The World Bank Building Resilient Bridges Project (P174595) Project Information Document (PID) Appraisal Stage | Date Prepared/Updated: 31-Oct-2022 | Report No: PIDA33807 Apr 21, 2022 Page 1 of 17 The World Bank Building Resilient Bridges Project (P174595) BASIC INFORMATION OPS_TABLE_BASIC_DATA A. Basic Project Data Country Project ID Project Name Parent Project ID (if any) Albania P174595 Building Resilient Bridges Region Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Practice Area (Lead) EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA 15-Nov-2022 21-Mar-2023 Transport Financing Instrument Borrower(s) Implementing Agency Investment Project Financing Republic of Albania Albanian Road Agency Proposed Development Objective(s) To enhance operational performance and resilience to climate change and natural hazards of Albania’s critical bridge infrastructure. Components Component 1: Bridge Infrastructure Component 2: Institutional Capacity Building Component 3: Project Management PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions) SUMMARY -NewFin1 Total Project Cost 55.00 Total Financing 55.00 of which IBRD/IDA 55.00 Financing Gap 0.00 DETAILS -NewFinEnh1 World Bank Group Financing International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) 55.00 Environmental and Social Risk Classification Substantial Apr 21, 2022 Page 2 of 17 The World Bank Building Resilient Bridges Project (P174595) Decision The review did authorize the team to appraise and negotiate Other Decision (as needed) B. Introduction and Context Country Context 1. Albania’s economy has experienced a rapid but turbulent growth. Albania’s per capita GDP rose from less than 16 percent of the average of western European economies in 1990 to 25 percent in 2010, and the country achieved upper-middle-income status in 2009 (after being the poorest country in Europe from 1945 to 1989). Since 2015 Albania has stabilized its macro-fiscal situation and improved GDP growth. Structural reforms in some areas have also moved forward, including in justice, energy, and territorial administration1. 2. Realizing the drawbacks of depending heavily on agriculture, coupled with its historic ties to Europe’s under-performing economies2, the Government of Albania (GoA) has made the diversification of its economy a national priority. Since 2013, Albania, with a traditionally agriculture-based economy, has aimed at shifting to a production-based economy, supported by private investment, consumption and tourism. Private investments were mostly linked to two large foreign direct investments in energy projects (the Trans Adriatic gas pipeline and the Devoll hydropower plant), while consumption was supported by job creation and easing of access to loans. 3. After officially becoming a candidate for EU accession in June 2014, the GoA continued to pursue long- neglected structural reforms, centered around key priority areas for advancing toward accession. Over the past years, the government implemented a range of reforms including improvements in public administration, legal and institutional framework, fiscal governance, and doing business. Tangible results include major streamlining of public services to improve the interaction between citizens and institutions to reduce opportunities for rent- seeking3. As per the Doing Business 2020 Report4, Albania ranks 82nd out of 190 countries, 19 positions down from the position as 63rd in 20195, following significant improvements since 2014 when it ranked 108th. In March 2020, Albania was given the green light to opening formal negotiations for accession to EU membership and in July 2020 the draft negotiating framework was presented to the Member States. 1 Albania Systematic Country Diagnostic, 2019 Update. World Bank Report No: 147451-AL https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/33735?show=full&locale-attribute=es 2 Greece and Italy are the two main economies where Albanian diaspora are concentrated. Also, these two countries have presence of investments in the financial sector and other sectors. 3 Country partnership Framework for the Republic of Albania, for the period FY22-FY26. Concept Note February 2022. 4 Doing Business 2020 report, World bank Group https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/688761571934946384/pdf/Doing-Business-2020- Comparing-Business-Regulation-in-190-Economies.pdf 5 Doing Business Report 2019, Training for Reform. World Bank Group. https://www.doingbusiness.org/content/dam/doingBusiness/media/Annual- Reports/English/DB2019-report_web-version.pdf Apr 21, 2022 Page 3 of 17 The World Bank Building Resilient Bridges Project (P174595) 4. The three recent major shocks - the devastating 2019 earthquake6, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the flash floods of 2020 - affected the economy but recovery is expected following a partial rebound. Growth has rebounded by 8.7 percent in 2021, after the pandemic hit the Albanian economy hard. GDP in 2020 fell by 4 percent. Based on the aggregate demand, as per current estimations, economic growth in 2021 seems to have come mainly from domestic demand, from both private consumption and investments. Meanwhile, net external demand had a more moderate net effect. Exports of goods and services (especially tourism), developed well, but also imports have recorded a strong growth (a reflection of aggregate demand growth, especially for investment goods), and as result the net contribution of external demand was positive, but significantly more moderate than the domestic demand7. 