India - West Bengal State Roads Project

Report No. PID7402 Project Name India-West Bengal State Roads Project (+) Region South Asia Regional Office Sector TH - Highways Project ID INPE50650 Borrower(s) Government of India (GOI) Implementing Agency Government of West Bengal State (GOWB) Environment Category B Date PID Prepared February 24, 1999 Projected Appraisal Date February 15, 2000 Projected Board Date July 15, 2000 1. Country and Sector Background West Bengal is one of the eastern states in the Union of India. The State has an area of 88,752 square kilometer and a population of 68 million in 1991. Road transport is the dominant mode of transport in the State of West Bengal. The State has a primary network of about 17,400 km of roads consisting of 1,710 km National Highways (NH, 10t of the network length), 3,388 km State Highways (SH, 20%), 5,833 km Major District Roads (MDR, 339), and 6,436 km Other District Roads (ODR, 37%). About 95% of the primary network is paved. The State also has a village and urban road network of about 35,600 km, but only about 47% of the villages in the State (out of 38,000 villages) are connected by roads. In the past, the State invested more heavily on extending the rural road network (MDRs and ODRs) than the SHs, resulting in the length of MDRs and ODRs growing at almost twice the growth of SHs. Almost all of the primary network was constructed before the 1980s. The network has been extended marginally, by less than 400 km, since 1981. In contrast, demand for road transport has increased rapidly at an annual rate of about 11% since the early 1980s, largely outpacing the capacity expansion of the road network in the State. In addition, most of the primary network is single-lane (about 45%) or intermediate-lane (about 45%) roads with limited capacity and poor riding quality. The mismatch of demand and supply of road transport has resulted in road infrastructure becoming one of the key constraints to the social and economic development of the State. Major capacity expansion of the state roads network is urgently needed. The capacity constraint of the road network has further been exacerbated by the inadequate attention and funding on maintenance of the network, which has in turn hastened the deterioration of the state road system. Funding for road maintenance has been less than 50% of the requirement as per Finance Commission recommended norms in the last decade. There is a need to progressively reduce the funding gap for maintenance and to develop an effective road management system for maintaining the existing road assets. The primary road network is under the administration of the State's Public Works Department (PWD), which oversees planning, design, construction and maintenance of all state roads, bridges and buildings, as well as the construction and maintenance of NHs on behalf of the Government of India  (GOI). Since its creation, the PWD has enjoyed a monopoly for the provision of engineering, construction supervision and maintenance services. As a result there have been few incentives to increase exposure to international competition, and local consultants and contractors have had few opportunities to develop efficient technical and managerial skills. The basic operational and business management practices of the PWD are weak and its implementation capabilities are limited. The PWD's institutional weakness has led to ineffective resource allocation and investment inefficiency in the road sector. Facing the urgent need to expand the network capacity and to strengthen PWD's implementation capability, the State Government will need to develop a comprehensive State road development policy to provide guidance and an enabling environment for the development of the state road network in the medium to long term. At the same time, the Government needs to embark on an investment program to alleviate capacity constraint on the state's primary road network. The proposed project has been conceived under such strategic context. Recognizing these major constraints in the road sector, the Government of West Bengal (GOWB) is seeking the Bank's assistance to undertake improvements of State Highways and Major District roads, and reform of its road management system. In a Road Policy Letter issued in February 1997, the GOWB outlined its plan and strategy in the road sector, including development of a Road Infrastructure Development Strategy and commitment to the project preparation framework agreed between the Bank and the government. Specifically, the GOWB plans to: (i) develop legislation and regulation to enhance resource mobilization including the establishment of a road fund for improved road sector financing; (ii) strengthen PWD's organizational system and project management capability to enhance PWD's role as an effective manager of the state's road infrastructure; (iii) introduce an effective road management system to improve PWD's planning process for prioritization of maintenance and investment needs to ensure cost effectiveness of the investment programs; (iv) develop an appropriate policy to facilitate the use of private sector contractors and consultants through competitive tendering, as well as private sector financing of infrastructure projects; (v) introduce "best practices" for technology upgrading for road construction and maintenance. In order to select the priority investments, the GOWB completed in 1996 a comprehensive Strategic Options Study (SOS) on the primary network, covering about 2,800 km of state roads. Based on the result of the SOS, the GOWB selected about 1,600 km of priority state roads for further feasibility studies under the project. 