The World Bank Lebanon Electricity Transmission Project (P170769) Concept Environmental and Social Review Summary Concept Stage (ESRS Concept Stage) Public Disclosure Date Prepared/Updated: 10/31/2019 | Report No: ESRSC00887 Oct 31, 2019 Page 1 of 10 The World Bank Lebanon Electricity Transmission Project (P170769) BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country Region Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) Lebanon MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH P170769 AFRICA Project Name Lebanon Electricity Transmission Project Practice Area (Lead) Financing Instrument Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Energy & Extractives Investment Project 5/25/2020 3/31/2020 Financing Borrower(s) Implementing Agency(ies) Ministry of Finance Ministry of Energy and Water Proposed Development Objective(s) Public Disclosure To strengthen the provision of electricity transmission and dispatch services in Lebanon Financing (in USD Million) Amount Total Project Cost 200.00 B. Is the project being prepared in a Situation of Urgent Need of Assistance or Capacity Constraints, as per Bank IPF Policy, para. 12? No C. Summary Description of Proposed Project [including overview of Country, Sectoral & Institutional Contexts and Relationship to CPF] The Project aims to provide priority expansion and upgrades of Lebanon’s transmission grid and of the power system control to achieve these goals. With the added lines and substations, the system will be able to respond to the increasing electricity demand and support economic growth and social services in the investment areas. The Project will also facilitate investments in new generation plants – expected to be financed mostly by the private sector – by enabling better access to the end-use market. The improved quality of service will help the sector gain credibility with customers, allowing for necessary tariff adjustments to achieve cost recovery and to trigger the virtuous circle of strengthening financial viability of the sector and improving services, while reducing dependence on government subsidies. The Project will also enable different forms of electricity trading arrangements (including competitive, open Oct 31, 2019 Page 2 of 10 The World Bank Lebanon Electricity Transmission Project (P170769) access arrangements), which are easier to introduce if transmission bottlenecks are absent and physical access to consumers unimpeded, and if there is an adequate system for managing dispatch and monitoring system operations to ensure system security and quality of supply. D. Environmental and Social Overview D.1. Project location(s) and salient characteristics relevant to the ES assessment [geographic, environmental, social] Most of the environmental and social impact is expected to be concentrated in Component 1 of the Project. Under Component 1, the Ministry of Energy and Water (MoEW) has proposed strengthening of the Southern transmission loop for Beirut (South Loop), which is composed of four gas insulated substations (GIS) (Airport, Hazmieh, Jamhour, Choueifat) and four underground 220-kV connecting lines with total length of about 20 km (Jamhour – Hazmieh, Airport – Hazmieh, Jamhour – Choueifat, and Choueifat – Airport). The MoEW has also proposed to include a 20-km long Zahrani – Nabatieh overhead transmission line (OHTL), from the existing Zahrani substation (a new line bay will be needed) to a new air-insulated substation (AIS) at Nabatieh. The specific locations of all the substations and transmission lines (underground cables and OHTL) under Component 1 of this Project are not provided at this concept stage ESRS. The proposed investments will be confirmed during Project preparation in terms of their prioritization, costs, and exact locations of the facilities. Locations of some substations in the South Loop have been decided (Jamhour, Airport, Hazmieh). The exact routing of the underground cable lines is under study, as is routing for the Zahrani – Nabatieh line. There may be other investments in transmission added during Project preparation, depending on the final cost estimates and the available budget for the project, including possible co-financing from other financing institutions. Public Disclosure The World Bank task team conducted a field visit and the following preliminary observations were made regarding the salient characteristics specific to the selected substation sites: • The Airport substation is located in a very congested mixed residential and commercial neighborhood and situated next to the main road leading to the Beirut International Airport; • The Hazmieh substation is located at an elevation of around 150m ASL; the geographic setting can be described as a semi-dense residential neighborhood next to a local road; • The Jamhour substation is located at an elevation of around 350m ASL and is surrounded by a light residential neighborhood and not far from the highway that links Beirut to Damascus; • The site for the Chouweifat substation has not been selected therefore the location is unclear at this stage. Thorough social and environmental assessments will need to be conducted to get a better understanding of the land uses, land ownership, ambient environmental settings and livelihoods related issues for both the substations and the transmission lines. While the social risks may be limited in some areas to disturbances associated with construction activities, the right-of-way needs to be very carefully surveyed to investigate if there are any encroachments that could result in negative temporary or permanent economic/livelihoods impacts. It is also worth noting that the Syrian crisis