Uzbekistan: Bukhara Road Network Improvement Project (Phase 1)

Summary

Expected Outcome

Expected Outputs

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL INFORMATION Environmental and Social Policy, Standards, and Categorization. AIIB’s Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), including the Environmental and Social Standards (ESSs), and Environmental and Social Exclusion List is applicable to the project. ESS 1 (Environmental and Social Assessment and Management) and ESS 2 (Involuntary Resettlement) are applicable for the environmental and social (ES) assessment. The Project has been assigned Category “B”, in accordance with the ESP. An Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) including an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) has been prepared. To address issues of any physical and economic displacements, guidance has been provided through a Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF), which is part of the ESIA. An Abbreviated Resettlement Plan (ARP) has also been developed as part of the ESIA. Environmental and Social Aspects. The Project is expected to generate socio-economic benefits in terms of improving the efficiency and safety of the A380 road corridor. The major negative environmental impacts of the project will mostly be temporary and reversible during the construction and maintenance periods. The potentially negative social impacts of the proposed project include acquisition of about 5.6 hectares of land belonging to three business entities and Neftchi State Forest Area, disruptions in commercial activities/ livelihood and temporary impacts on habitations, disturbance to traffic and public utilities, and access restrictions due to construction activities. The management, mitigation, and monitoring measures to address the environmental and social risks and impacts have been identified in the ESMP. The RPF includes an Entitlement Matrix indicating the anticipated impacts on different categories of project affected people and the compensations and benefits accruing to the affected households/persons. To address the acquisition of 5.6 hectares of land required for the project from four entities, an ARP has been prepared as part of the ESIA. Stakeholder Engagement, Consultation and Information Disclosure. Two rounds of workshops and public consultations were held in the Bukhara region during December 2019 to January 2020. The expressed views and comments of all stakeholders including women, , and students as well as vulnerable groups such as members of the low-income families were recorded. The ESIA (including the RPF and ARP in English) has been disclosed on the websites of RC[1] and AIIB[2] since March 27, 2020, following which consultations will continue to be held. The Uzbek translations of the ESIA has also been disclosed both RC’s[3] and AIIB’s website . The documents are made available in hard copy in the Project area. Project-level Grievance Redress Mechanism. A two-tier Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) for project-affected people has been prepared at the field and PIU levels for the project, in accordance with the requirements of the Bank’s ESP, based upon the Client’s existing GRM.