5. Albania is vulnerable to climate change and several types of natural hazards including floods, earthquakes, droughts, storms, and landslides. The International Disaster Database (EM-DAT) shows that, during 1979-2019, floods accounted for the major share of disaster events (38%), followed by earthquakes (15%). According to the annual World Risk Report (BEH-IFHV, 2021), which calculated the Disaster Risk Index due to earthquakes, cyclones, floods, droughts and sea-level rise for 181 countries in the world based on exposure and vulnerability (susceptibility, and coping and adaptive capacities), Albania has a high-risk index and ranks 1st in Europe and 61st in the world. Floods currently cause annual average damages of US$50 million and GDP impact of US$200 million affecting about 50,000 people on average. While average precipitation is expected to decrease, the frequency and magnitude of such extreme events is expected to rise. Earthquakes and floods alone are expected to cause damages of US$147 million per year, according to the AIR Worldwide catastrophe risk model for Albania. Damages following a catastrophic earthquake could exceed US$2 billion (or about 13 percent of GDP), and there is a 1 percent chance of an earthquake of that magnitude to happen in Albania each year. Albania is the most affected country in ECA for climate vulnerability: an estimated US$17.6 billion worth of the country’s commercial, industrial, and agricultural assets are at risk of floods and earthquakes. Sectoral and Institutional Context 6. The Transport sector is expected to play a pivotal role in supporting the upcoming Albanian National Strategy for Development and Integration 2021-2030 (NSDI 2030). The development and modernization of Albania’s transport infrastructure has been and remains one of the top priorities of the GoA, with the aim to: i) create the preconditions for the development of other sectors of the economy, ii) increase the accessibility of freight and passengers in trade and service delivery, and iii) significantly contribute to an inclusive economic growth and a balanced development of the territory. Another priority is to accelerate the integration of Albania’s transport system internally and with the EU Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) through the establishment of a resilient and integrated multimodal transport system by land (road and rail). However, despite the significant efforts in recent years, developing the transport sector still faces challenges, including the timely and adequate provision of funding for the priority investment programs, and the annual maintenance requirements remains problematic. 7. Roads and highways are the predominant mode of land transport in Albania and provide essential connectivity for freight and passenger transport. The overall length of Albania’s road network is about 18,300 km, including 3,945 km of national road network (NRN) and 14,355 km of regional, local, and private access roads. 6 Albania Post-Disaster Needs Assessment. Volume A Report. Tirana, February. Source link: https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/albania-post- disaster-needs-assessment-volume-report-february-2020 7 Macroeconomic and Fiscal Framework 2023-2025, Ministry of Finance and Economy, January 2022. Apr 21, 2022 Page 4 of 17 The World Bank Building Resilient Bridges Project (P174595) Roads are of critical importance to a well-functioning society. Transportation plays a crucial role in building climate resilient communities, and conversely, unreliable road connectivity will negatively impact the economic growth of a country. In Albania, natural hazards such as floods pose a great risk to roads and the road users. 8. The Albanian Road Authority (ARA) under the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy (MoIE) is the main asset manager of the national road network with the road transport and regulatory functions staying with the MoIE. ARA was created in 2000 as a separate institution from the MoIE, and after the approval of the law nr. 10164, in October 2009, became an authority with more autonomy to plan, budget, maintain and expand the road assets, through five departments in the central structure (HQ) and three regional directorates in the North, Center, and South of Albania. The government oversees the performance of ARA through the board of directors chaired by a representative of MoIE, and including members from the MoFE, Ministry of Interior, Chamber of Commerce, and construction/consultant industry. The mandate of the Board is to approve financial management and planning/budgeting activities of ARA, and also required changes of ARA’s structure and internal regulations. 9. The World Bank-financed Results-based Road Maintenance Project (RRMSP) increased the maintenance budget for the national road network (NRN) and created a new maintenance system based on output and performance-based contracts. The RRMSP implemented from 2015-2022 contributed to (i) roll over the output and performance-based maintenance contracts in the primary road network (the core of the NRN), (ii) improve the capacity of GoA to enhance road safety, and (iii) move one first step more towards adopting a RAMS: piloting the system and raising awareness of its potential, which included, among others, the provision of the main hardware equipment and basic modules, for setting up the database, and performing pavement condition for a reduced number of road sections (100 km) for trialing the platform and equipment. Although the ongoing RRMSP helped boost the road maintenance expenditures during the project implementation, the sustainability of road maintenance financing beyond the project closure should be closely monitored by MoIE and MoFE. 10. Road safety remains a major social and public health issue in Albania. Although the number of road can has dropped in recent years, Albania still compares unfavorably with EU countries which have set the target to reducing fatalities and injuries by 50% until 2030. The GoA has increased its attention to road safety reforms, including campaigns toward public awareness, institutionalizing Crash Database, and enhancing cooperation between the MoIE, the Ministry of Interior, and beyond, i.e.: traffic police, ARA, civil emergencies, health institutions, and local government units. As of today, the GoA has adopted a mandatory road safety inspection/audit for all new road investments. The World Bank-financed RRMSP is strengthening the capacity of the Inter-Ministerial Road Safety Council by providing training in road safety audit and accreditation courses for auditors, supporting media campaigns, and enhancing the Crash Information System (CIS). The update of the road safety strategy and action plan are expected to advance with further improvements until 2030. 