Consultancy Services for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for Upgrading of Joydebpur-Debogram-Bhulta-Madanpur (Dhaka By-Pass) Road (N-105) into 4 Lanes through Public Private Partnership (PsPP)

Length [km] / Lanes: 48km; Pavement Type: bituminous (or asphalt) and concrete; Bridges / Box Culverts: 20; Other: 04 flyovers.

The project scope entails upgrading of the Joydebpur-Debogram-Bhulta-Madanpur Dhaka By-Pass Road (DBR) that will extend 48 Km from the northwest Vogra point to the southeast Madanpur turnabout over the existing alignment of the 2-lane DBR. Upgrading the existing DBR will involve activities covering: Converting the existing 2-lane road to a 4-lane road, Construction of several bridges and culverts, Construction of four flyovers above the railway tracks at Dirasram and Mirerbazar and other places, Construction of traffic interchanges, underpasses for cattle pass and Toll Plazas, Construction of service roads on both sides.

The scope of work of the EIA includes:

§  Collection and review of all available relevant data and reports.

§  Collection of primary and secondary environmental and socio-economic data.

§  Establish the environmental and social baseline conditions of the project.

§  Assessment of the baseline environmental and social condition through field surveys and investigation (sampling & testing).

§  Conduct socio-economic field surveys through Semi-structured Questionnaire, Key Informant Interviews and/or Public Consultation through Focused Group Discussions.

§  Conduct environmental quality monitoring sampling and testing for air quality, surface & groundwater quality, soil quality, and noise & vibration level.

§  Conduct ambient air quality monitoring for 8 hours duration each at three locations and carry out testing of defined parameters, such as, Carbon Monoxide (CO), Sulphur Dioxide (SO₂), Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) and Particulate Matter (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5).

§  LATA Envirotech APM 250 with Combined PM₁₀/PM_2.5 Sampler was used for the measurement and monitoring of particulate matters and for gaseous pollutants.

§  Collection of surface water samples from two locations and carry out testing of defined parameters, such as, pH, Total Suspended Solid (TSS), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Total Organic Carbon (TOC), Total Phosphate (PO₄), and Oil& Grease.

§  The surface water samples were tested at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and Dhaka University (DU) laboratories.

§  Collection of groundwater samples from two locations and carry out testing of defined parameters, such as, pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Alkalinity, Chloride (Cl-), Arsenic (As), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), and Sulfate (SO₄).

§  The groundwater samples were tested at BUET laboratory.

§  Carry out ambient noise monitoring to determine the ambient noise levels at six locations (both day and night time).

§  The sound level was recorded using a calibrated HTC Sound Level Meter, set to A-weighting, slow response and statistical analysis settings.

§  Carry out vibration assessment to determine the vibration levels at two locations using HTC VB-8205 vibration meter.

§  Collection of soil samples from two locations and carry out soil quality testing of defined parameters, such as Organic Matter, Lead (Pb), Iron (Fe), Cadmium (Cd), and Zinc (Zn).

§  The soil samples were tested at BUET and DU laboratory.

§  Assess the existing physical environment, biological environment, and socio-economic environment.

§  Physical environment covered different physical natural features and included major parameters & factors, such as, climate (temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind speed, & cloud coverage), ambient air quality, noise level, physiography, topography, geology & hydrology, water resources (surface & ground water), soil quality, agro-ecological zones (soil condition, & floodplain/Coastal Plain), seismicity, etc.

§  Biological environment covered factors related to life and included major features, such as, bio-ecological zones (major rivers), terrestrial ecosystem, flora & fauna, protected areas & red book species, etc.

§  Socio-economic environment covered anthropological factors, such as, demography, age, sex/gender, household, nutrition, religion, ethnicity, land use ownership, cropping pattern, occupational pattern, livelihood, income, infrastructure, settlement plan & housing, transport & communication, education, sources of drinking water, sanitation facility, poverty, health, recreational activities, archaeological & cultural heritage, climate change & natural disaster, environmental & social hotspot, etc.

§  Analysis of the data to identity the potential environmental impacts.

§  Preparation of an EIA Report, including the EMP and the environmental monitoring plan, in compliance with the requirements of the Department of Environment of the Government of Bangladesh and ADB SPS 2009.

§  Liaison with DOE to obtain Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) for the projects.

§  Organization of stakeholder / public consultation meetings within five-kilometer radius from the Project site.

§  Planning and organization of public consultation meeting, including selection of venue, date, time etc.

§  Preparation of invitation letter and banner for the public consultation.

§  Preparation of invitation list and send invitation letter to all participants.

§  Conduct Public Consultation Meeting.

§  As part of the EIA Report, preparation of Public Consultation Meeting Report with photographs, attendance list and summary of the meeting discussion and consultation.