2. Objectives The main objective is to enhance State Government capacity for effective and efficient road infrastructure planning and management, as well as for minimizing transport costs. 3. Rationale for Bank's Involvement The Bank is in a unique position to respond to the opportunities and challenges posed by the Indian States today since the Bank can: (a) provide and catalyze the critical long term capital needed in the transport sector to support accelerated growth; (b) use the leverage of its lending volume and its advisory capabilities to accelerate the institutional and policy reform -2 -  process; and (c) ensure that social development and environmental concerns are fully reflected and integrated in project design, preparation and implementation. Based on the previous Bank-funded State Roads Project and other relevant project experience, the Bank has developed a state level approach to improve road investment, management and financing which will be reflected in the project design and implementation. Since the Bank is involved in the preparation of several state roads projects in India, it can provide GOWB with valuable experience from the preparation of similar projects. Also, the Bank emphasizes transparency of all processes, adoption of streamlined procedures, adherence to practical time schedules, and dissemination of 'best practice' in road construction and management by supporting the employment of internationally experienced consultants to carry out project preparation, construction supervision and project coordination and monitoring. 4. Description The project has five main components as detailed below: (i) Widening and strengthening of about 900 km of state roads (ii) Periodic maintenance of about 700 km of state roads (iii) Design and supervision of civil works contracts (iv) Implementation of institutional strengthening action plan including TA, training, equipment, & pre-investment studies (v) Land acquisition, resettlement & rehabilitation 5. Financing Total ( US$m) Government 150 IBRD 380 IDA 0 Total Project Cost 530 6. Implementation The project will be implemented by the PWD of GOWB over a 5-year period. A Project Implementation Unit (PIU) was established by the PWD in January 1998 to manage and support the Project Coordination Consultants (PCC) engaged for project preparation. The PCC was mobilized in September 1998 and has been assisting the PWD to prepare the project and will continue to provide advisory support to the PWD during project implementation. The PIU is currently headed by a Chief Engineer and its staffing will gradually increase as project preparation proceeds. An Empowered Committee (EC), consisted of secretaries of various state agencies and chaired by the Chief Secretary of GOWB, has been established to provide guidance and monitor project preparation, oversee procurement actions and policy matters on behalf of GOWB, as well as to expedite decision-making involving multi-agency coordination during project preparation and implementation. 7. Sustainability Firstly, the project's sustainability will depend on the continued commitment by the GOWB to steadily and substantially increase in real terms maintenance funding to close the gap between the current funding levels and the applicable -3 -  Finance Commission norms for maintenance. Without such increase, it would not be possible to preserve the current road assets to adequate standards in view of rapidly increasing traffic. A State Policy Letter for the road sector issued by the GOWB indicated a commitment to close the maintenance funding gap in a period of five years, starting in FY 1998/1999. Secondly, the maintenance component included in the project will help reduce the backlog of maintenance requirement in the state, and bring part of the state road network to a maintainable condition. The new technology to be introduced under the project for maintenance work is expected to improve the efficiency of maintenance operations. Thirdly, the project's sustainability will be supported by the institutional reforms of the PWD to be developed and implemented under the project. Under the IDS review to be undertaken, it is envisaged that the project will support the introduction of (i) improved budgeting, programming, financial and cost accounting management, (ii) improved quality management, technical standard and audits, and (iii) enhanced contract management systems and practices. The introduction and development of these enhanced road management measures will help ensure the sustainability of the project's benefits, and facilitate a more effective and hence sustainable use of scarce funds. Finally, further staff training for PWD to be supported under the project will also be critical to the sustainability of project benefits in the medium term. 8. Lessons learned from past operations in the country/sector To varying degrees, previous road transport