11. The construction sector remains heavily male-dominated across the world, including in Albania. In 2020 only 0.6 percent of all employed women in Albania were engaged in the construction sector compared to 12.2 percent for men8. Besides the lack of women in the sector in absolute terms, there is a pronounced division throughout the sector between the types of occupations carried out by women and men. Women tend to work mainly in administration whilst men dominate engineering field roles. For example, 63.3 per cent of all plant and machine operators and assemblers9 are men in the country – these are also the roles that exhibit one of the 8 Women and Men in Albania 2021. Institute of Statistics of Albania. http://www.instat.gov.al/media/8713/burra-dhe-gra.pdf 9 The plant and machine operators and assemblers include a wide range of roles that operate and monitor industrial and agricultural machinery and Apr 21, 2022 Page 5 of 17 The World Bank Building Resilient Bridges Project (P174595) highest Gender Pay Gap (GPG) rates at 22.9 per cent against the average 6.6. percent gap calculated for all the sectors of the economy based on the average monthly income of men and women10. Bridge Infrastructure in Albania 12. The construction of bridges and other structures of the Albania National Road Network dates back to 1930 with different design standards. The 3,945 km of national road network (NRN) in Albania include 803 bridges, hundreds of culverts and other related structures (not fully inventoried yet). Over the past nine decades (since 1930), those structures were constructed at different stages of Albania’s road system development based on different bridge and structures design standards (BDS), including Soviet, Italian and Albanian standards. Following the ongoing reforms, the country is gradually aligning its road and structures design and construction (including bridges) standards with the European Eurocodes standards. 13. Several bridges (over 30 bridges11) have reached or Figure 1. Total annual damages expressed as Annual Expected approached the end of their useful life, are at immediate Damages (AED) in €/km per corridor risk of failure, and require major rehabilitation, upgrade or full reconstruction. A survey carried by ARA in 2018 on key backbone corridors and connecting roads on the NRN has shown the worrisome condition of significant number of bridges, and levels of structural deterioration, particularly on the secondary roads. While only a few recently constructed bridges are in reasonably good condition, the rest are in extremely poor condition requiring either major upgrades or full reconstruction. Their design traffic volumes and/or bearing capacity has been reached, requiring widening/dualling and/or structural strengthening to accommodate increased traffic volumes and changing loads induced by the country’s actual and future growth. This because the bridges have already passed their design life span several decades ago and received only limited maintenance during the last decades. The bridge equipment and road safety furniture are either inexistent or deteriorated due to insufficient maintenance, resulting in increased frequency and severity of crashes occurring within and in the vicinity of those bridges. The resilience of existing bridges is also compromised due to the poor condition of erosion protection around abutments and riverbanks, and poor maintenance of the water-way areas. 14. Albania’s bridge infrastructure is highly vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters. The “Climate resilient road assets in Albania� study carried out by the World Bank in 2019 concludes that bridges on the NRN equipment on the spot or by remote control, drive and operate trains, motor vehicles and mobile machinery and equipment, or assemble products from component parts according to strict specifications and procedures. This includes but are not limited to driving and operating trains and motor vehicles. 2019 data. https://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/stat/isco/isco88/8.htm 10 Ibid, Women and Men in Albania 2021 11 Based on ARA’s 2018 inspection survey. Apr 21, 2022 Page 6 of 17 The World Bank Building Resilient Bridges Project (P174595) corridors are among the most vulnerable infrastructure assets in Albania to flood hazards and landslides, and to a lesser extent to earthquakes. In Albania, floods frequently affect the north and southeast of the country, and climate change is expected to result in more intense and frequent rainfall events, exacerbating flood risk. Damage from the 2002 floods exceeded US$23 million, while the 2010 floods on the Drin River resulted in at least US$30 million in damages. Floods pose a significant risk to the transportation and trade network, more than 85% of roads losses are from service interruptions. It is estimated that average annual losses from floods along the two most critical road corridors (Tirana to Durrës and Durrës to Vlore) are as high as US$15 million. Bridges and culverts along the primary road network are estimated to suffer over US$20 million in annual flood losses. Primary roads face €22.5 million annual losses from floods, landslides and earthquakes, while other critical infrastructure is also at risk. Figure 1 highlights these vulnerable road corridors, and the likely costs of road closure should one of these corridors be affected. The map shows the expected yearly repair costs and losses from road disruption due to natural hazards or climate change events’ damages, if no intervention is made. The costs are expressed as Annual Expected Damages (AED) 12 in Euros/km for each of the country’s fifteen primary road corridors (backbone) 13. 15. Recent events, the earthquake in 2019 and the floods of 2020 exhibited the vulnerability of the road and bridge network and the whole economy to natural hazards. The devastating earthquake in November 2019 affected some 1.9 million people (about 66 percent of total population) and the country economy, and also damaged several road infrastructures (embankments and retaining walls due to landslides). According to Albania’s 2019 earthquake Post-Disaster Needs Assessment14 damages from road infrastructure assets accounted for a total of 30.41 million euros and losses for 3.01 million euros15. In addition, the intense rainfalls in November 2020 and January 2021 resulted in floods and landslides, substantial disruption to traffic and damage to the road and bridge infrastructure16 and also have left several parts of the country stranded and vulnerable communities isolated. Those events highlighted the high vulnerability of the Albanian road and bridge assets to natural disasters and climate change (including earthquakes, intense floods and landslides, intense windstorms, extreme temperature, etc.), and their potential heavy impacts on the economy and the populations’ livelihood. 