AEF City Lodge Limited Malawi

completed

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW SUMMARYProject Name AEF - MALAWI: CITY LODGE LTD. Region Sub-Saharan AfricaSector Hotels and resorts Project No. 009151 ______________________________________________________________________________1. This project, which is to be financed through the Africa Enterprise Fund (AEF), involves the completion of a three-story, 30-bedroom hotel in Blantyre, the business capital of Malawi. It is being constructed on a half-acre plot behind the Kandodo Cornershop on the Zalewa Road. When complete, City Lodge will be the first hotel a potential hotel guest will come into contact with on the road leading from the airport into the city. The target market for the hotel is business people, both local and non-locals who travel to Blantyre on business. Presently the hotels available in Blantyre do not offer value for money. The services and amenities do not match the high prices charged. The rooms will offer direct telephone dialing, satellite TV and air conditioning. A restaurant, bar and conference hall will also be built to cater for guests and other visitors. The hotel will have basement parking for visitors and guests. Construction on the foundation has already begun.2. This is a Category B project according to IFC''s environmental review procedure because specific impacts may result which can be avoided or mitigated by adhering to generally recognized performance standards, guidelines, or design criteria. The key environmental health and safety issues that were analyzed are as follows: • site history and past contamination; • disposal of liquid and solid wastes, including sewage; • source of power and water supply including fuel storage if applicable; • staff accommodation infrastructure; • CFC-free cold storage and air conditioning; • employee health and safety training; • general housekeeping; and • fire safety and emergency response preparedness.IFC has reviewed the environmental information supplied by the City Lodge sponsor and architect, as well as information presented in the project appraisal report. Key elements of this information are described below.3. Site history and past contamination: The site on which the project will be located is just outside Blantyre''s central business district. The land is undeveloped and, according to the project sponsor and appraisal consultant, has been vacant historically. There is no evidence of past contamination from adjacent properties. 4. Disposal of liquid and solid wastes, including sewage. In accordance with municipal regulations, the sponsors will discharge their wastewater and sewage to the municipal sewerage system. According to an engineer in the Blantyre Sewage Disposal Works, the municipal system has sufficient capacity to handle the hotel’s wastewater. The municipality operates five treatment facilities, each of which consists of primary and secondary settling ponds. Solids from the primary settling pond are discharged to bacterial digesters and from there to drying beds. Dried solids are made available to local residents and businesses for use as fertilizer. Effluent from the primary settling pond is fed to a secondary pond, where biological filters break down any remaining organic material, and is then discharged to nearby surface waters. Prior to discharge, water is tested to ensure that it meets relevant Government limits for key wastewater parameters (BOD, COD, pH and total suspended solids). The Government has adopted World Health Organization (WHO) limits for each of these parameters. Solid wastes from hotel operations (paper, plastics etc.) will be collected either by the City Council or a private contractor and disposed of in the city landfill. 5. Source of power and water supply including fuel storage if applicable: City Lodge will obtain its power from the Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi (ESCOM). Because ESCOM''s supply is not reliable, the sponsors will install a standby generator to be used in the event of a power interruption. The sponsors have agreed that the generator will be placed in a secondary containment structure capable of holding the entire contents of the tank in the event of a spill or breach. As the hotel is located in close proximity to a filling station, it will not be necessary to store fuel for the generator on site. Water will be drawn from the Blantyre Water Board. Frequent water shortages have occurred in Malawi in the past, and the appraisal consultant therefore recommended that the sponsors install a water tank holding reserves for 4 days consumption (approximately 23,000 liters). The sponsors have agreed to implement this recommendation.6. Staff accommodation infrastructure: The sponsors plan to pay staff a housing allowance in addition to their salary/wages, which enables them to find accommodation suited to their needs. This practice is common throughout Malawi. 7. CFC-free cold storage and air conditioning: The sponsors have confirmed that they will install cold storage and air conditioning equipment that utilizes non-CFC refrigerants, in accordance with the provisions of the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.8. Employee health and safety training: : The hotel will have ablution facilities and change rooms for hotel staff, in accordance with all national and municipal requirements. The sponsors will conduct an in-house training program for all staff that covers first aid, fire safety and safe operation of appliances and machinery. In addition, kitchen and other restaurant staff will be instructed in proper hygienic procedures relevant to their jobs. The City of Blantyre Health Department routinely inspects food establishments in the city to ensure that proper appropriate sanitary methods are being followed, and tests employees for communicable diseases such as cholera. Employees who fall ill are sent for treatment and not allowed to return to work until they have recovered fully. 9. General housekeeping: CLL’s marketing strategy is to provide clean, efficient and reliable hotel services at a reasonable cost. The hotel has been designed and will be operated to ensure that high housekeeping standards are maintained. All housekeeping staff will receive training in proper housekeeping practices. 10. Fire safety and emergency response preparedness: The proposed hotel design is for a three story (ground floor plus two) structure. The sponsors have agreed to comply with all relevant IFC guidelines regarding fire protection and life safety, as well as relevant requirements of the Government of Malawi and municipal authorities. The CLL sponsors have also agreed to implement a fire and emergency response plan for the hotel and to train hotel staff in these procedures. If necessary, a desk review of the hotel’s final design documents will be conducted by a fire safety expert prior to the disbursement of IFC funds to ensure that the facility conforms to IFC guidelines.11. Based on its review of the environmental information provided by City Lodge, IFC concludes that the proposed project is being designed and will be operated to meet pertinent Government of Malawi requirements and all relevant World Bank policies and environmental, health and safety guidelines, and environmental clearance is given for this project. IFC will monitor ongoing compliance with World Bank policies and guidelines during the life of the project by evaluating monitoring reports submitted annually to IFC by the sponsor and by conducting periodic site reviews during project supervision.L:\wpeu\lb\aef\MALAWI\City Lodge.ERS.docL:\wpeu\lakhdeep\aef\MALAWI\City Lodge.ERS.docAugust 11, 1998 8:46 AM