Engro Paktank Terminal Limited

completed

- 3 - Environmental Review Summary (ERS)Project Name Pakistan-Engro PaktankRegion AsiaSector Petrochemical Project No 0071631. Engro Paktank is a joint venture between Engro Chemical Pakistan Limited, Pakistan’s second largest fertilizer manufacturer and Royal Pakhoed N.V. of the Netherlands. The proposed project involves construction and operation of a chemical tank farm and jetty facility for handling of paraxylene, acetic acid and other chemical intermediates in Port Qasim. Port Qasim is a new industrial zone being developed to relieve congestion at Karachi port.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 review of this project consisted of review of an environmental assessment prepared by Engro Paktank consultants and by site inspections by Technical and Environmental Department staff. The following potential environmental, health and safety impacts were analyzed:· site location and potential impact on local eco systems;· air emissions;· liquid effluent treatment;· spill prevention;· fire protection and emergency response;· public consultation and public dissemination; and· occupational health and safety policies.Information provided on how these potential impacts are addressed in the Engro Paktank project is summarized in the paragraphs that follow.3. The site awarded to the Engro Paktank project is located within the Port Qasim area 50 kilometers east of Karachi. The Port Qasim area is under administration of the Port Qasim Authority, which is regulating the development of this new industrial development established to relieve congestion in Karachi Port. Port Qasim area has several major industrial plants including steel works and power plants. The terminal will be built on a greenfield area which will be filled by the Port Qasim Authorities to reach flooding safe elevations. At the moment, the site is bare with only a few devastated mangrove bushes along the river bank. Other nearby river banks are vegetated with mangroves but these areas will remain untouched by the project. The site is located with direct access to the main channels to the Port Qasim development from the open sea.4. Air emissions from the facility will be limited to vapor losses due to tank breathing and loading/unloading procedures. Tanks will be of the fixed roof type equipped with internal floating roof to limit losses. Procedures will be established for the tank truck filling to reduce the losses from this operation.5. The terminal facility will have separate sewage systems for domestic waste water, rain water from areas with potential for contamination, and areas without potential for contamination. Domestic sewage will be treated in a septic tank system to comply with local requirements and World Bank guidelines before discharge. Rain water from areas with potential for contamination will be screened before discharge, while rain water from areas without potential for contamination will be discharged directly to the river. The terminal will be equipped with slop tanks to receive any contamination collected in oil traps or from repair works.6. The terminal will not have any production facility and the amounts of solid waste will be limited to domestic/office waste and repair wastes. Solid waste will be disposed of at a suitable facility according to local regulations for the Port Qasim area.7. The terminal facility will be designed to prevent spills according to international recognized standards. Pipelines from the jetty to the storage area will only be filled with products during ship unloading. After unloading, the pipe lines will be emptied by means of pigging, and the estimated product filled operation has been calculated to 410 hours per year. All tanks will be equipped with low, high and high-high controls. An independent high-high alarm will further result in close off of a tank should further filling not have stopped due to the normal safety procedures. All tanks will be equipped with bunds able to store at least 100% of the tank load. Tanks used for flammable liquids will be equipped with 110% bunding capacity. The bunds will be lined to prevent potential spillage from seeping into the ground.8. A risk assessment study has been conducted including shipping incident probability and consequence calculations. The probability of a cargo loss has been estimated to about 1 chance in 4,800 per year. Consequence calculations have shown that with the planned products even a worst condition spill will not result in irreversible impact on nearby mangrove areas. The impact calculations were prepared based on conservative assumptions ignoring any effects of intervention according to the Port Qasim Authority emergency plan.9. A fire prevention and fire emergency plan has been prepared for the terminal. This plan includes foam and cooling water systems at the jetty, cooling water protection on all tanks, fire hydrants around all tank bunding, and foam sprinklers at the truck loading area.10. During preparation of the environmental assessment for the terminal project, contact has been made with several local non-governmental organizations including World Wildlife Fund and the World Conservation Union. The World Conservation Union is heavily involved in the protection of wet mangrove forest along the Pakistani coast and is keeping close contact with local fishermen villages along the coast. Engro Paktank will let the World Conservation Union review the environmental assessment and prepare comments based on the organization’s contact with the local villagers. The environmental assessment will be made available locally by the sponsor. This approach has been selected due to the lack of residents in the immediate vicinity of the terminal site and the lack of literate people in the nearest fishermen villages. Comments received from the World Conservation Union will be considered during the final design.11. IFC will ensure ongoing compliance with World Bank environmental, health and safety policies and guidelines during the life of the project by evaluating monitoring reports submitted annually to IFC by Engro Paktank, and by conducting periodic supervision.12. Based on its review of available information regarding potential environmental impacts and proposed mitigation measures, IFC concludes that Engro Paktank’s proposed project will meet World Bank environmental, health and safety policies and guidelines, and host country requirements.L:\CPFD1\PAKISTAN\PAKTANK\ERS.DOCMarch 5, 1996 4:12 PM