16. The above findings confirm the urgency for interventions to enhance the resilience of Albania’s road and bridge infrastructure to climate change and natural disasters. This requires a detailed risk-based assessment of the physical condition of the existing bridges, adjacent structures (access roads, abutments, retaining walls, gabions, river training measures, etc.) and other structures or protection methods to stabilize the course of the rivers and embankments, and their resilience to the expected higher climate change impacts and natural disasters (rock fall nets, debris flow retention actuations, slope stabilization solutions, etc). 12 Total Annual Expected Damage (AED) from the hazards for the different corridors depends on the repair costs, and / or from economic losses from an interruption of services. The losses from an interruption of services are the result of consequential delays or additional travel time from needed alternative diversions 13 Climate Resilient Road Assets in Albania. Jing Xiong and Xavier Espinet Alegre. The World Bank. February 2019. 14 Albania Post-Disaster Needs Assessment. Volume A Report. Tirana, February. Source link: https://www.preventionweb.net/publication/albania-post-disaster-needs-assessment-volume-report-february-2020 15 Damages are defined as costs to repair or reconstruct the partially or fully destroyed infrastructures or physical assets. Losses are the changes in economic flows, expressed as the value of production of goods and services (income or in-kind losses) as well as changes in the costs of production (such as a decline in production and the higher-than-normal cost of production) as well as unexpected additional costs. 16 According to ARA, over thirty-five bridges and culverts were affected by the flash floods, resulting in erosion of the foundations and abutments as well as water levels dangerously high. Apr 21, 2022 Page 7 of 17 The World Bank Building Resilient Bridges Project (P174595) 17. Climate vulnerability is exacerbated by weak planning and management capacity at regional and local levels, with lack of systems and technical capacity. ARA manages and monitors the bridge and culverts infrastructure on the NRN using a Bridge Management System (BMS) developed in 2010. So far ARA has managed to populate the BMS database with data from 2010 inventory survey, including basic information such as bridges geometrical characteristics, geographical location, construction materials used, equipment, and year of construction. The BMS is expected to include crucial information for proper management such as the detailed conditions of the bridges and protecting structures, past testing and surveys results, and maintenance records. Every year ARA carries out a visual inspection survey of bridges, but such information has never been recorded in the BMS. The BMS is also missing key modules to aid risk management and maintenance planning such as the bridge deterioration module, and links to data from remote sensing of bridge conditions, structural stress, wind speed and water level. 18. The lack of maintenance of bridges resulted in accelerated deterioration of bridge structures, and worsened vulnerability to climate change. The bridge system on the NRN does not receive a dedicated annual budget for routine or periodic maintenance. Instead, ARA carries ad-hoc interventions, dictated by climate or geological events, to implement emergency repairs. This is exacerbated by the lack of modern survey and monitoring tools such as non-destructive testing or remote sensing to detect wear and tear and anticipate needs for maintenance. Due to the maintenance backlog, bridges have experienced accelerated deterioration, requiring costly deep rehabilitation instead of affordable periodic maintenance. C. Proposed Development Objective(s) Development Objective(s) (From PAD) To enhance operational performance and resilience to climate change and natural hazards of Albania’s critical bridge infrastructure. Key Results 22. The achievement of the above PDO for the Phase 1 will be assessed through the following indicators: PDO-Level Result PDO- Level Indicator Improved operational performance of Daily Road Users benefited by the rehabilitated or Albania’s critical bridge infrastructure reconstructed bridges (Number) Number of pedestrians benefited by safer designs from the rehabilitated or reconstructed bridges (Number) Improved resilience to climate change and Bridges and culverts reconstructed following climate resilient natural hazards of Albania’s critical bridge international guidelines (i.e. considering multi-hazard infrastructure disaster and climate change risks) (Number) 19. In the BRB Program context, the term “Operation Performance�, refers to the ability of a bridge to be functional at all times throughout its designed service life, with sufficient levels of safety and comfort for users, Apr 21, 2022 Page 8 of 17 The World Bank Building Resilient Bridges Project (P174595) which implies that it is adequately maintained. Likewise, the term “Resilience�, refers to the ability of a bridge or any of its primary load-carrying components to perform its intended function, , after the occurrence of an extreme natural event or due to the effects of climate change. 20. The main intermediary results under this phase include: (i) Reconstruction or rehabilitation of up to 14 bridges, (ii) Definition of the SLR, (iii) Data collected for Pavement and Bridge Management Systems, (iv) Design of the BMS, (v) Trialing a mid-term budget planning, (vi) Implementation of a female engineer internship pilot program. 21. The enhanced climate resilience, reliability, and safety of the bridges in the NRN will benefit the economy and the nation as a whole. Improved mobility in the NRN due to the rehabilitated and upgraded bridges will encourage more trade and investment in Albania. Also, the current disruption of traffic and isolation of entire regions every year due to extreme weather or earthquakes cause substantial losses to the Albanian economy and encourage rural populations to migrate to cities and abandon the agriculture activities, resulting in severe labor shortage. This is in addition of the total cost incurred by the government and the economy to restore the damaged infrastructure and other damages caused by its collapse. 