has resulted in a large influx of displaced Syrians in Lebanon and as such, the thorough socio-economic assessment that will be conducted for the purpose of this study should ensure that the impact of the Project on these vulnerable groups is also considered. Having said that, impacts on other vulnerable groups including the disabled, elderly and other minority groups should also be assessed. Oct 31, 2019 Page 3 of 10 The World Bank Lebanon Electricity Transmission Project (P170769) Environmental and social assessments will also cover Component 2 (upgrade of the national power system control center). The exact scope of this component is not clear at this stage and will not be clearly defined until the feasibility study is completed. At this stage, it is not expected that this component will require any construction work, neither it will require land acquisition, nor it will result in an disruptions in access to resources or services. Once the scope has been decided during Project preparation, more detailed assessment will be conducted. D. 2. Borrower’s Institutional Capacity The Republic of Lebanon will be the Borrower. The implementation arrangement will be decided in the early stage of Project preparation (prior to Project appraisal). The implementing agency capacity for managing the safeguards aspects, particularly environmental and social safeguards, will be carefully assessed. The implementing agency will need to have adequate staffing for environmental and social safeguards at the Project preparation stage as this will entail the preparation, consultation, and disclosure of environmental and social assessments. A Stakeholders Engagement Plan (SEP) and Labor Management Procedures (LMP) will also need to be prepared, disclosed and implemented and this will require a dedicated social team. As part of the institutional assessment, capacity building needs will be assessed, and training plans will be developed accordingly. The need for additional environmental and social staffing will be communicated to the implementing agency and the World Bank Task Team will support the implementing agency in developing Terms of Reference (ToRs). Final ToRs will be approved by the Bank. II. SCREENING OF POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL (ES) RISKS AND IMPACTS A. Environmental and Social Risk Classification (ESRC) Substantial Public Disclosure Environmental Risk Rating Substantial The civil works during the construction phase will have negative impacts on the surrounding environment such as air and noise emissions, waste generation, as well as on the worker health and safety such as falling into excavations, materials handling, fall from heights, hit by moving objects, etc. During the operation phase of the 220KV OHTL, there are community/worker health and safety concerns such as electrocution during maintenance works, exposure to high electromagnetic fields (EMF). In addition, in case of using Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6 gas) in the substations, there is a risk of SF6 leakage, which will have a negative environmental impact since SF6 is a potent Green House Gas (GHG). Therefore, the environmental risk is considered Substantial. Social Risk Rating Substantial The proposed Project is expected to have overall positive social benefits of improved electricity supply due to transmission grid enhancement. However, the Project may have some social risks and adverse social impacts. Significant citizen mistrust toward the government, partly driven by lack of transparency and incomplete information regarding health risks associated with the high voltage OHTL, may cause challenges when implementing the project on the ground, as seen in recent similar cases where large protests broke out by citizens preventing for many years the implementation of the high voltage OHTL. Additional social risks are attributed to the general geographic locations proposed under the South Loop which are predominantly congested areas and which may result in potential adverse impacts particularly during the construction period including noise, dust, traffic, electrical safety and other construction hazards. Other social risks which may be associated with construction works may include temporary labor influx needed for implementation of both the underground and overhead transmission lines although the social impact assessment will more thoroughly examine the magnitude and scale of this impact, including whether the workforce will be primarily Oct 31, 2019 Page 4 of 10 The World Bank Lebanon Electricity Transmission Project (P170769) local and the potential gender-based aspects. Moreover, potential encroachers over the right-of-way of the transmission line may be another possible social risk which will need to be carefully examined in the social impact assessment. Land acquisitions associated with this Project may also result in adverse social impacts and will need to be assessed and carried out in compliance with the World Bank ESF standards and national legislations. For any land that has already been acquired, a retroactive land acquisition audit will be prepared by the implementing agency to ensure that all compensations are also in compliance. Finally, maintenance activities during the operation phase could introduce risks and impacts related to electrical safety. Component 2 of the project which is expected to involve mainly software upgrades for the control system is not anticipated to associate with any social impacts. To summarize, potential social risks are associated with labour influx during construction phase and potential encroachers on the right of way for the transmission