Page 1 INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: AC4668 Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 01/13/2010 I. BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country: China Project ID: P117341 Project Name: HaJia Railway Task Team Leader: John Carter Scales Estimated Appraisal Date: March 22, 2010 Estimated Board Date: July 13, 2010 Managing Unit: EASCS Lending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan Sector: Railways (100%) Theme: Public expenditure, financial management and procurement (100%) IBRD Amount (US$m.): 300.00 IDA Amount (US$m.): 0.00 GEF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 PCF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 Other financing amounts by source: Borrower 6,782.00 6,782.00 B. Project Objectives [from section 2 of PCN] The proposed development objective is to reduce the transport time for passenger services and provide additional capacity for passenger and freight services between Harbin and Jiamusi. C. Project Description [from section 3 of PCN] The MOR has proposed that the Bank help finance the provision of a new double track electrified dedicated passenger railway line connecting Harbin and Jiamusi in Heilongjiang Province located in Northeast China including the realignment of a short section of existing railway near the Jiamusi station. The new line will form an important transport link between the northeastern part of Heilongjiang Province and Harbin#s connections to the rest of China. This line will substantially reduce the travel time between Harbin and Jiamusi and the cities further to the northeast such as Tongjiang, Shuangyashan and Hegang. With the building of the new line the rail distance for passengers between Harbin and Jiamusi would be reduced by approximately 158 km from the existing 503 km to approximately 345 km. The travel time of passenger trains would be reduced from the current approximate 6 hours by day express train to about 1.5 hours. Page 2 As per the Pre-feasibility Study Report (PFSR) and its supplement, four alternatives for the alignment are being considered. The general alignment has been decided though not yet finalized. The proposed alignment runs along the south bank of Songhua river generally parallel to the TongSan expressway and is preferred as it is the most direct, connects populated areas, meets the approval of local authorities, serves four of the industrial development zones within the province, avoids all but one designated environmentally sensitive area and does not cross the wide Songhua river whereby avoiding the cost of a major bridge. The design institute has consulted urban planning development officials of the cities and counties in selecting sites for the proposed eight new railway stations to be built as part of the project. One additional new station in Jiamusi has been proposed but has yet to be decided. The two existing stations at Jiamusi and Harbin will be upgraded though only the upgrading of the Jiamusi station is planned to be included in the project. The existing Harbin railway station is being upgraded as part of the on-going Harbin to Qiqihar (HaQi) Dedicated Passenger Railway project. The HaQi Railway project began in July 2009 and is expected to be completed in four years. The existing station at Jiamusi will be expanded and reconfigured as part of this project, so as to separate the freight from the passengers within the station. In order to accommodate the separation of freight and passenger traffic within the Jiamusi station, 30 km of the existing HaJia Railway will be removed and replaced with new track along a different alignment. This 30 km of new track will also be included in this project. Eventually, but under a separate and later project, a new and separate freight station will be built, the freight traffic transferred, and the Jiamusi station will be dedicated to passengers only. The date of the this later project has not yet determined but it is currently thought to be after the construction of this project is complete. The proposed alignment traverses through a relatively flat terrain with some low rolling hills at the Jiamusi end. As per the PFSR and its supplement, the current alignment plans to have about 56% of track is currently planned to be on bridges or through tunnels. The track will be designed for 250 km/h and is expected to be operated at 230 km/h. It is planned that the line will have electric traction (25 kV single phase AC). Nine traction sub-stations are planned. Express trains with a maximum speed of 250 km/h are expected to be operated with Electrical Multiple Units (EMU). The planned construction period is about four years, commencing in the first half of 2010 and commissioning planned by the end of 2013. The project consists of 345 km double track electrified line (including 8 new stations and the upgrading of the existing Jiamusi station) plus the realignment of 30 km of existing track just before Jiamusi is currently estimated at RMB 48.16 billion (US$ 7.08 billion). Similar to the last three railway projects financed by the Bank in China, the Bank loan will most likely finance goods and equipment possibly consisting of signaling, electrification, bridge beams, and/or concrete sleepers. As has been the case in past Bank-financed railway projects in China, the Bank#s environmental and social safeguard policies will apply to the entire project and the Bank will perform due diligence on the technical content. D. Project location (if known) The project is located in northeast of China in Heilongjiang Province between the cities of Harbin and Jiamusi. Page 3 E. Borrower’s Institutional Capacity for Safeguard Policies [from PCN] This project will be the 14th Bank financed China Railway project since the Bank began to work with China in the 1980#s. During this time the Ministry of Railways has continually maintained the same project management office, the Foreign Capital and Technology Import Center (FCTIC). The continuous cooperation between the Bank and FCTIC has been very satisfactory. Previous experience indicates strong commitment from MOR on the Bank's safeguards policies and a good record on implementation. MOR has developed good capacity to implement, supervise and monitor the implementation of Bank safeguards policies. In recent years, MOR has demonstrated a strong commitment to environmental practices. On the other hand, land acquisition and resettlement, in line with national policy, remains the responsibility of provincial and local government and as such the institutional capacity for implementing the associated safeguard policies is shared with the project-related provincial and local governments and varies accordingly. The Bank has not yet financed a major infrastructure project in Heilongjiang Province. Nonetheless, helping to facilitate cooperation with provincial governments this project will use a project company model for implementation, similar to the last three Bank financed China Railway projects, that helps to ensure that the safeguard objectives of MOR and the provinces are aligned with that of the Bank. F. