problems mainly during construction. It might also be possible that roads be located in areas where ethnic minority population live. 2. Describe any potential indirect and/or long term impacts due to anticipated future activities in the project area: A national level tourism resort, Guanzhaishan Tourism Area established in 1993, is located 1.5 km away from the alignment. Its rich vegetation and unique landscape has attracted more than 1 million tourists in 2005. The area is managed by Liancheng County Tourism Bureau and awarded an ISO14000 certificate for its excellent management practice. According to its Master Plan 2004-2020, its capacity is about 20,000 tourists a day, which is far above the current actual tourist number so that likely tourist increase induced due to improved accessibility by the project is expected to be well managed. Three national level nature reserves, Liangyeshan, Meihuashan and Tianbaoyan Nature Reserves, are located 10 km, 30 km and 50 km away from the alignment, respectively. They distinct themselves by their rich and unique mountainous ecology and access to those areas is strictly controlled under their management practice. Because of their distance from the alignment and strict access control, it is highly unlikely that the project will have any adverse indirect and long-term impacts on them. 3. Describe any project alternatives (if relevant) considered to help avoid or minimize adverse impacts. The original feasibility study of the YWE considered the analysis of 16 segments for careful consideration of alternative alignments, for a cumulative length of 67% of the distance between the beginning and end points on the route. The alignment finally selected minimizes the social and environmental impacts, and resettlement requirements; Page 6 and maximizes the overall benefits to the project beneficiaries by taking into account local development plans. Furthermore, the selected alternative avoided most of the unfavorable geological locations while achieving appropriate horizontal curves and vertical slopes. 4. Describe measures taken by the borrower to address safeguard policy issues. Provide an assessment of borrower capacity to plan and implement the measures described. YWE component. The EA for YWE has been carried out by the Highway Research Institute of MOC, an independent organization from FPCD. The drafts of EIA and EMP were reviewed by the Bank and their final versions were submitted to the Bank in March 2006. A stand-alone Environmental Management Plan (EMP) includes an environmental management system, environmental management plan, training, environmental monitoring and supervision plans, and mitigation measures. WBPMO/FPCD is responsible for overall coordination and guidance while Longyuan YWE Company and Sanming YWE Company are responsible for the implementation of EMP. Environmental monitoring will be carried out primarily by the monitoring centers of Longyuan City and Sanming City. FPCD has maintained a good implementation track record of Bank funded road projects. The Fujian Provincial Highway Project was approved in 1994 and was completed in December 2003; the ICR rated this project satisfactory including safeguard compliance. The Second Fujian Highway Project, which came into effect in 1999 and is currently in its final stages of implementation (with the main expressway works already completed), has also been rated satisfactory thus far in terms of its safeguard compliance. For the proper implementation of EMP, training for environmental management staffs, construction supervisors, contractors, and hazardous cargo transportation inspectors will be held in Fuzhou and in a foreign country. Environmental monitoring on noise, surface water, ambient air and waste will take place at selected sensitive sites as well as construction sites, soil borrows and spoil disposal sites. Following the Chinese laws, regulations and World Bank OP 4.10 on Involuntary Resettlement, the borrower has developed a Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) to address the resettlement impacts. The RAP includes detailed descriptions of the project impacts, a resettlement policy framework, a compensatory and economic rehabilitation strategy with initial village plans developed for the 10 seriously affected villages, resettlement site planning and relocating arrangements, cost estimate and financing plans. Fujian Province has set up a multi-level organization for the RAP implementation at provincial, city, county and township level. Their arrangements, responsibilities, staffing and training plans are detailed in the RAP. The RAP also details the consultation and participation process, as well as the mechanism for grievance redress. An independent agency will also be contracted to monitor the RAP implementation. Rural Roads Improvement Program (RRIP) Page 7 Given its programmatic and demand-driven nature, an Environmental Management Framework (EMF) has been developed including baseline environmental data, environmental management and supervision scheme, EA procedures, training plan, and supervision and reporting system. The draft EMF was reviewed by the Bank and its final version was submitted to the Bank in March 2006. Based on the EMF, an EA is to be executed on a county basis prior to the commencement of construction works, and be subject to the approval of the County Environmental Protection Bureau. Mitigation measures proposed in the EA are to be translated into contractual obligations. The FPCD will be responsible for the overall guidance and monitoring, while the city/prefecture highway bureaus will be in charge of the monitoring of compliance, and county communications bureaus for the implementation of the EMF. The county communications bureaus will report from the environmental safeguards perspective on the completion of the construction activities and final quality of each road using checklists developed in the EMF. For those roads applying for the Bank funds, a record of inspection will be submitted to the Bank together with the approval verification of FPCD on the compliance with the EMF. During supervision, the Bank will randomly check county EAs and the checklists for a sample of Bank-funded roads. For reference, a similar procedure will be applied to a sample of non-Bank funded road segments, as a means to assess the dissemination of the framework beyond the Bank-funded roads. A land acquisition and resettlement policy framework has been developed for the eventuality of exceptional cases where land acquisition or relocation is required. This policy framework has been developed according to local laws and regulations on land acquisition as well as World Bank OP 4.12 on Involuntary Resettlement. It describes the overall legal framework, planning principles, procedures, compensatory and rehabilitation approach, consultation and participatory requirements, grievance redress mechanisms, and organizational and monitoring arrangements. Considering the possibility of financing roads in ethnic minority areas, a stand-alone document for the minority nationalities development framework for the RRIP has been prepared and disclosed. All roads to be financed under the project would follow this framework in identifying possible negative impacts to areas with minority nationalities, and in developing and implementing the necessary development plans. 