China - Ningbo Water Management (GEF) Project

Page 1 INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: AC1774 Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 09/29/2005 I. BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country: China Project ID: P090336 Project Name: China-GEF-Ningbo Water Management Task Team Leader: Greg J. Browder GEF Focal Area: International waters Global Supplemental ID: Estimated Appraisal Date: April 10, 2006 Estimated Board Date: June 15, 2006 Managing Unit: EASUR Lending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan Sector: General water, sanitation and flood protection sector (100%) Theme: Other environment and natural resources management (P) IBRD Amount (US$m.): 0.00 IDA Amount (US$m.): 0.00 GEF Amount (US$m.): 5.00 PCF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 Other financing amounts by source: BORROWER/RECIPIENT 5.50 5.50 B. Project Objectives [from section 2 of PCN] The Project objectives are to reduce land-based pollution along the Cixi coastline and the East China Sea, promote the replication of innovative low cost wastewater treatment techniques, and encourage costal zone conservation. C. Project Description [from section 3 of PCN] GEF Component 1 - Constructed Wetland (US$5.0 million): NWEP will finance two conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Cixi City: i) 100,000 m3/d plant in the north, and ii) 50,000 m3/d plant in the east. The GEF project will finance two "constructed wetlands," one for each WWTP, which will provide tertiarytreatment for the treatment plant effluent. The approximate areas of the constructed wetlands are 50 has for the North WWTP and 25 has for the East WWTP; the exact size will be confirmed during project preparation. Constructed wetlands are artificial wastewater treatment systems, which consist of shallow ponds or channels that have been planted with aquatic plants, and which rely on microbial, biological, physical, and chemical processes to treat wastewater. Constructed wetlands provide advanced treatment to effluent from conventional wastewater treatment plants, and also provide other benefits such as wildlife habitat. Fortunately, there are large tracts of recently reclaimed land in Page 2 Cixi which are unoccupied and owned by the government; this makes the sizing of constructed wetlands cost-effective and relatively straight forward. GEF Component 2: Environmental Center and Associated Wetland Area: (US$5.0 million): The Cixi Government understands the importance of the coastal habitat and intends to conserve significant ecological areas and promote eco-tourism, while at the same time promoting rapid industrial and urban development. The high suspended solids concentration in Hangzhou Bay, combined with hydrological and tidal currents, results in sediment accretion along the northern Ningbo coastline, with accretion rates on the order of 50-100 meters per year. Cixi thus has the unique opportunity to develop new tracts of land while at the same preserving or even increasing the overall wetland area. Component 2 will finance the construction of an environmental education and research center within a designated wetland protection area (10-30 km2) close to the new Shanghai-Ningbo Bridge. When the 36-km long bridge is completed it will be the longest bridge in the world and will convey millions of vehicles per year across Hangzhou Bay. The objective is to construct a world-class environmental education and research center which will increase public awareness of the need to protect East Asia seas by reducing water pollution and protecting critical habitat. The creation of a wetland protection area in Cixi will also help reduce non-point water pollution into Hangzhou Bay. The size and location of the Environmental Education and Research Center and associated wetland protection area will be determined during project preparation. GEF Component 3: Cixi Coastal Environmental Management Plan (US$500,000): According to Cixi City