22. The main project beneficiaries are road users, including users by individual vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians, non-motorized transport, and the road freight operators at the national level. Since the bridge interventions under the project will be in several points of the NRN throughout the country, the improvement in the conditions, safety, and the climate and disaster resilience of bridges in the NRN in Albania will enhance road transport reliability at all times in the country Climate resilient bridges will increase mobility and traffic demand particularly in the areas of the country that are most prone to climate change and natural disasters. The beneficiaries of safer bridges will include a large part of the Albanian population as not only vehicles circulating in the NRN, but also pedestrians and people living in the vicinity of the bridges to be rehabilitated and upgraded. However, direct project beneficiaries have been estimated in 250,000 people. D. Project Description 23. The project consists of the four following components: Component 1: Bridge Infrastructure (estimated cost: US$ 44 million) 24. This component will finance: (i) the rehabilitation or reconstruction of priority bridges and culverts on the NRN, including design studies and supervision of works and equipment for data collection and monitoring; and (ii) road safety and resilience audits; according to the following subcomponents: Subcomponent 1.1 Building of priority bridges and associated structures 25. This subcomponent will finance: (i) The rehabilitation or reconstruction of priority bridges and culverts on the NRN. Rehabilitation includes replacement in-situ of the existing bridges’ deteriorated parts, such as (but not Apr 21, 2022 Page 9 of 17 The World Bank Building Resilient Bridges Project (P174595) limited to) the substructure or superstructure, adjacent protection structures (retaining walls, breakwater, gabions, etc.), other protection measures (rock fall nets, debris flow retention actuations, slope stabilization solutions, etc), and access and exit roads to and from the bridge. Rehabilitation includes the upgrade or retrofit in-situ of the existing bridges to accommodate new operational requirements such as increased road capacity and traffic levels, enhancing road safety, and improving resilience to changes in climate conditions (by increasing headroom and flow capacity) and to natural disasters (earthquakes). Reconstruction is considered in the cases of fully depreciated existent bridges. Construction of new bridges and access and exit lines is envisaged when bridge rehabilitation or in-situ reconstruction is not technically possible, or the dimensions of the bridge would not suffice for the climate adaptation. In all cases, the provision of safe passage for pedestrians and non- motorized vehicles will be considered and can be financed by the subcomponent; (ii) Bridge designs for the rehabilitation, reconstruction or new construction; (iii) Supervision; and (iv) Equipment for data collection and monitoring. 26. The priority bridges and culverts are the ones that will be selected based on the following criteria: i) socio- economic importance due to their location along key economic and trade corridors, or connecting vulnerable populations to public services, jobs and market centers; ii) bridge characteristics and condition of the bridge structure requiring intervention within the next eight years period, until the project closing date (iii) importance of the road where the bridge is located including traffic volumes, (iv) vulnerability to climate and natural hazards; v) redundancy of the road network (existence of alternate routes); and (vi) road safety on bridges and their access roads with priority given to higher risk bridges i.e. the ones with significant number of crash fatalities and injuries. 27. At this stage the project has identified the two first-year bridges. ARA hired a firm with RRMSP funds to carry out the selection of the bridges to be included under the BRB program according to the mentioned criteria. The firm selected and carried out field inspections for 100 bridges and ranked these bridges into a priority list of 30 bridges to be implemented under the BRB Program. 28. In addition, the subcomponent will finance the procurement and installation of essential remote sensors on approximately 100 key bridges on the NRN that will provide regular monitoring data on the condition of bridges, levels of structural stress, wind speed and water level to enable ARA to optimize the preventive and periodic maintenance planning, predict hazards and intervene in a timely manner. Subcomponent 1.2 Climate Resilience and Road Safety. 29. This subcomponent will finance climate vulnerability assessments and climate resilience and road safety studies and audits for the designs of additional bridges to be included under the program. The designs of the 2 first-year bridges have been independently audited (by a third-party consultant) to assure the designs incorporate the standards needed to be resilient to climate change. Also, the designs will be audited for road safety financed by the RRSMP. The climate resilience and road safety audits will be procured and financed by ARA at the same time the designs are being prepared to guarantee that the design firm can include the outcomes of the audits before the detailed designs are finalized. 30. For road safety this subcomponent will finance independent audits at 3 stages during project implementation: (i) for project designs, both at preliminary or conceptual designs (first sketches) and at final detailed designs (for additional selected bridges where the audit is not commissioned by ARA and financed out of the RRSMP); (ii) during project works and at the project completion, and (iii) at 3-6 months in operations. Apr 21, 2022 Page 10 of 17 The World Bank Building Resilient Bridges Project (P174595) Component 2: Institutional Capacity Building (estimated total cost: US$ 7 million) 31. To ensure sustainability of the investments under Component 1, this component will finance: (i) technical assistance activities and training aimed at strengthening the capacity of ARA at managing the bridge and culvert assets, including, aligning the Albanian bridge design codes, construction and maintenance, with those of the EU (Eurocodes) and international practices with specific focus on resilience to climate change and natural disasters, and road safety; (ii) equipment and software to support the upgrade of the bridge management system (BMS) module and of the umbrella Road Asset Management System (RAMS); (iii) the training of ARA’s staff to properly use the RAMS, and BMS as part of it, for future monitoring and for the maintenance planning of assets; (iv) development and implementation of a female internship program by MoIE for students or graduates and employment of women by ARA on regular contracts in order to reduce the gender gap in the construction sector; and (v) technical assistance for defining between MoIE and ARA the Service Level Requirements (SLR) with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to improve budget planning for maintenance. Subcomponent 2.1 Asset Management for more Climate Resilient and Safer Infrastructure. 