lines and potential non-compensation of project affected persons for the substations that have already been expropriated. The citizen mistrust of government can potentially raise the social risk rating to substantial during implementation as well as the limited capacity of the MEW and EDL. However, given that the final project description is yet unavailable and since it is unclear whether the identified risks will remain valid after project components identification the social risk is rated 'substantial' at this stage noting that the team will revisit this assessment when there is better clarity on the project specificities at the appraisal stage. B. Environment and Social Standards (ESSs) that Apply to the Activities Being Considered B.1. General Assessment Public Disclosure ESS1 Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts Overview of the relevance of the Standard for the Project: As part of its due diligence in preparing the concept stage ESRS, the Bank task team conducted a field visit to the identified substation locations. The underground transmission lines connecting the substations will follow the existing routing of the public domain (public roads corridors). The greatest environmental and social impacts of these investments are expected during the construction period as temporary nuisances (traffic disruptions, noise, dust, etc.). The overhead transmission lines (OHTL) will also cause some adverse impacts during construction, such as in the use of land within the right-of-way, some traffic related to construction, etc. The right-of-way corridors for the OHTL and the locations of the associated substations will be decided during project preparation, while final location of transmission line towers within the corridors will be decided during project implementation as part of contractor’s detailed project design. Decisions on the right-of-way and the placement of towers will be made with a view of avoiding or minimizing adverse environmental and social impacts, including land appropriation. The Borrower and the implementing agency will need to develop and implement a clear communication strategy to minimize potential avoid misunderstandings, which may result in opposition to the project and public protest from the affected communities, as demonstrated recent similar cases. Environmental and social assessment will need to be carried out by the implementing agency to thoroughly assess all potential environmental and social risks and impacts, including direct and indirect impacts. The environmental assessment should include the identification of potential impacts on air, noise, water bodies, soils, solid and hazardous wastes and ecosystems. Impacts on any archeological sites or any physical cultural resources will also be assessed as part of ESS1. Oct 31, 2019 Page 5 of 10 The World Bank Lebanon Electricity Transmission Project (P170769) Since the exact routing of the underground cables and the overhead transmission lines is still under study, and since not all substation locations are known, the implementing agency will prepare an Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) to set the framework for identifying potential impacts, proposed mitigation measures and monitoring plans. The ESMF should also identify the institutional structure needed to implement the proposed mitigation measures and monitoring plans. As for the already specified substation locations, the implementing agency will prepare site-specific ESMPs for each determined site before appraisal stage. It is to be noted that paragraph 52 of ESS1 on disclosure of the environmental and social assessment documents will also apply, ensuring that all environmental and social assessment instruments are disclosed in the culturally appropriate language before appraisal stage. Social impacts on vulnerable groups (including the poor, women, disabled, Syrian displaced people and elderly) will be determined through a comprehensive social assessment to be undertaken as part of the ESMF. Mitigation measures and their costs will be developed, together with clear roles, responsibilities, monitoring indicators. Accessibility to natural resources has also been initially identified as a potential impact, which will be examined in more detail in the respective instruments, once the exact routes are known . The instruments will ensure that all socio-economic conditions in the surrounding areas of the lines will be studied and mitigations and monitoring recommended accordingly. Also, at this stage, no associated facilities have been identified, but this is to be further assessed as part of preparing the ESIA and the associated instruments. As exact routing of the transmission lines is not known at this concept stage ESRS, a Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) will be prepared by the Borrower by appraisal stage to cover the land related impacts, including the potential restriction for access during the construction phase. Mitigation measures will be recommended accordingly. The RPF will need to be satisfactory to the World Bank Public Disclosure and disclosed before appraisal. As for the already specified substation locations (Airport, Jamhour and Hazmieh), the Borrower/implementing agency will need to prepare a retroactive land acquisition audit review, as part of its due diligence, for any land that has previously been acquired. The review shall include a livelihood impact assessment and compensations of any project-affected tenants and potential workers associated with these lands and who depend on their livelihoods from these lands. The retroactive land audit reports will be reviewed and cleared by the