Consultancy Services for Feasibility Study and Detail Design for Construction of Broad-Gauge Railway Line from Gobra To Pirojpur and Rail Connection to Bagerhat.

Initial Environmental Examination (IEE), Environmental impact Assessment (EIA), Environmental Management Plan (EMP), Social impact Assessment (SIA), Land Acquisition Plan (LAP), Resettlement Plan (RP), Traffic Survey & Hydrological Investigation.

There is no railway connectivity with Pirojpur and Bagerhat. Roadway is the only mode of transport of this belt of the country. People from many parts of Bangladesh and tourists often come to Tungipara and Bagerhat by other modes of transport to show their respect to the great leader of the nations and also visit Sixty Dome Mosque. But in absence of railway connectivity, the visitors are compelled to avail other costly modes of transport. To facilitate safe and comfortable movement of the people and tourists at comparatively cheaper cost, it is envisaged to construct a new railway track from Gobra to Pirojpur and Rail Connection to Bagerhat. The main component of the project is 85km railway track and more than 20 bridges including 05 major bridges.

Specific objectives of the feasibility study and detail design for the proposed study are to:

Identify the best possible alternative alignment for the project Gobra to Pirojpur or Gobra to Pirojpur via Fakirhat and Bagerhat and connection with Khulna-Mongla Railway Link at Katakhali Station (Existing abanded railway embankment from Fakirhat to Bagerhat may be used, in that case land acquisition would not be required if so decided) or Recommendation for the best suitable alignment.

·        Find out the best suitable location of bridges by mathematical modeling.

·        Find out whether the project will be technically, economically, financially, environmentally and socially viable.

·        Detail Design of all the structures of the Project.

·        Preparation of Tender Documents.

·        Prepare Initial Environment Examination report, Environmental impact Assessment, Environmental Management Plan & Environmental Monitoring Plan etc;

·        Preparation of Land Acquisition Plan and Resettlement Plan.

·        Prepare Terms of Reference for construction supervision consultancy services.

The scope of the services shall comprise: (i) Carryout Environmental & Social Survey and Environmental Quality Tests in the project influenced area; (ii) Preparation of Initial Environmental Examination (IEE), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Social Impact Assessment (SIA) Reports as per terms of reference. (iii) Preparation of Land Aquistion Plan and Resettlement Plan of the project (iii) Traffic Survey & River Hydrology Study are shown below:

Initial Environmental Examination (IEE):

The scope of services for the Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) includes the followings:

Land use / Land cover including ecologically critical area, national parks, forest, orchard, cultural heritage sites. (If any), in the site selected for the power plant;

Meteorological data collection of the site from Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).

Hydrological and morphological data collection from BWDB and BIWTA.

Primary and Secondary Socio-economic data collection.

Water resources and soil salinity data collection from BWDB and SRDI.

Collection of Environmental quality data including soil investigation(pH, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn), air quality ((Wind speed, Wind Direction, SOx, NOx, Pb, CO, O3, SPM, PM10, PM2.5), water quality (pH, Temperature, Humidity, Turbidity, EC, TDS, ORP, Total Hardness, TSS, Phosphate, DO, BOD, COD) noise level etc. for the selected site; the possible one location of the selected site will be identified as per DoE Guidelines.

Sources of water during construction and operation.

Establish the environmental and social baseline condition in respect of water resources, air quality, noise level, land resources including land use/land cover, agriculture, fisheries, ecosystems, and socio-economic condition.

Conduct stakeholder consultation meetings.

Identify the Important Environmental and Social Components (IESC).

Assessment of initial impacts of the proposed railway line on the environmental and social components.

Assessment of the impact of traffic movement on locality during development/ construction works.

Preparation of Preliminary Environmental Management Plan (EMP).

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Social Impact Assessment (SIA):

The scope of services for the EIA & SIA study includes the followings:

Provide an existing baseline assessment enhanced utilizing current assessment methodology.

Assessing all project components of the proposed area and providing data, results and analysis for the Project Area, Local Study Area and Regional Study Area, including a cumulative effect assessment.

