Turkey - South East Region Urban Sanitation Project

Report No. PID5011 Project Name Turkey-South East Region Urban Sanitation Project (@+) Region Eastern Europe and Central Asia Sector Infrastructure; Environment Project ID TRPA43388 Borrower Republic of Turkey Implementing Agency GAP-Regional Development Administration Ugur Mumcu'nun Sokagi 59, G.O.P. 06700 Ankara, Turkey Tel: 90-312-445 02 12 Fax: 90-312-437 67 77 Date PID Prepared September 8, 1997 Date Initial PID January 28, 1997 Projected Appraisal July 1, 1998 Projected Board Date December 1998 1. Country and Sector Background The project area is the poorest area in the country with 1988 GNP per capita of about $600, which is less than half of the national average. Between 1985 and 1990 in the region the population growth was 3.48 % per annum, higher than the national average ( 2.2 %) . Officially only 35% of the labor force is employed. As a result of the population growth, environmental and sanitation investment needs are high, while low income levels pose a challenge to aggressive policies to finance these investments through tariffs and taxes. Social indicators of literacy, life expectancy and infant mortality are poorer than in the rest of the country. Urban centers, with better living standards and services, and better security, attract the rural population and are therefore threatened by an increasingly inadequate infrastructure. 2. Objectives The project is targeted at the poorest region in the country where it would: a. improve and sustain environmental conditions and reduce health hazard to the local population; b. improve cost recovery for municipal services; and c. improve planning process for the development of urban services, especially in Diyarbakir. 3. Project Benefits  Better urban services will provide a better living standard to a region that is poor and growing faster than the rest of the country. Specifically, the project will: a. mitigate risks posed to human health and the environment; b. improve solid waste management capacity, by addressing inappropriate dumping of wastes; c. improve local resource mobilization and cost recovery d. create strengthened institutions responsible for urban planning in Diyarbakir;. e. provide demonstration effect on wastewater treatment, to be replicated in the region;and , f. make safe drinking water easily available through chlorination plants. 4. Project Risks The overall project risks are moderate. Possible resistance from local beneficiaries to cost recovery (poor collection of the solid waste taxes by district municipality; poor transfer of a share of these taxes to the Greater MunicipalityO would be mitigate by early consultation an involvement of district municipalities in the project and proper loan conditionality. There could be some resistance from part of the population to construction of solid waste facilities in their neighborhood. For this reason, land acquisition should be practically completed before loan negotiaions. Although there are security problems in the GAP region, they do not exist presently in the project area. 5. Description The project would have the following five components: a Solid waste management in the towns of Diyarbakir, Sanliurfa, Siverek, and Mardin; b. Urban planning and GIS for Diyarbakir; c. Consulting Services for detailed design of sewage collection and disposal in 9 settlements; d. Pilot facilities for water re-use through appropriate treatment and disposal of wastewater; e. Chlorination facilities for water supply in 55 settlements. 6. Financing The total cost of the project is expected to be around $ 30 million. This cost will be financed by the IBRD ($ 20 million) and - 2 -  the remaining part by the Government of Turkey or other Financiers ($ 10 million). 7. Implementation The GAP Administration will have overall responsibility for implementing the project. The municipalities of the cities under the project will be involved as required. The Bank will supervise the implementation of the project. 8. Sustainability Strong institutions responsible for urban planning and management are the key to the sustainability of the project. As a result, the project emphasizes Technical Assistance (TA) which will be provided to the local and regional administrations. This TA will facilitate urban planning through better site investigation, surveys, and cadastral information including the use of Geographic Information System (GIS). In addition use of the private contractors competitively selected is envisaged for operation of the solid waste facilities financed under the project in order to improve the economical efficiency of the operation. 9. Lessons learned from past operations in the country/sector Bank's experience in municipal services leads to the need for institutional development, technical assistance for project management, less optimistic implementation schedule, smaller projects, full political and beneficiaries commitment to cost recovery, sustainability of the project after the construction phase and timely availibility of detailed designs. Bank's experience in waste management in Turkey is limited since so far, there has been only one project in the sector in Bursa which is currently under implementation. However, the experience from the project in Bursa and other similar Bank projects in the region, suggests paying attention to the important role that the local private sector can play in the collection and transportation of wastes; and to the need to select the location of landfills and transfer stations through a participatory approach. 10. Poverty Category This project is a poverty-oriented operation. 11. Environmental Aspects The project does not adversely affect the environment. It has been categorized as 'B' since a limited environmental assessment will have to be prepared to highlight the affects of the project on the environment. The project does not affect indigenous people and does not require resettlement plans since it will not displace people. 12. Program Objective Categories - 3-  This project is consistent with the proposed country assistance strategy which emphasizes : alleviation of poverty; improvement of public sector management; upgrade of economic infrastructure to support private sector growth; and, protection of the environment. Contact Point: Public Information Center The World Bank 1818 H Street N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone No.: (202) 458-5454 Fax No.: (202) 522-1500 Note: This is information on an evolving project. Certain components may not necessarily be included in the final project. Processed by the Public Information Center week ending October 10, 1997. - 4 -  ANNEX ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND MITIGATION EXISTING CONDITIONS Solid waste in the towns of Diyarbakir, Sanliurfa, Siverek, and Mardin is disposed in uncontrolled landfills. The dipping areas are unfenced and unguarded, except for Diyarbakir. The dipping areas are not defined in Sanliurfa and Mardin. In 100 settlements of the project area, water supply used for drinking water is not disinfected. POTENTIAL IMPACT OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT The proposed project would significantly improve solid waste management and provision of safer drinking water and would bring a number of positive environmental impacts to the area such as: -- improve the ecology and aesthetics in locations where solid waste is presently dumped in unhealthy and even dangerous conditions, without any sort of control; -- improve potable water quality as a result of effective disinfecting through chlorination facilities in 100 settlements; and, -- improve the design of wastewater treatment and conservation of water resources through reuse of effluent. The negative impacts of the project would generally be of low significance, relating mainly to short-term construction period; they are: -- temporary localized noise, dust, and disruption to vehicular and pedestrian traffic; -- adverse visual impact of transfer stations; -- temporary construction phase ecological disturbance at the transfer stations and sanitary landfill sites; and -- possible occasional localized odor emissions from transfer stations and sanitary landfills. MITIGATION AND MONITORING ACTION PLAN The selection of the sites for solid waste management facilities and the design of the facilities will be carried out with the objective to improve human health and the environment A consultative process with environmental NGO and community representatives will be followed during project preparation, especially for the selection of the sites for solid waste facilities. The temporary disturbances will be minimized through appropriate mitigation measures included in the works/installation contracts. -5-