BBIN Regional Transport and Trade Facilitation Program - Nepal Phase 1 (WB-P177902)

Regions
  • South Asia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Nepal
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • World Bank (WB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
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
Apr 25, 2022
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
Ministry of Finance
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Industry and Trade
  • Transport
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Potential Rights Impacts
  • Housing & Property
  • Indigenous Peoples
  • Labor & Livelihood
Only for projects receiving a detailed analysis, a broad category of human and environmental rights and frequently at-risk populations.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 260.00 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.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 305.00 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 @ WB website

Updated in EWS May 9, 2022

Disclosed by Bank Feb 15, 2022


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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 World Bank documents, the objective of the proposed investment is to "develop efficient and resilient trade and transport along selected corridors in Nepal".

The Government of Nepal is preparing the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Multi-phase Programmatic Approach (MPA) Regional Transport and Trade Facilitation Program for World Bank financing, which is to be implemented in phases. The BBIN Nepal Phase 1 Project (the Project) is the first phase of the Program to support The main objective of the Project is to develop efficient and resilient trade and transport along selected regional corridors in the BBIN countries. The Project has three components:

• Component 1: Digital Systems for trade. This component may support the adoption and Implementation of Digital and Automated Systems for improvement of Nepal’s cross-border clearances: (a) Development of electronic Automated Border Management including electronic cargo tracking system, (b) Business Intelligence and Data Analytics Package and Risk Engine (c) Development of web-based supply MIS for automation of registration processes and permits.

  • Component 2: Green and Resilient Transport and Trade Infrastructure. This component will support (a)Upgrading of Butwal-Gorusinghe Road section and Gorusinghe-Chanauta Road section of East-West Highway from 2 to 4 lanes, (b) Construction of a green resilient urban bridge (including detailed design/urban design and construction), and (c) Support for development and implementation of green resilient highway concept, integrating transportation functionality and ecological sustainability.

  • Component 3: This component will provide support in streamlining the policy environment for regional trade and cross-border movement of goods through (a) Bangladesh-India-Nepal Motor Vehicle Agreement related reforms, (b) Customs reforms, (c) Private sector support initiatives, (d) Capacity Strengthening, and (e) Project preparation studies.

  • Component 4: Contingency Emergency Response will support unforeseen emergency needs. In case of a major natural or human made disaster, GoN may request the Bank to re-allocate project funds to this component to support its quick response and reconstruction.

The project will finance the first 70 km (Butwal – Gorusinghe-Chanauta) of a phased construction of the 438 km western section (Butwal to Gaddachowki) of the East-West Highway, a key corridor for Nepal’s connectivity and trade with India and other countries. This road section is 50 km in length and located in the Terai region of Lumbini province. Butwal - Gorusinghe Road Section of the East-West Highway starts from the Tinau Bridge at Butwal of Rupandehi district and passes through Butwal sub-metro-Politian city, Sinamaina Municipality, Kanchan Rural Municipality, Banganga Municipality and Buddhabhumi Municipality and ends at Gorusinghe of Kapilbastu district. Themajor settlements along the road include, Batauli bazar, MainaBagar,Nayagaun, Belbas, Nayabasti, Bankatahawa, Murgiya, Rampur. Basgadi, Saljhandi, Fireland, Pipra, Badgaun, Jitpur and Gorusinghe Bazar. The project area lies between 27°42’14.80”N Latitude and 83° 27’36.87”E Longitude at Butwal to 27°39’18.85”N Latitude and 83° 0’2.79”E longitude at Gorusinghe.

ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIAL RISKS

The environmental and social risks and impacts are rated Substantial. The upgrading works on the BGC road section, and green, resilient urban bridge construction will have the following environmental impacts: (i) degradation of the remaining forests resulting from tree clearance within the RoW; (ii) increase in road kills and traffic congestion; (iii) increase in air and noise pollution; (iv) degradation of river ecosystems from quarrying and bridge construction; and (v) potential increase in wildlife poaching. Based on the Environmental and Social 

Impact Assessment (ESIA), BG road will require the clearing of 28 hectares of forest areas within the RoW, which are dominated by community forests that are already disturbed and degraded. A critical habitat assessment carried out as part of the BG Road ESIA revealed three faunal species that qualify as critical habitats. However, it was assessed that these species are not common in the project area and the impacts are expected to be low. Mitigation measures, such as appropriate fencing and safe underpass crossing, are included in the ESMP. The potential social impacts along the BG Road RoW are largely economic displacement, involving patches of agricultural land, pedestrian sheds, movable table-top businesses (e.g., fruit and vegetable vendors, tea shops), and religious structures. The detailed design and location of the green resilient urban bridge have not yet been determined, thus there is only limited information available to determine the scale and impact of land acquisition and resettlement related to those investments. However, the construction of such infrastructure would occasion additional land-take and displacement that DoR and relevant municipalities have assessed, costed and are willing to manage. Other social concerns include: (i) concerns on workers and community health and safety during construction and operation; (ii) labor influx in local environments with its impacts on SEA/SH; and (iii) potential exposure of workers and communities to communicable diseases such as COVID-19.

Investment Description
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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.

Jan Erik Nora,

Senior Operations Officer

Telephone: 458-4735

Email ID: enora@worldbank.org

Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies Narayan Regmi
Joint Secretary
narayanbajura@gmail.com

Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Ram Hari Pokharel
Deputy Director
pokharelrh@gmail.com

Ministry of Forests and Environment Pem Narayan Kandel
Secretary
secretary@mofe.gov.np

Borrrower:

Ministry of Finance

Ishwori Prasad Aryal,

Joint Secretary

mof@gov.np

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

To submit an information request for project information, you will have to create an account to access the Access to Information request form. You can learn more about this process at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/access-to-information/request-submission

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF THE WORLD BANK

The World Bank Inspection Panel is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by a World Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Inspection Panel, they may investigate to assess whether the World Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can contact the Inspection Panel or submit a complaint by emailing ipanel@worldbank.org. Information on how to file a complaint and a complaint request form are available at: https://www.inspectionpanel.org/how-to-file-complaint

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