32. This subcomponent will finance the upgrading of ARA’s RAMS and its BMS module. An initial work was carried out to revise the BMS and propose recommendations and guidelines on how to incorporate climate and disaster resilience measures into all asset’s life cycle and into the BMS. Under the BRB Project these recommendations can be implemented within the BMS and expand it to the RAMS in general. 33. As part of the technical assistance to improve ARA’s capacity to manage road and bridge infrastructure, this subcomponent will finance activities to make ARA compliant with the recently approved law 45/2019 on Civil Protection. This law mandates all ministries in charge of critical infrastructure to establish a disaster loss database (DLD), conduct risk assessment, propose disaster risk reduction strategies, and prepare a civil emergency plan for critical infrastructure. The project in Phase 1 will finance the activities that will help ARA understand better the vulnerabilities and risks of the bridge infrastructure such as the DLD, and conduct risk assessment, so in the Phase 2 ARA can develop the strategies and plans to manage the risks and respond to emergencies. 34. ARA staff will also be trained to collect data, feed, and use the RAMS and BMS software and hardware, including the use of the bridge sensors which feed data to the BMS. In addition, training will be provided for other areas to build capacity within ARA to manage more climate resilient and safer infrastructure, including but not limited to DRM methodical review. As part of the MoIE/ARA commitments to reduce occupational gender segregation in the labor market, ARA will increase the number of women in ARA’s road and bridges management unit (AMU) which manages the RAMS/BMS, hiring women as part of the unit’s permanent staff (at least half of the unit’s staff should be women). 35. In relation to road safety, the program will continue building capacity within ARA to assure that road safety is factored in their road and bridge maintenance and investment programs. Phase 1 will support capacity building within ARA to analyze road crashes, injuries, and fatalities data collected by the Traffic Police and the MoIE, to investigate serious crash sites to identify problems of the bridge and related infrastructure operation, which could have contributed to the crash, and to include this information in the planning and implementation of corrective measures. Both women and men will be provided with relevant capacity building and training support as described in this component 2. Ensuring hiring of at least 50 percent of women in ARA’s technical roles will contribute to addressing gender-based occupational segregation in Albania’s labor market and will diversify Apr 21, 2022 Page 11 of 17 The World Bank Building Resilient Bridges Project (P174595) ARA’s skills set that the MoIE and ARA will need to tap into in order to implement this project. As such, women’s employment is an important activity both to advance gender equality and to ensure suitably qualified team of diverse skills set to deliver the project. 36. This subcomponent will also finance the technical assistance services of a team of bridge experts to support ARA and PMT in the preparation of the technical specifications for procurement documents, reception of the office and onsite equipment. Subcomponent 2.2 Addressing Gender Employment Gap in Road Construction 37. This subcomponent will finance a female internship program within the MoIE and ARA The MoIE will offer to at least 25 female last year university students and graduates throughout the program, six-month paid internships in transportation and construction fields that are traditionally male dominated (e.g. engineers), by partnering with the Polytechnic University of Tirana, which is a public university offering degrees in engineering and the related fields. The MoIE already enjoys partnership with the university, and it will enter into a legally non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the university to implement this sub-component. The proposed internship program will build on the practices of the National Internship Program17 led by the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth and supported by the Department of Public Administration and the institutions that have been offering internships to students and young graduates. It will be the first time that such a program will be trialed by the MoIE. The MoIE will lead the design and overall implementation of the program in terms of developing the program content, outreach to the university and the interns‘ placement. The details about the selection criteria and procedures will be further detailed in the POM. 38. Most of the interns will be placed in ARA as it offers operational experience, but a few might be allocated to other teams in MoIE in roles that are also male dominated (e.g., road safety). This subcomponent will finance activities related to (i) setting up the MoU between the ministry and the university, (ii) developing an internship program (orientation, interns’ tasks, expected outcomes and the end of the program evaluation), and (iii) providing onboarding training to the interns and the capacity building to the ARA staff who will mentor the interns. The interns will be provided with a recognition certificate specifying the duration and scope of the work fulfilled in the MoIE. During Phase 1 the MoIE will offer internships to 10 students and during Phase 2 to 15 students (totaling to 25 throughout the program). At the end of the first phase, the ministry will evaluate the program and accordingly improve its parameters (e.g., scope, duration, time of the internship, and the balance of practical and theoretical part) in order to maximize the learning effectiveness and gain in professional and interpersonal skills. 