projects in India have suffered from: (i) poor quality at entry due to inadequate project preparation; (ii) weak institutional capacities for project management and contract administration; (iii) inexperience with Bank procurement procedures and insufficient use of advance procurement actions; (iv) inadequate inter-agency coordination; (v) delays in handing-over project sites to contractors; and (vi) weak capabilities of contractor and consultant. As a result of the experience gained from implementing several road projects in India, the preparation and implementation of future operations have incorporated the following lessons: (i) engineering, social, environmental and institutional aspects of the project will be comprehensively prepared in an integrated manner before project appraisal to ensure quality at entry; (ii) required strengthening of basic institutional capacities for effective project management will be prepared in advance and implemented early in the life of the project; (iii) procurement capabilities have been bolstered from project design, with initial contracts based on completed designs, strict pre- qualification criteria and ready to be awarded before project effectiveness; (iv) the government will be required to enhance inter-agency coordination within and outside the State; (v) site readiness will be linked to Bank approval of contract awards; (vi) the development of competitive and updated contractor and consultant companies is encouraged through efficient procurement, improved project management and contract administration; and (vii) the financial assessment and disbursement system improvement will be undertaken before project effectiveness. During project preparation, the Bank has organized a number of seminars to help state PWDs to familiarize themselves with matters on procurement and disbursement arrangements, as well as to provide a venue for state PWDs to share project preparation and implementation experiences. Furthermore, the project adopted international standards for preparation of feasibility, design, procurement planning and environmental and social impact studies. Finally, the proposed project would -4 -  bolster the capacity of public sector roads financing for maintenance and capital works to achieve road network asset sustainability. 9. Program of Targeted Intervention (PTI) No 10. Environment Aspects (including any public consultation) Issues: These include construction related impacts, i.e., potential air and noise pollution, spills of fuel, lubricants and bitumen, emissions of dust and smoke particles from crushers and bitumen plants. The proposed widening is likely to cause some loss of tree plantations along the road side. In certain sections, forest area and green tunnels are likely to be affected. In addition, the region is flood prone and high erosion prone areas are likely to be encountered. Identification of issues is being done by means of field surveys to assess environmental parameters such as land use, plantation type, density, species, location and length, big/giant trees, forest type, flora, fauna, wetlands, ponds, erosion areas, religious places, educational institutions, heritage sites, encroachments, major river crossings, and drainage. Data is in the process of being collated and assimilated. Strip maps are also in progress, and the above environmental parameters are in the process of being incorporated. Detailed mapping, categorization and prioritization of sensitive areas is still to be carried out. Potential induced impacts with respect to sensitive areas in the region around the proposed roads include: (i) project roads in the southeastern section leading to proximity of (approximately 30 km) mangrove forests, and Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve area (tiger reserves); (ii) the Waste Recycling Regime around Calcutta (sewage generated by Calcutta is used by the surrounding fisheries, thereby treated naturally); and (iii) wildlife sanctuary and tiger reserve areas in proximity to the project roads in the northern section. Actual distances from the proposed project roads will be shown in the screening report. In addition, almost all proposed roads have very dense population. These impacts will be assessed as part of a full Environmental Assessment (EA) exercise being prepared for the project. 11. Contact Point: The InfoShop The World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone No. (202)458 5454 Fax No. (202) 522 1500 Task Manager Guang Zhe Chen The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington D.C. 20433 Telephone: 1-202-458-7474 Fax: 1-202-522-2418 Note: This is information on an evolving project. Certain activities and/or components may not be included in the final project. - 5 -  Processed by the InfoShop week ending March 5, 1999. - 6 -  Annex Because this is a Category B project, it may be required that the borrower prepare a separate EA report. If a separate EA report is required, once it is prepared and submitted to the Bank, in accordance with OP 4.01, Environmental Assessment, it will be filed as an annex to the Public Information Document (PID) . If no separate EA report is required, the PID will not contain an EA annex; the findings and recommendations of the EA will be reflected in the body of - 7 -