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 has 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 an Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) detailing the required actions to be undertaken to fill the gaps identified; b) an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP). Contractors of ongoing subprojects will be requested to provide a letter of commitment to integrate appropriate ES conditions into their existing contracts and to implement the ESMP accordingly. For subprojects expected to be completed before the ESMP is finalized, the ESAP will be incorporated into the civil works contracts; and c) a Resettlement Plan (RP) outlining principles and guidance on the identification and management of resettlement impacts during Project implementation.

Environmental Aspect. The Project is expected to have environmental benefits from increased traffic safety to communities in selected regions through the enhanced safety, quality, environmental sustainability, and disaster resilience of transport infrastructure. The anticipated adverse environmental impacts are likely to occur during the construction stage and may include soil erosion from civil works, loss of surface vegetation, dust, noise, waste disposal, disturbance to communities and wildlife, traffic disturbance during construction, and road and traffic safety during operation. The ESDD identified that 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. Further assessment of the Project’s direct and indirect impacts on biodiversity will be carried out when undertaking the ESIA, and necessary mitigation measures will be undertaken to minimize the risks and adverse impacts.

Social, Health and Safety Aspect. The Project is not expected to involve any large-scale land acquisition. Project related reconstruction and rehabilitation works will broadly take place within the existing footprints and the right of way. Nevertheless, for the rehabilitation of the Antakya-Samandağ Road, an economic displacement of 915 m² is required for the land belonging to thirteen title holders. Regarding the Tohma Bridge, land for a temporary campsite including a two-storey house structure, has been rented from a private landowner. The landowner also engages in animal husbandry and dairy farming on the remaining parcel of land. The ESIA will address the risks related to temporary land acquisition along with the RP, which will include appropriate compensation measures for land leasing and land reclamation. There are five worker campsites for the ongoing construction activities, which comply with national and international standards based on the ESDD findings.

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). The Project will involve typical civil works related to occupational health and safety (OHS) risks such as collision with moving machinery and vehicle, hazards associated with use of hazardous chemicals, electric shock, mechanical and load handling hazards, exposure to noise, dust, and vapors. The ESMP will include requirements to mitigate potential health, safety, social and environmental hazards in all Project activities that pose a risk to employees and may also have the potential for disruption of site works.

Stakeholder Engagement. During ESDD preparation, stakeholder engagement activities were conducted with the Mukhtars (village heads) and business owners. The primary concerns raised included issues related to dust, noise, vibration, community health and safety, as well as traffic management. These concerns will be addressed by integrating appropriate mitigation measures to enhance the effectiveness of the Project's ES safeguards. The ESIA will include a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) that assesses the findings of the sessions carried out so far and will outline future consultation and communication plans with various stakeholders.

Gender Aspects. In the aftermath of disasters, damaged road networks can exacerbate gender inequality. By repairing and rehabilitating transport routes and enhancing ease of travel, the Project will have a disproportionate benefit for women’s mobility, improving their access to markets, employment, education, and health services. Following disasters, women also may be more likely to experience gender-based and sexual violence, a higher burden of care and unpaid labor, and disproportionate losses of economic and educational opportunities. The Project will address these risks through the assessment of AIIB-supported components on women within the community, ensuring non-discriminating, equitable wage payment practices for construction work, measures to safeguard the safety and health of female workers, and the implementation of a gender-based violence (GBV) prevention plan as part of the ESIA.

Information Disclosure and Monitoring Arrangement. Under the phased approach, the ESDD report in English and its summary in Turkish, including the ESAP, will be disclosed by the Client and the Bank at least 30 calendar days before the Bank’s approval of the Project. The other ES instruments, including ESIA with ESMP and RP, are currently under preparation and are expected to be disclosed in June 2024 before the Project makes its first disbursement. 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, are being evaluated as part of the ESDD. Depending 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 will be established or improved 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) will be disclosed in an appropriate manner before Project approval.