39. Given the low share of women employed in the sector and the fact that the MoIE is implementing multiple projects in the construction and transport sectors, the proposed internship training will challenge gender stereotypes and perceptions that are barrier to the employment of women in the construction sector and signal that the MoIE is an equal opportunity employer keen to support gender diversity in its workforce. At the same time, this intervention will facilitate strengthening education-employment pathways between the MoIE and the Polytechnic University and create an opportunity for the ministry and the construction sector to access a broader 17 Regulated by a 2015 decision of the Albanian Council of Ministers "On the approval of the National Program of Internship in the State Administration and other Public Institutions" Apr 21, 2022 Page 12 of 17 The World Bank Building Resilient Bridges Project (P174595) pool of qualified female candidates who will gain hands-on experience and improve their job prospects through the internship. Subcomponent 2.3 Safeguarding Bridge Maintenance 40. Routine, preventive and periodic maintenance is key to preserve the road and bridge infrastructure life cycle as foreseen when designed, and it is particularly important also to preserve the resilience capacity of the bridge to climate change and natural disasters and to conserve its road safety features and equipment. Thus, this subcomponent includes technical assistance to ARA to support its overall restructuring by implementing medium term budget planning for maintenance of roads and bridges via a functional Service Level Agreement with MoIE, specified in a set of KPIs for both the Authority and national road network, which in turn will be informed by a proper RAMS and modernized data collection and network conditions monitoring. Phase 1 will support the drafting of the SLR and the definition of the KPIs, while in Phase 2 is expected that the allocation of maintenance funding is allocated following the SLR according to the compliance of KPIs with data supplied by the RAMS/BMS. Component 3: Project Management (estimated total cost: US$ 4 million) 41. This component will finance incremental operating costs for project implementation in ARA and its Project Management Team (PMT). Incremental operating costs include overall project administration and management, financial management, including financial audits, procurement, contract administration, and management of social and environmental safeguards. In addition, this component will finance the collection and analysis of project data for the project monitoring and evaluation including reporting on the progress of the project indicators in the results framework. This component will also finance equipment to sustain and facilitate PMT to complete its functions, including but not limited to transportation means, information technology (IT), and office equipment. Component 4: Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC) (estimated total cost: US$0) 42. This zero-dollar component is designed to provide a rapid response in the event of an eligible crisis or emergency, by enabling the GoA to request the World Bank to reallocate project funds to support emergency response and reconstruction where needed. A Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC) annex will be included in the Project Operations Manual (POM), specifying the implementation arrangements for the component, including its activation process, roles and responsibilities of implementing agencies, positive list of activities that may be financed, environmental and social aspects, and fiduciary arrangements. When the Government has determined that an eligible crisis or emergency has occurred, it can request and seek agreement of the World Bank to include relevant activities under the Project. In such situations, all environmental and social instruments as may be required for the added activities need to be prepared, disclosed and approved by the Bank. . . Legal Operational Policies Triggered? Projects on International Waterways OP 7.50 Yes Apr 21, 2022 Page 13 of 17 The World Bank Building Resilient Bridges Project (P174595) Projects in Disputed Areas OP 7.60 No Summary of Assessment of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts . The social risks are those pertaining to the ESS2, ESS4 and ESS5. For the two priority bridges there will be impact relevant to ESS5, two families living in two story house will be resettled because of the new bridge to be build. The ARAP has been prepared satisfactory to the Bank and consultation with affected community was conducted. For other bridges chances of physical or economic displacement due to land acquisition are small or if there would be the case the impacts will be very small. Most probably there will be no need for land acquisition or displacement of dwellings or any facility, but there could be some land acquisition of fractions of land, in future. There might also be potential land acquisition if, as a part of the bridge reconstruction, access roads in the vicinity of the bridges are rehabilitated or constructed to improve the access/connection with the bridges. The environmental relevant risks associated with the project activities envisaged will include such as dust and noise, potential pollution of water bodies, traffic disruptions, and management of larger quantities of construction waste and waste mineral materials could be managed by applying good construction practices and through the development of adequate due diligence and in line with the provisions of the ESMF for the overall project. The ESMF has been prepared for the Project to guide E&S due diligence of sub-projects and ensure general ESF compliance. High-risk activities, as defined in the WB E&S Directive and ESF, will not be financed under the Project, this is set forth in a detailed procedure within the ESMF. ESMF prepared defines 1) potential impacts on the environment and social and generic mitigation measures; 2) eligible list of activities and social and environmental review (including screening, assessment, GM, etc.) procedure for the proposed rehabilitation and (re)construction works; 3) identifies requirements for Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and/or ESMP Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), including ESMP Checklist for relatively small scale bridges rehabilitation subprojects, as well as for environmental and social supervision and monitoring; 