Albania Local And Regional Roads

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The EBRD is considering financing the rehabilitation of up to 500km of the regional and local road network in Albania. The project will be co-financed with EIB and supported with IPA funds. The project is part of a wider programme of regional and local road rehabilitation, parallel-financed by the World Bank, CEB and the OPEC Fund for International Development. The main objectives of the programme are to improve access to markets and essential services, supporting the economic development of rural areas and their integration into the national economy. The project supports the ongoing reforms of the road sector in Albania. Under the reforms the administration of national and regional roads will be consolidated under a new independent road agency. The reforms represent the shift towards a more commercial arrangement for the provision of road administration in Albania. The rehabilitation of the regional and local network in Albania will increase access to markets, improving productivity and promoting development of the agricultural sector. The Borrower is the Republic of Albania. The Project will be implemented by the Albanian Development Fund (ADF). Benet Beci, Executive Director Albanian Development Fund Rr. “Sami Frasheri”, Nr. 10 Tirana, Albania Tel: +355 4 234 885 Email: adf@albaniandf.org Senior loan of EUR 50 million. Estimated EUR 137 million including EUR 4 million Technical Cooperation grant funds. The project is categorised B (2008). The project will consist mainly of road rehabilitation and potential environmental and social impacts will be temporary and cause only minor and localised negative effects (dust, noise, sourcing and disposal of materials, etc.), which can be mitigated through well-established and proper management methods. While it is anticipated that most, if not all, sub-projects will be in "B" category, some sub-projects may be associated with potentially significant resettlement, compensation, cultural property or protected area issues that could require category A level Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and public consultation. Therefore, the project will require a framework agreement with the Client who will need to commit to comply with the EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy and its Performance Requirements in developing and appraising sub-projects, which will be screened and assessed as details become available. For the appraisal of sub-projects, the Environmental Safeguard Framework (ESF) developed by World Bank will be adopted, which requires that each sub-project will be: (i) screened to identify due diligence needs; and (ii) undergo specific environmental and social appraisals. The ESF includes a generic management plan that identifies measures to mitigate any potential impacts. The main ESF features are sufficient and cover all key aspects of environmental and social management of the road sub-projects. Site specific management plans for selected road sub-projects will be developed to include any specific issues. The responsibility for the sub-project appraisal will be mainly on the ADF. Before the EBRD due diligence on individual sub-projects start, a consultant will assess the adequacy of the ADF environmental and social resources to manage the workload; advise if ADF needs additional resources; and train ADF on EBRD PRs. A Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) has been developed by WB to be implemented for WB financed sub-projects. The PRF clarifies the land acquisition and resettlement principles, organisational arrangements, and design criteria to be applied to the project. RPF is in line with PR5 requirements. If deemed necessary, specific resettlement plans consistent with the principles included in the RPF will be submitted to the Bank for approval when specific information about any resettlement or land expropriation becomes available. Most civil works to be carried out will be road maintenance within the existing Right of Way (RoW). Accordingly, no physical relocation of households is anticipated and any impacts are of a minor scale, if at all. This will be confirmed during the appraisal of each sub-project. The framework for stakeholder engagement is given in the ESF. Stakeholders for each sub-project will be identified based on this framework and will be engaged as per the programme in the ESF. A grievance mechanism will be developed prior to start of any sub-project. For each sub-project the responsible local government units will have overall responsibility for ensuring implementation and monitoring of the ESAP. However, the various parties identified in the plan, e.g. contractors, construction supervisors, maintenance managers, etc., should be immediately responsible for implementing and monitoring their respective parts. The ADF will monitor the execution of the various components and sub-projects, to ensure that the requirements, specifications and environmental considerations of each EMP is met. The ADF will report the implementation to the Government through a Project Steering Committee. The Bank's monitoring will be through Annual Environmental and Social Reports (AESRs) and audits to be carried out once every 3 years (until the completion of the construction) by independent consultants or ESD. EUR 4 million TC Funds are being sought from EBRD’s technical cooperation programme for design, supervision, implementation support and improving maintenance practices.