World Bank. These requirements will be included in the Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP). Areas where “Use of Borrower Framework” is being considered: Use of Borrower Framework is not being considered for this project. ESS10 Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure It is important that the client actively engages the citizens, consumers and beneficiaries in the project throughout its preparation and implementation. In particular, any potential resettlement will need to be clearly communicated to all affected parties. A stakeholder engagement plan (SEP) should be prepared by the implementing agency, which should clearly identify affected parties (both direct and indirect) and have a robust grievance redress mechanism (GRM) in place to ensure multiple channels for registering complaints and for responsible parties to adequately address and close all such cases. The SEP should also include a plan for engagement of citizens in several public consultations that should span the project preparation and implementation. The GRM will be clearly communicated during the ESMP and RPF consultations. The SEP should include the results of the public consultations. The SEP will also include awareness activities necessary to deal with perceived or actual health risks (e.g. the risk of electrocution). A budget should also be specified for carrying out these consultations and for the implementation of the SEP. Oct 31, 2019 Page 6 of 10 The World Bank Lebanon Electricity Transmission Project (P170769) B.2. Specific Risks and Impacts A brief description of the potential environmental and social risks and impacts relevant to the Project. ESS2 Labor and Working Conditions The proposed project involves infrastructure physical works on transmission and SCADA systems. Workers will be subjected to some health and safety risks which need to be addressed and mitigated. The types of workers anticipated to work on the project include contracted workers, direct workers such as environmental and social specialists as part of the Project Management Unit (PMU ), and primary supply workers employed by the borrower who on an-going basis will provide directly to the project goods or materials essential for the core functions of the project. The total number of workers is not clear at this stage. Applicable national labor law, working hours, prohibition of child labor and prohibition of forced labor, workers code of conduct, GRM, are all part of the requirements under this ESS2 and will be included in the Labor Management Procedures (LMP) which will accordingly be prepared by the implementing agency by appraisal stage and will be disclosed. The Bank Task Team will assist the borrower with the preparation of the TORs for the consultant for the preparation of the LMP . The LMP will need to be acceptable to the Bank as per the Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) and also be approved by the Bank. Selection of labor should be non-discriminatory basis should be followed. The World Bank encourages the contracts financed by the World Bank, and also project implementation units, to include clauses for encouraging female participation (e.g., by stating for instance ‘female applicants are highly encouraged to apply’ and offering encouraging working conditions that would allow women to get involved). Public Disclosure ESS3 Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management ESS3 applies to this project, as the construction activities under the project will generate liquid, solid and hazardous wastes. Air and noise pollution are also expected to be generated from construction equipment. Air emissions (in case of leakage of SF6 gas) and high noise levels are attributed to the operation of the substations. Measures to avoid or mitigate such impacts during construction and operation f the facilities need to be identified and implemented in accordance with WBG industry sector EHSG for transmission and distribution lines. ESS4 Community Health and Safety ESS4 is relevant, as some construction sites and the constructed facilities will be located near residential areas. Communities might also be negatively affected from the labor influx. This will be examined and determined as part of the social assessment. Selection of the right-of-way and sites for transmission substations, as well as technical design of the facilities, will be done to ensure full safety of the residential areas and sensitive receptors (schools, hospitals, etc.), including with respect to adverse impacts of electro-magnetic fields, the risk of electrocution, etc. Public consultations should cover all community health and safety risks and mitigation measures. Measures to address the potential risks associated with ESS4 will be incorporated in the ESMF covering both construction and operations stages. The ESMF should also address traffic safety risks and overall transport management during construction. Traffic management plans should be developed to ensure universal and unimpeded access for people of all ages and abilities in different situations and under various circumstances (para 7, ESS4). As such, the ESMPs as well as the traffic Oct 31, 2019 Page 7 of 10 The World Bank Lebanon Electricity Transmission Project (P170769) management plans should describe how the access, including for the special vulnerable groups (disabled), is to b managed at construction sites. ESS5 Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary Resettlement The RPF will describe the government’s strategy to avoid or minimize – if unavoidable -- physical resettlement under the project. Impacts from permanent acquisition of