Carry out environmental and social impact assessment identifying the maximum generation capacity capable of being installed that will satisfy the applicable environmental requirements, including the laws and bylaws of Bangladesh and World Bank Group’s health and safety guidelines; Land use / Land cover including ecologically critical area, national parks, forest, orchard, cultural heritage sites. (If any), in the site selected for the power plant.

Identify map unique sites or special features such as Parks and Protected Areas, Heritage Rivers, Historic Sites, Environmentally Significant Areas, culturally significant sites, and other designations.

Meteorological data collection of the site from Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).

Hydrological and morphological data collection from BWDB and BIWTA.

Primary and Secondary Socio-economic data collection.

Water resources and soil salinity data collection from BWDB (Bangladesh Water Development Board) and SRDI (Soil Resources Development Institute).

Agro-ecological zones data collection from AEZ (Agro-Ecological Zones) report.

Agricultural data collection from BBS (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS)) and DAE (Department of Agriculture Extension).

Collection of Environmental quality data including soil investigation(pH, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn), air quality ((Wind speed, Wind Direction, SOx, NOx, Pb, CO, O3, SPM, PM10, PM2.5), water quality (pH, Temperature, Humidity, Turbidity, EC, TDS, ORP, Total Hardness, TSS, Phosphate, DO, BOD, COD) noise level etc. for the selected site; the possible one location of the selected site will be identified as per DoE Guidelines.

Sources of water during construction and operation.

Establish the environmental and social baseline condition in respect of water resources, air quality, noise level, land resources including land use/land cover, agriculture, fisheries, ecosystems, and socio-economic condition.

Conduct public consultation meetings.

Identify the Important Environmental and Social Components (IESC).

Assessment of impacts of the proposed railway track on the environmental and social components.

Preparation of Environmental Management Plan (EMP).

Collection of data on access to port/railway/road/inland water transport channels from Port Authority, Bangladesh Railway, BIWTA and Roads and Highway Department.

Seismic analysis.

Carry out hydrological investigation; evaluate the necessary fuel supplying system and power evacuation facilities required.

Identify the baseline climatic and air quality conditions including:

a)         the type and frequency of meteorological conditions that may result in poor air quality; and

b)         appropriate ambient air quality parameters.

c)    Carry out air quality Modeling.

Identify components of the Project that will affect air quality, and:

a)         describe the potential for reduced air quality (including odors and visibility) resulting from the Project and discuss any implications of the expected air quality for environmental protection and public health.

b)         estimate ground-level concentrations of appropriate air quality parameters.

c)         discuss any expected changes to particulate deposition, nitrogen deposition or acidic deposition patterns.

d)         identify areas that are predicted to exceed Potential Acid Input (PAI) critical loading criteria.

e)         discuss interactive effects that may occur resulting from co-exposure of a receptor to all emissions.

f)          describe air quality impacts resulting from the Project, and their implications for other environmental resources, including habitat diversity and quantity, soil resources, vegetation resources, and water quality.

Identify stages or elements of the Project that are sensitive to changes or variability in climate parameters, including frequency and severity of extreme weather events.  Discuss the impacts on the change to climate parameters may have on elements of the Project that are sensitive to climate parameters.

Identify components of the Project that have the potential to increase noise levels and discuss the implications along with the results of a noise assessment Includes:

a)         potentially affected people and wildlife.

b)         an estimate of the potential for increased noise resulting from the project development; and

c)         the implications of any increased noise levels.

Identify Project components and activities that have the potential to affect groundwater resource quantity and quality at all stages of the Project and carryout water quality Modeling.

Identify the nature and significance of the potential Project impacts on groundwater with respect to:

a)         inter-relationship between groundwater and surface water in terms of surface water quantity and quality.

b)         potential implications of seasonal variations; and

c)         groundwater withdrawal for Project operations, including any expected alterations in the groundwater flow regime during and following Project operations.

Describe programs to manage and protect groundwater resources including:

a)         the early detection of potential contamination.

b)         groundwater remediation options if adverse effects are detected; and

c)         monitoring groundwater production or dewatering impacts.

