South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Dhaka-Sylhet Corridor Road Investment Project-Tranche 1 (ADB-53382-002)

Regions
  • South Asia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Bangladesh
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Dhaka, Sylhet
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
A
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Jun 1, 2021
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
People's Republic of Bangladesh
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Transport
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Potential Rights Impacts
  • Housing & Property
Only for projects receiving a detailed analysis, a broad category of human and environmental rights and frequently at-risk populations.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 401.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 400.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS Aug 12, 2021

Disclosed by Bank Apr 7, 2021


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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to ADB's documents, this project will finance improvement of the 209.3 kilometers Dhaka-Sylhet section of the existing National Highway No. 2 from a two-lane road into four lanes, with slow-moving vehicular traffic lanes on both sides. By connecting to the borders with India via the Sylhet-Tamabil section, the project will improve the connectivity of the Dhaka-Sylhet-Tamabil international corridor. The investment project will also improve the geometric design of the existing alignment at major control points such as sharp curves and commercial and residential centers, in line with best engineering practices. This will contribute to increased efficiency, connectivity, and safety, bringing the design of the corridor to an internationally comparable level. The design of the road will have enhanced features for safety, elderly, women, children, and differently-abled (EWCD) inclusion, and disaster and climate change resilience to ensure sustainability, accessibility, and undisrupted connectivity. The project will also assist the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) in strengthening its capacity for road safety and post-construction maintenance, through the attached transaction technical assistance funded by the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (subject to the approval of the Government of Japan) and the ADB's Technical Assistance Special Fund.

The rationale for this project emerges from the government's Eighth Five Year Plan (2020-2025) sets targets for the construction of 550 km of new multi-lane roads, the addition of 150 km of new lanes, improvement or rehabilitation of 1,800 km of the National Highways, as well as achieving 10% reduction in road traffic accidents by 2025. For achieving these targets, the Plan prioritizes core transformational road projects requiring large investments and emphasizes stronger implementation capacity of the RHD for completing these projects timely. The project will be focusing on achieving these targets. 

Transport infrastructure is also the centerpiece of the ADB-supported SASEC program, which promotes regional prosperity. The SASEC Operational Plan, 2016 -2025 identified 112 priority regional cooperation and integration transport projects worth about $58.9 billion. It includes the widening of the NH2 of which the proposed SASEC Dhaka -Sylhet Corridor Road Investment Project is a major part.

CONSULTATION SERVICES

  • For consultancies financed by ADB, all consultants will be recruited according to ADB Procurement Policy (2017, as amended from time to time) and ADB Procurement Regulations for ADB Borrowers (2017, as amended from time to time).
  • For procurement of goods, works and consulting services to be financed by ADB, ADB Procurement Policy (2017, as amended from time to time) and Procurement Regulations for ADB Borrowers (2017, amended from time to time) shall apply. ADD's standards bidding documents with pre- or post-qualification will be adopted with appropriate modifications.

ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIAL ASPECTS

  • With regards to environment aspects, the investment project is categorized as B as per ADB''s Safeguard Policy Statement (SPS) 2009. The initial environmental examination (IEE), prepared for the entire project road in compliance with ADB''s SPS and satisfying the Government's Environmental Conservation Rules 1997, concluded that most of the potential significant impacts such as large volumes of construction materials, transportation, storage and handling, increase in air pollutants, noise and vibration levels, management of construction and demolition waste, siltation of waterways, and traffic obstruction near active construction sites are reversible, largely limited to construction period, mostly localized, and short-term in nature. The entire alignment is not passing through or located proximate to any protected/eco-sensitive area. Diversion of forest land is minimal and limited to a single location. Cutting of trees and loss of agricultural land and physical assets will be compensated in accordance with ADB's SPS and the national requirements. Additional plantations are proposed on top of regulatory requirement to enhance the micro-climate and serve as carbon sink.
  • With regards to involuntary resettlement, investment project is categorized as A as per ADB''s SPS. A draft resettlement plan is prepared for the entire Dhaka-Tamabil section excluding the 11.5km section to be funded by the Exim Bank of India based on draft design of the alignment. The resettlement plan is based on the preliminary design. A total of 582.51 hectares of private land will need to be acquired. Total of 9,286 households/unit/entities (55,454 affected persons) will be affected due to the project implementation, which are disaggregated into 8,905 households, 302 common property resources, 56 government offices, 21 RHD owned structures and 2 NGO/Association structures. The total 7,355 households/unit/entities will require physical displacement, of which 4,679 are titleholders, 2,060 are non-title holders, and 276 are common property resources and other government and non-government offices. A total 10 stakeholder consultation meetings and 61 focus groups discussion were conducted between October 2019 and February 2020. Stakeholder engagement will continue throughout the land acquisition process.
  • With regards to indigenous peoples, the investment project is categorized as C as per ADB''s SPS. It does not affect tribal lands, and the survey confirmed that no indigenous communities, as defined under the ADB SPS, is affected.

-10 stakeholder consultation meetings and 61 focus groups discussion were conducted between October 2019 and February 2020. Stakeholder engagement will continue throughout the land acquisition process.

 

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.
Responsible ADB Officer Sakaguchi, Satomi
Responsible ADB Department South Asia Department
Responsible ADB Division Transport and Communications Division, SARD
Executing Agencies
Roads and Highways Department
Sarak Bhaban
Tejgaon, Dhaka-1208
Bangladesh

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.adb.org/forms/request-information-form

ADB has a two-stage appeals process for requesters who believe that ADB has denied their request for information in violation of its Access to Information Policy. You can learn more about filing an appeal at: https://www.adb.org/site/disclosure/appeals

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF ADB

The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an Asian Development Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Accountability Mechanism, they may investigate to assess whether the Asian Development Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can learn more about the Accountability Mechanism and how to file a complaint at: http://www.adb.org/site/accountability-mechanism/main.

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