land, temporary restriction of access or economic/livelihood impacts (such as destroying crops or disturbing cultivation) are anticipated and should be comprehensively addressed through the preparation of the RAPs for each sub-project once the location of subprojects are determined. Potential impact on vulnerable groups including the poor, elderly, disabled, settlements of displaced Syrians Are generally expected to be of the same nature but needs to be carefully examined in the RAPs. No physical resettlement is anticipated under the project components . As stated above, since exact locations of a number of project components are not known at this stage, the implementing agency will prepare an RPF by appraisal, which will be cleared with the World Bank and disclosed as per paragraph 52 of ESS1 on disclosure. The Bank Task Team will support the borrower in the preparation of the ToR for the preparation RPF . The Borrower/implementing agency will carry out a retroactive land audit review as part of its due diligence before appraisal stage and will also assess whether the livelihood of any project affected tenants and workers on these lands has been affected and if so, how they have been compensated. this document will also be disclosed prior to appraisal stage by the borrower and on the World Bank’s external website . Public Disclosure ESS6 Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources Most of the project components – underground cables, gas-insulated substations (GIS), upgrade of the national control center – are not expected to have an impact on biodiversity. However, the installation of the OHTL may require passing through some forests, cutting down some trees or affected some natural habitats. Since the route of the OHTL is not yet finally identified, the relevance of ESS6 is to be determined. ESS7 Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Local Communities The population groups in Lebanon in general are not indigenous groups as per the ESS7 definition. Therefore, this standard does not apply to the project. ESS8 Cultural Heritage Lebanon in general is famous for archeological sites and cultural resources. Since project activities will involve excavations, ESS8 is relevant. Chance find procedures will be part of the ESMF and of the site-specific instruments, which should be prepared before appraisal. ESS9 Financial Intermediaries Oct 31, 2019 Page 8 of 10 The World Bank Lebanon Electricity Transmission Project (P170769) No financial intermediaries are involved in the project, therefore ESS9 is not relevant. C. Legal Operational Policies that Apply OP 7.50 Projects on International Waterways No OP 7.60 Projects in Disputed Areas No III. WORLD BANK ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL DUE DILIGENCE A. Is a common approach being considered? No Financing Partners No financing partners. B. Proposed Measures, Actions and Timing (Borrower’s commitments) Actions to be completed prior to Bank Board Approval: The implementing agency is requested to prepare an ESMF, RPF, LMP and SEP for the substations and transmission Public Disclosure lines (both UGTL and OHTL) whose locations and designs have not yet been determined before the appraisal stage. The implementing agency will also prepare retroactive land audit review for lands that have been previously acquired. For the substations and/or cable routes whose location is known, site specific ESMPs need to be prepared prior to appraisal stage. For project components whose location is to be decided later, site specific ESMPs and RAPs need to be prepared, reviewed, cleared and disclosed prior to initiating selection of contractors . Possible issues to be addressed in the Borrower Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP): The implementing agency will prepare and disclose site specific ESMPs before initiating the selection of contractors and RAPs before commencement of any construction activities. All safeguard instruments will have to go through meaningful consultations during the different phases of the project life-cycle (which refers to preparation, appraisal, implementation and completion) . Once cleared, these documents will be disclosed at the MoEW and Bank external websites. All safeguards instruments including the GRM, will be cleared, disclosed, and made fully operational before any physical activity starts on the ground. - The implementing agency i.e. MoEW will hire Environmental and Social Officer(s) to implement, monitor and report the safeguards implementation status at the different project phases and ensure that they are in compliance with the World Bank ESF and national legislations. C. Timing Tentative target date for preparing the Appraisal Stage ESRS 16-Dec-2019 Oct 31, 2019 Page 9 of 10 The World Bank Lebanon Electricity Transmission Project (P170769) IV. CONTACT POINTS World Bank Contact: Tu Chi Nguyen Title: Energy Economist Telephone No: 5220+82100 / Email: tnguyen19@worldbank.org Contact: Vladislav Vucetic Title: Lead Energy Specialist Telephone No: 473-3977 Email: vvucetic@worldbank.org Contact: Sameh I. Mobarek Title: Senior Energy Specialist Telephone No: 5367+3318 / Email: smobarek@worldbank.org Borrower/Client/Recipient Borrower: Ministry of Finance Implementing Agency(ies) Implementing Agency: Ministry of Energy and Water Public Disclosure V. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects VI. APPROVAL Task Team Leader(s): Tu Chi Nguyen, Vladislav Vucetic, Sameh I. Mobarek Practice Manager (ENR/Social) Pia Peeters Recommended on 28-Oct-2019 at 09:53:51 EDT Safeguards Advisor ESSA Nina Chee (SAESSA) Cleared on 31-Oct-2019 at 15:47:14 EDT Oct 31, 2019 Page 10 of 10