To improve the reliability and capacity of power transmission network in Southern Chattogram and Kaliakoir region of Bangladesh.
The project comprises the construction of around 180.43 kilometers (km) 132/230kV transmission line, four gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) substations, and two bay extensions in Southern Chattogram region (i.e., Anwara, Cox’s Bazar, Teknaf) of Chattogram division, and Kaliakoir region (Bangabandhu Hi-Tech City (BHTC)) in Gazipur district of Dhaka division. The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) has undertaken this project to develop grid interfacing infrastructure to ensure efficient and uninterrupted power transmission in the project areas. Project activities include:
Applicable Environmental and Social Policy. AIIB’s Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) 2019 and Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), including its Environmental and Social Standards (ESSs) and Environmental and Social Exclusion List (ESEL), apply to this project. ESS1 (Environmental and Social Assessment and Management) and ESS2 (Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement) apply to this project, while ESS3 (Indigenous Peoples) is not applicable.
Categorization and Instruments. The project has been classified as category A, in accordance with the ESF and ESP, because of anticipated environmental and social (ES) risks and impacts due to project locations. The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and the Resettlement Plan (RP) have been prepared. In addition, a Labor Management Procedures (LMP), a Stakeholders Engagement Plan (SEP), and a Gender-based Violence (GBV) prevention plan is prepared as part of ESIA.
Environmental Aspect. The ESIA has identified the potential environmental risks and impacts of the project’s construction phase, including soil erosion; dust emissions caused by the operation of machinery and running vehicles on earthen tracks along the access routes; gaseous emissions from construction vehicles, machinery, and generators; release of waste effluents and solid wastes from construction areas and camps causing soil and water contamination; loss of natural vegetation and trees in the right of way; and occupational health and safety (OHS) hazards for the construction staff and other project site personnel. During the ESIA, all possible measures were undertaken by PGCB to avoid any impacts on the biodiversity along the right of way. Accordingly, the project route from Anwara substation to Cox’s Bazar (North) substation was realigned from the Concept stage to avoid part of the proposed overhead transmission line passing through Chunati wildlife sanctuary. The Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) delineates mitigation measures for these identified ES risks and impacts, and as part of ESMP, the contractor will develop a biodiversity management plan (BMP) during the implementation phase before starting the relevant part of transmission line construction. The ESMP includes the reporting mechanisms for the responsible agencies and the monitoring plans during the implementation phase.
Social and Gender Aspect. The project requires approximately 73 acres of land – about 40 acres for four substations and about 33 acres for transmission tower footings. For the substation lands, 35 acres will be acquired from owners of private agricultural land, resulting in the permanent economic displacement of 233 households, and BHTC will provide the remaining 5 acres. For the transmission tower footing, compensation is required to be paid to 33 acres of landowners affected by the tower footprint. For this purpose, an RP has been prepared based on surveys, social assessments, and consultations with project-affected households. The entitlement matrix in the RP summarizes the main types of losses and the corresponding entitlements following the legal framework of GoB (Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act of 2017) and AIIB’s ESS2. An RP implementing consultant will be engaged by PGCB during the implementation period. In addition to this, the influx of construction workers poses inherent risks related to gender dynamics, potentially giving rise to issues such as GBV, sex exploitation (SE) and sexual harassment (SH), therefore, it is imperative to implement a detailed GBV prevention plan by the Project that will serve as a guiding framework throughout project implementation.
Stakeholder Engagement, Consultation, and Information Disclosure. Public consultations have been carried out with project-affected households and key project stakeholders and will be continued during project implementation. A SEP has been prepared to provide for consultations with stakeholders during the entire project cycle, procedures for disclosing information about the project, mechanisms for addressing and responding to grievances, and reporting back to the stakeholders. The final ESIA and RP, along with executive summaries, in English are disclosed on the project implementing entity’s and AIIB’s website. Prior to the consideration of the financing, executive summaries of the ESIA and RP in Bengali language will also be disclosed by PGCB in an appropriate manner as well as on the bank website.
Project Grievance Redress Mechanism. A multi-tier Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) will be constituted for the project before the start of construction activities in line with the prescriptions of the Project-affected People’s Mechanism (PPM) Policy of the Bank, building on the existing complaint mechanisms of PGCB. In addition to the above GRM for addressing complaints from the local community, a commensurate mechanism will be made available at the contractor level for project workers' grievances. The information of established GRMs and the Bank’s Project-affected People’s Mechanism (PPM) both in English and Bengali will be timely disclosed in an appropriate manner.
Monitoring and Reporting Arrangement. The project’s ES issues, including ESMP implementation, will be monitored by PGCB with assistance from an external ES monitoring consultant. PGCB will prepare semi-annual ES monitoring reports per the agreed format and submit the reports to AIIB at regular intervals. Also, AIIB will supervise the project's ES aspects with support from local ES consultants and conduct onsite supervision missions regularly.
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Raqib Ahmed Chowdhury
Investment Officer
People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Mirana Mahrukh
Additional Secretary & Wing Chief (Asia), Economic Relations Division, GoB
Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB)
AKM Gause Mohiuddin Ahmed
Managing Director, PGCB
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