5. Identify the key stakeholders and describe the mechanisms for consultation and disclosure on safeguard policies, with an emphasis on potentially affected people. For YWE, three rounds of public consultation were carried out in November 2004, July 2005, and November 2005, in accordance with the World Bank guidelines. The first round of consultation was conducted by means of household visit interviews to 100 households in which 83 valid answers were collected. The second and third round of consultation included household visit interviews to 520 households (452 valid answers) and public meetings (17 places, 418 people). During this process, project-affected individuals, NGOs, local governments and village committees were intensively consulted. The consulted people showed concerns about noise, dust and air pollution problems, and requested such mitigation measures as planting, noise insulation, and other Page 8 measures. These requests were incorporated in the engineering designs and EMP. The draft EIA and EAP were disclosed locally at Yong?an City, Liancheng County, Shanghang County and Wuping County in March 2006, as well as in Washington D.C. in April 2006. Project information has been disseminated in the project areas. The affected population and local governments participated in the resettlement planning process, including impact identification, assessment and planning of mitigation measures. Villagers will lead the development of detailed village resettlement plans. The RAP will be placed in public libraries and its availability will be advertised in local newspapers. The resettlement plan will be summarized into a booklet and distributed to all affected households. The consultant is working on the summary. I?ll check if it can be ready before our meeting. For RRIP, the EMF provides the basics and procedures for public consultation and information disclosure are developed, which are to be followed in the preparation of county EAs to meet the Bank?s requirement. The policy framework for resettlement and ethnic minorities will be distributed to local areas for implementation. Mechanisms are built into the framework for local population to participate in identifying negative impacts, development and implementation of mitigation measures. B. Disclosure Requirements Date Environmental Assessment/Audit/Management Plan/Other: Date of receipt by the Bank 03/22/2006 Date of "in-country" disclosure 03/29/2006 Date of submission to InfoShop 04/10/2006 For category A projects, date of distributing the Executive Summary of the EA to the Executive Directors Resettlement Action Plan/Framework/Policy Process: Date of receipt by the Bank 03/22/2006 Date of "in-country" disclosure 03/28/2006 Date of submission to InfoShop 04/10/2006 Indigenous Peoples Plan/Planning Framework: Date of receipt by the Bank 03/22/2006 Date of "in-country" disclosure 03/28/2006 Date of submission to InfoShop 04/10/2006 * If the project triggers the Pest Management and/or Cultural Property, the respective issues are to be addressed and disclosed as part of the Environmental Assessment/Audit/or EMP. Page 9 If in-country disclosure of any of the above documents is not expected, please explain why: The demand-driven nature of the RRIP does not allow the ex-ante knowledge of whether investments will actually take place in areas with ethnic minorities, though the possibility is low given the general situation in Fujian. Nonetheless, this possibility is covered under a stand-alone Minority Nationalities Development Framework. This framework was initially included under the resettlement and land acquisition framework, which was disclosed "in-country" on March 28, 2006. The stand-alone report was again disclosed at the end of April. C. Compliance Monitoring Indicators at the Corporate Level (to be filled in when the ISDS is finalized by the project decision meeting) OP/BP/GP 4.01 - Environment Assessment Does the project require a stand-alone EA (including EMP) report? Yes If yes, then did the Regional Environment Unit or Sector Manager (SM) review and approve the EA report? Yes Are the cost and the accountabilities for the EMP incorporated in the credit/loan? Yes OP/BP 4.10 - Indigenous Peoples Has a separate Indigenous Peoples Plan/Planning Framework (as appropriate) been prepared in consultation with affected Indigenous Peoples? Yes If yes, then did the Regional unit responsible for safeguards or Sector Manager review the plan? Yes If the whole project is designed to benefit IP, has the design been reviewed and approved by the Regional Social Development Unit or Sector Manager? N/A OP/BP 4.12 - Involuntary Resettlement Has a resettlement plan/abbreviated plan/policy framework/process framework (as appropriate) been prepared? Yes If yes, then did the Regional unit responsible for safeguards or Sector Manager review the plan? Yes The World Bank Policy on Disclosure of Information Have relevant safeguard policies documents been sent to the World Bank's Infoshop? Yes Have relevant documents been disclosed in-country in a public place in a form and language that are understandable and accessible to project-affected groups and local NGOs? Yes All Safeguard Policies Have satisfactory calendar, budget and clear institutional responsibilities been prepared for the implementation of measures related to safeguard policies? Yes Have costs related to safeguard policy measures been included in the project cost? Yes Does the Monitoring and Evaluation system of the project include the monitoring of safeguard impacts and measures related to safeguard policies? Yes Page 10 Have satisfactory implementation arrangements been agreed with the borrower and the same been adequately reflected in the project legal documents? Yes D. Approvals Signed and submitted by: Name Date Task Team Leader: Mr Aurelio Menendez 06/09/2006 Environmental Specialist: Mr Peishen Wang Social Development Specialist Mr Chaohua Zhang Additional Environmental and/or Social Development Specialist(s): Mr Hiroshi Ono Approved by: Regional Safeguards Coordinator: Mr Glenn S. Morgan 06/09/2006 Comments: Sector Manager: Mr Jitendra N. Bajpai 06/09/2006 Comments: