Consultancy Services for EIA Reports of Jashore-Jhenaidah Road Corridor

Length [km] / Lanes: 50km; Pavement Type: bituminous (or asphalt) and concrete; Bridges / Box Culverts: 05; funded by Word Bank

http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/474191582574582620/pdf/Bangladesh-Western-Economic-Corridor-and-Regional-Enhancement-Program-WeCare-Environmental-and-Social-Impact-Assessment-Executive-Summary.pdf

The Jashore-Jhenaidah Road follows the existing N7 national highway that forms a continuation, for ferry traffic of the road heading west out of Dhaka to the river crossing point on the east side of the Padma River.

Jhenaidah and Jessore are districts with urban areas with populations of 1.8 and 2.7 million people respectively. Both cities have ancient Hindu Temple sites nearby and Jessore has a particularly long and interesting pre-colonial and colonial history. The existing road alignment sits at the intersection of busy road traffic directly linking Dhaka with Khulna, Benapole and Bhomra. Khulna is the third largest city of Bangladesh and direct link to the second biggest seaport of Mongla. Benapole and Mongla are the largest and second largest dry ports in Bangladesh.

The Jhenaidah to Jashore road is about 50 km. It will be updated to a 4-lane road replacing to the original 2-lane highway. The road connects Natore, Pabna, Kustia districts to Jashore, Khulna and Satkhira districts.

This ESIA is a part of the feasibility study for the proposed PBL Unit 2. The study is to verify the impact of the proposed project on environment and on people.

The Terms of Reference (ToR) for the consultants are, but not limited to the following:

1)    Provide an existing baseline assessment enhanced utilizing current assessment methodology.

2)    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.

3)    Carry out environmental and social impact assessment identifying the maximum production capacity capable of being installed that will satisfy the applicable environmental requirements, including the laws and bylaws of Bangladesh.

4)    Land use/ Land cover including ecologically   critical area, national parks, forest, orchard, cultural heritage site etc. (if any), in the site selected for the batter factory.

5)    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.

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

7)    Primary and Secondary Socio-economic data collection.

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

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

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

11)  Collection of Environmental quality data including soil investigation, air quality, water quality, noise level etc. for the selected site.

12)  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.

13)  Identify the Important Environmental and Social Components (IESC).

14)  Assessment of impacts of the proposed battery factory on the environmental and social components.

15)  Preparation of Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP).

16)  Collection of data on access to road/inland water transport channels from Port Authority, BIWTA and Roads and Highway Department.

17)  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 and Noise Modeling.

18)  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.

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

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

21)  Describe and quantify the current extent of aquatic habitat fragmentation and carryout baseline aquatic survey.

22)  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 battery crushing and production (and the development of a recommended plan for doing so).

23)  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.

24) Collecting additional baseline data, re-focusing the assessment and management measures only in the Jashore – Jhenaidah section of the road, while assessing whether the other sections could also continue as associated facilities under the new ESF for which the ESF also applies.

25) Deepening the impact analysis especially on sensitive receptors to come up with site – specific measures in addition to generic construction measures and applying the mitigation hierarchy to avoidance, minimization, mitigation, and compensation.

26) Additional data collection and analysis to meet the requirements of the new ESF specifically requirement under ESS1: Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts, ESS3: Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management, ESS4: Community Health and Safety; ESS6: Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources and other ESS related with Environment.

27) Hold fresh consultations with the stakeholders and potential project affected persons (PAPs) of the project and, incorporate the feedback from the consultation in the EIA (if required).

28) Development of additional plans and documents as required by the relevant standards.