Türkiye: Türkiye Emergency Road Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Project

OBJECTIVE

To restore connectivity and enable safe and efficient movements of goods and people by rehabilitating essential transportation infrastructure located in the earthquake affected areas of Türkiye.

DESCRIPTION

The Project will rehabilitate and reconstruct roads, tunnels, and bridges damaged by the February 2023 earthquakes that occurred in the southeast of Türkiye. The project activities will be implemented through five (5) subprojects which will entail rehabilitation and enhancement of transportation infrastructure to meet required safety and capacity standards, as well as integration of climate-resilient measures to mitigate and withstand the impacts of seismic events in the future.

The Project will be prepared and implemented by the General Directorate of Highways (Karayolları Genel Müdürlüğü, referred to as “KGM”) under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure to ensure efficient execution and compliance with national regulations and AIIB policies. The subprojects are located within the jurisdictions of the KGM Regional Directorates 5 (Mersin) and 8 (Elazig).

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL INFORMATION

Applicable Policy and Categorization: The Bank’s Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), including the Environmental and Social Standards (ESSs) and the Environmental and Social Exclusion List (ESEL), will be applicable to this Project. As per the Bank’s ESP, the Project is classified as Category B, considering most of the environmental and social (ES) risks and impacts from reconstruction and rehabilitation works are temporary, short-term, limited, site-specific, reversible, and can be effectively mitigated with known measures and sound management practices. ESS1 – Environmental and Social Assessment and Management and ESS2 – Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement are applicable. ESS3 – Indigenous Peoples is not applicable in Türkiye since Indigenous Peoples are not present in the country.

Environmental and Social Instruments. In line with Section VI, E, Item 53 of ESP, the use of a phased approach for ES assessment is adopted for this Project given the urgent need of assistance because of the earthquakes. KGM hired ES consultants to carry out the Environmental and Social Impacts Assessment (ESIA) for the Project, including a) an Environmental and Social Due Diligence (ESDD) on the subprojects under construction, which contains Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) for each subproject detailing the required actions to fill the gaps identified and rectify any critical safety concerns and/or legacy issues; b) Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) for each subproject to be integrated into the respective civil works contract; c) a Resettlement Plan (RP) outlining principles and guidance on the identification and management of resettlement impacts during Project implementation; d) a Gender Action Plan (GAP) including specific gender considerations to be taken into account during the Project implementation and monitoring indicators; e) a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) defining a program for stakeholder engagement, including Project-specific grievance redress mechanism (GRM), public information and consultations throughout the Project cycle.

Environmental Aspect. The project is expected to bring environmental benefits by improving traffic safety in targeted regions through enhanced infrastructure that is safer, more sustainable, and resilient to disasters. Potential adverse environmental effects are not expected to be significant, and may include soil erosion, loss of surface vegetation, dust, noise, waste disposal, communities and wildlife disturbance, and traffic disruptions during construction, along with road and traffic safety issues during operation.

The ESIA carried out a comprehensive survey of the biological environmental baseline and assessment of the Project’s potential impacts to habitats and species. Although some of the roads intersect with or are situated adjacent to areas with important biodiversity value, given the existing nature and surrounding urbanization, the impact of rehabilitation works in these areas is not expected to be significant. Precautionary mitigation and monitoring measures are proposed in the ESMPs to avoid or minimize disturbance. The ESDD did not identify any legacy environmental issues, but areas for improvement include the provision of sufficient temporary waste storage area, prevention of oil spills during maintenance works, remediation of unsafe site conditions, additional training needs, and timely obtainment of required environmental permits, which are proposed as corrective actions in the ESAP.

Social Aspect. The ESDD did not identify any social legacy issues. Aspects for improvement identified and included as corrective actions in the ESAP comprise the establishment of project-specific Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM), appointing a stakeholder engagement and project-specific GRM expert, preparation and use of the Chance Find Procedure for cultural management and additional training requirements. The social impacts, such as land use, cultural heritage, community and occupational health and safety, labor and working conditions, affected stakeholders and livelihoods, are addressed in ESMPs for each sub-project. An economic displacement of 915 m² is required for the land belonging to 12 title holders for the rehabilitation of the Antakya-Samandağ Road (P3). For Tohma Bridge within subproject P5, land for a temporary campsite including a 2-storey house structure has been rented from a private landowner. The RP outlining principles and providing guidance regarding identification and management of resettlement impacts during Project implementation is under review and will be disclosed by KGM prior to disbursement.

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). The Project will present typical civil works related to OHS risks such as collisions with moving machinery and vehicles, hazards from handling chemicals, electric shock, mechanical and load handling risks, exposure to noise, dust, and vapors. The ESMPs address these risks with measures to protect health and safety, and incorporate guidelines on environmental and social aspects, including GRM, gender equality and anti-discrimination measures, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse/Sexual Harassment (SEA/SH) prevention, labor rights, and freedom of association, ensuring all Project activities minimize disruptions and safeguard workers.

Stakeholder Engagement. Stakeholder engagement was conducted through public consultation, focusing on various groups, including women and vulnerable populations, to inform the preparation of the ES instruments.  These consultations will continue throughout the Project cycle. During the ESDD preparation, meetings with the Mukhtars (village heads) and business owners highlighted concerns such as dust, noise, vibration, community health and safety, and traffic management. These concerns have been addressed by integrating appropriate mitigation measures into the ESMPs. The SEP includes provisions for overall management and coordination, disclosure, and meaningful consultations during SEP implementation.

Gender Aspects. According to the ESDD evaluations, the Project does not cause discriminatory or negative gender impacts and does not include conditions that could lead to gender inequality. A GAP has been developed to operationalize recommendations on gender equality, manage risks, and promote gender opportunities, drivers of change, and positive gender dynamics throughout the Project’s life cycle, in accordance with national legislation and AIIB's ESF. The GAP addresses issues related to gender-based violence, gender inclusion, and ensures the implementation of a gender-sensitive GRM during the Project activities.

Information Disclosure and Monitoring Arrangement. Under the phased approach, the draft ESDD in English and its summary in Turkish, including the ESAP, was disclosed by KGM on April 5, 2024 (Link) (Link); and disclosed on AIIB’s website on April 10, 2024 (Link) (Link). The final ESDD with ESAP, ESIA, ESMPs, SEP and GAP were disclosed by KGM in July or August 2024. One environmental and one social specialist have been assigned to the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) and to each Regional Implementation Unit (RIU). As part of their responsibilities, they will monitor the ESAP and ESMP implementation across all subprojects and provide semi-annual ES monitoring reports to the Bank based on agreed format, and the Bank will carry out field-based ES supervision during implementation.

Project Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM). The existing KGM’s GRM and site-level GRMs for Project-affected People (PAP) and workers involved in the subprojects under construction, have been evaluated as part of the ESDD. Based on the assessment result, Project-level and subproject-level GRMs for receiving and facilitating resolution of the concerns or complaints from the local community or the workers are described in the SEP and ESMPs to comply with AIIB's ESP requirements. The Project-level GRM and subproject-level GRM for subprojects under construction including the information of Bank’s Project-affected People’s Mechanism (PPM) have been disclosed in an appropriate manner in August 2024.