Provide map existing critical or sensitive areas such as spawning, rearing, and over- wintering habitats, seasonal habitat use including migration and spawning routes.

Identify the current and potential use of the fish resources by aboriginal, sport or commercial fisheries.

Describe and quantify the current extent of aquatic habitat fragmentation and carryout baseline aquatic survey. Ability for the developers of the power generation projects to satisfy all national regulatory requirements and international obligations related to health and human safety and the environment in the construction, operation, and maintenance of dual fuel-based projects of the anticipated size at the identified sites.

Ability to dispose efficiently and in a manner that complies with all national regulatory requirements and international obligations related to the disposal generation by the power generation facilities (and the development of a recommended plan for doing so).

Assess and evaluate the ability of each of the projects (and any expansion projects at the site) to comply with all health and safety and environmental laws of Bangladesh. Identify any restriction that should reasonably be imposed on the developers of the power generation projects to ensure that expansion projects can be designed, constructed, and operated in compliance with all such laws, regulations and requirements and also international obligations.

Evaluate the impact on environment in line with Bangladesh and/or World Bank requirement for the dual fuel-based power plant and transmission line to ensure that the power generation facilities and transmission facilities can be designed, constructed and operated in compliance with all applicable environmental requirements.

Provide information regarding is there any adverse environmental impacts during liquid fuel transportation, Storage and usage and find out its mitigation measures.

Describe the socio-economic impacts of construction and operation of the Project, including:

a)         impacts related to:

i)          local training, employment and business opportunities.

ii)         regional and provincial economic benefits.

iii)        housing.

iv)        recreational activities.

v)         hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering and trafficking; and

vi)        impacts to traditional land use and social and cultural implications.

b)         impacts of the Project on the availability of affordable housing and the quality of health care services. Provide a summary of any discussions that have taken place with the local municipalities and the local environmental public health office concerning housing availability and health care services, respectively.

c)         Identify any impacts expected on primary and secondary highway systems and other regional roads caused by anticipated traffic changes.

d)         the impact on local and regional infrastructure and community services, including consideration of municipal “hard services”, education/training services, social services, urban and regional recreation services, law enforcement and emergency services; and

e)         Describe municipal growth pressures as they relate to the Project and the need for additional Crown land to meet these needs.

Assist the Client in coordination and liaison with the DOE to organize presentation and facilitate the process of EIA approval and thereby issuance of Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC).

Land Aquistion plan (LAP) and Resettlement Action Plan (RAP)

The objective of the Social Impact Assessment (SIA) study is to develop aResettlement Plan (RP) for the Project Affected People (PAP). RAP should be based on 100% census which covers a complete enumeration of all Project Affected People (PAPs), their affected assets and income restoration program etc.The study will reflect the existing socioeconomic profiles of the PAPs through identification of the baseline social dimensions of the people and formulate plans to restore the quality of life after implementation of the project. The study will develop database for current situation and record of the probable impacts of the intervention as perceived by the people themselves. The study will also identify all the possible impacts of a proposed project in advance so that the required actions could be started well before the implementation begins. The following broad items of work will be included in the SIA:

·        Land acquisition survey

·        Census

·        Baseline socio-economic survey

·        Propose compensation and budget for implementation of the RP

Traffic Survey & Hydrological Investigation

a) Conduct detail traffic survey and collect both primary and secondary data to find out actual demand of transportation facilities in proposed railway link. Analyze the existing traffic for goods of various modes of transports. Identify possible traffic (goods) forecast duly considering various development activities of the government and private entities.

b) Forecast future traffic (both passenger and goods) duly considering the impact of the development activities of the government and private entities.

c) Develop an operational plan for the proposed railway.

d) Find out what portion of traffic (goods) can be attracted by proposed railway.

e) Employ sub-consultancy services for survey and mathematical modeling with necessary approval from employer/client for IWM.

f) The consultant will closely coordinate with IWM in creation of Mathematical Model and provide suggestions that will be helpful for the project.

g) The consultant will verify the authenticity and accuracy of the Mathematical Model created by IWM.

h) If there is any dispute between the consultant and IWM regarding Mathematical Model in that case decision of the Project Director will be final.