4) rules and procedures for ESIA and/or ESMP disclosure and public consultations; 5). Institutional arrangements for the implementation of the ESMF requirements, including capacity assessment and necessary training activities. The ESMF and the site-specific ESIA/ESMP/ESMP Checklists shall include provisions in the event that the sub projects occur near or in natural will require the preparation of a Biodiversity Management Plan, and subprojects which might have impacts on cultural heritage, the ESMF prepared and the site-specific ESIA/ESMPs to be prepared by contractor prior to work commencement will include precautionary provisions for chance finds. For sub-project that during the rehabilitation/reconstruction is expected to generate significant amount of construction waste or hazardous materials, the contractor will develop site-specific management plans for waste management, hazardous materials management, and pollution prevention as a part of contractor ESMP, ESMP Checklist, or ESIA. The ESCP shall include commitments on adequate PIU staffing as a condition to effectiveness and also preparation of site-specific ESIA/ESMP prior to the start of any works. E. Implementation Institutional and Implementation Arrangements 43. The MoFE represents the Government of Albania as the signatory of legal agreements and the MoIE will be responsible for project oversight. MoIE has overall responsibility for the transport sector policies, designing Apr 21, 2022 Page 14 of 17 The World Bank Building Resilient Bridges Project (P174595) strategies, developing sub-sectoral programs and budgets and performing regulatory functions. In addition, MoIE is managing the complexity of road safety, and its Department of Traffic and Road Safety acts as the Secretariat of the Inter-ministerial Road Safety Committee (IMRSC), under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister. 44. ARA will be responsible for project implementation. ARA has a well-established track record in managing Bank-funded transport projects, including lately the Results-Based Road Maintenance and Safety Project (RRMSP), which is implemented by ARA with the support of a Project Management Team (PMT). The PMT currently in place is due to close in December 2022 with the closing of the RRMSP. A PMT will also be used by ARA to implement the BRB Program. The BRB PMT will be in a good position if the same staff forming the RRMSP PMT can be kept by ARA while the BRB Program starts. This is subject to the effectiveness date of the BRB Project and the possibility for a smooth transfer of the current PMT from the RRMSP to the new BRB Project. The PMT currently implementing the RRMSP is well experienced with the World Bank procedures, including fiduciary, safeguards and monitoring and Evaluation (M&E). Having the PMT in place satisfactory to the Bank is an effectiveness condition of the BRB project. Retroactive financing can be considered to finance the PMT staff during the gap between the RRMSP closing and the BRB Program start. The PMT is expected to be supported by ARA’s departments in terms of (i) planning/budgeting the annual funds (either from the loan, or counterpart funding); (ii) technical and engineering expertise and subsequent approval of designs, specifications, bidding documents, contractual aspects of works, goods and services financed by the project; and (iii) hand/take over processes and procedures of deliverables from project activities. As the bridges to be intervened under the project are part of the NRN, the maintenance requirement falls under ARA as well. Even though there has been a decentralization process in Albania, municipalities do not have responsibilities for roads and bridges on the NRN, but only for regional and local roads, including bridges and other structures that are part of this network. ARA will also host most of the female interns within its workforce since it offers relevant operational experience. However, the MoIE will lead the design and overall management of the female internship program in terms of developing the program content, outreach to the university and the decisions over the interns 'placement. 45. Project Operations Manual. A Project Operations Manual (POM) will be prepared, finalized and adopted by ARA before effectiveness. This document will summarize key aspects of the project and determine the responsibilities as well as the tools to be applied during the project implementation. The POM is intended to ensure consistency, transparency, and accountability in the application of the project management procedures and will be applied during the entire project implementation period. The POM will contain detailed information on the project implementation arrangements and processes, including procurement, FM, disbursements, and safeguards aspects, including an annex that specifies the implementation arrangements for each component. Adoption of the POM, satisfactory to the Bank, will be one of the project effectiveness conditions. 46. The Project will finance data collection for assessing the project indicators and results. As part of regular functions for project implementation, ARA is responsible for collecting the required information to report on the progress of the project indicators and results. Therefore, under component 3, TA activities can be funded for data collection and analysis for M&E. 47. Disbursements and Financial Management. The World Bank Disbursement Guidelines for Investment Project Financing (February 2017) applies. The project will be disbursed based on traditional disbursement methods: advance, reimbursement, direct payment and special commitment. Eligible expenditures will be documented through the financial reports and records. The advance ceiling will be flexible based on the forecast. . Apr 21, 2022 Page 15 of 17 The World Bank Building Resilient Bridges Project (P174595) CONTACT POINT World Bank Sofia Guerrero Gamez Senior Transport Specialist Artan Guxho Senior Infrastructure Specialist Borrower/Client/Recipient Republic of Albania Implementing Agencies Albanian Road Agency Evis Berberi Director of ARA evis.berberi@arrsh.gov.al FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects APPROVAL Sofia Guerrero Gamez Task Team Leader(s): Artan Guxho Approved By Practice Manager/Manager: Country Director: Emanuel Salinas Munoz 24-Nov-2022 Apr 21, 2022 Page 16 of 17 The World Bank Building Resilient Bridges Project (P174595) Apr 21, 2022 Page 17 of 17