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists Mr Songling Yao (EASCS) Mr Peishen Wang (EASCS) Ms Ye Song (EASCS) Mr Ning Yang (EASCS) II. SAFEGUARD POLICIES THAT MIGHT APPLY Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No TBD Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01) X Though the scale of potential environmental and social impact and the sensitivity of the project areas is less than earlier Bank-financed railway projects in China, the proposed project will be considered at this early stage of preparation a Category A project. Full EIA and EMP will be prepared according to OP4.01. The final EA documents will include: (1) one full EIA report; (2) one stand alone EMP including an EMF annex to deal with environmental safeguards issues of small ancillary works with footprint and design to be defined during construction, and (3) an EA Executive Summary. The task team carried out site visit in August of 2009. Based on field observation and technical discussions with the EA and RAP consultants, the major environmental issues envisaged include: Moderate environmental sensitivity: The currently preferred project alignment runs along a well developed corridor, parallel to a major river # Songhuajiang, and the existing Harbin # Jiamusi expressway and national road. The area has a dense road network and is crossed by several electrical transmission corridors. Agricultural lands are prevalent throughout the entire corridor. Based on available information, there is no special sensitive site within the area of influence (except one city-level nature reserve with non-significant ecological and biodiversity value due to intensive cultivation activities, see next paragraph). The topography of the corridor Page 4 Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No TBD along the river valley is dominated by agricultural land and rolling low hills (less than 50-60m in elevation). The vegetation is dominated by agricultural crops and secondary planted trees on the hills. In addition, the alignment adopts the tunnel-bridge-tunnel scheme which will minimize ecological footprint and farmland acquisition. As such, the area of the project presents moderate to low sensitivity from an ecological perspective. There is only one city-level protected area to be crossed by the project, the Mayihe River Wetland Nature Reserve. The project does not cross any provincial or national-level protected areas. The Mayihe River reserve consists of a long strip section of the Mayihe River, with a width of a few kilometers. The Bank team observed that the reserve consists primarily of cultivated river banks bisected by a few hundred meters of river with little evidence of swamp and water birds. The railway line will cross the river on an 8 km long viaduct designed to minimize the impact on the reserve including its farm lands. Analysis of alternative alignments: The EIA study shall analyze the #without project# scenario, general corridor alternatives, and specific section alternatives based on a preferred corridor. Criteria for selection of alignments include technical, physical (geological conditions, natural hazards), environmental and social considerations. Each alternative comparison shall be presented in the EIA report and supported by maps. Connectivity issue: Given the prevalence of rural farmlands along the corridor, the potential impact on connectivity in terms of rural community and irrigation system would be a concern for the proposed project, which will be adequately addressed during EA preparation and project design. Construction management: As most of construction activities will be on farmlands, good construction management will be essential for avoidance, minimization and mitigation of potential impacts on farmland and cultivation activities. In this regard, a good set of construction management measures will be an emphasis for the EIA and EMP. Temporary works: The area has a good existing road network therefore the need for new access roads will be limited. However, where needed, the construction of new access roads may cause adverse impacts if not well managed. The team is putting special emphasis on proper design and specifications for the construction of such roads to ensure that they are environmentally benign and properly constructed, maintained and operated. The existing rural network will be used to the maximum extent to access tunnel portals, bridges and other key infrastructure.Opening of any new access roads and tunnel shafts will be subject to restrictions (no new access roads and tunnel shafts in or through protected areas for instance) and will be required to follow strict specifications and the review and approval procedures to be developed in EMP. Waste management: The railway line will include over 100 km of embankment and many bridges, viaducts, and tunnels. Given the large amount of excavation and backfill expected, maximizing material balance to the possible extent is an important measure to reduce negative impacts. In addition, proper handling of waste need will be given special attention. Selection of Page 5 Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No TBD borrow pits and spoils sites are to meet relevant environmental criteria such as no disposal inside protected or scenic areas, agricultural lands, unstable areas, and upstream of water supply intakes. Meanwhile, the EIA teams are to consult with local governments and communities to identify opportunities to reuse such spoil materials to the greatest extent possible. In the EMP, a framework that specifies clear criteria and approval procedures is to be developed for additional spoil sites or changes of site locations during construction stage. Indirect and cumulative impacts: The EIA study shall also address cumulative impacts with due consideration of other major ongoing infrastructure projects in the same project area or corridor such as the renovation of the Harbin station, the future construction of the freight station in Jiamusi, power transmission connections to the grid, and other relevant major projects in the area. Public consultation: Two rounds of public consultation shall be carried out in accordance with the Bank#s OP4.01, i.e. at the early stage of EA preparation and after the draft EA is available. The first round consultation shall be conducted among project affected communities at the early stage of EA preparation, during which a comprehensive method (combination of public meetings, interviews and questionnaire survey) shall be used to receive public concerns. Project information shall be provided or introduced to the public prior to consultation. The second round of consultation shall be conducted after the draft EIA report is available. During the consultation, key information of the main findings of EIA report and specific mitigation measures shall be provided to the public for public comments. It is important to record the details in the EIA report about the consultation process, i.e. date, location, number/type of people participated, key issues raised and how these issues are addressed in EIA and the project design. The draft EIA shall be disclosed in public accessible places with announcements published in the local newspaper. Environmental Management Plan: The mission emphasized importance of an EMP. The EMP should include sufficient detail for implementation, including mitigation measures, specifications and cost estimate for incorporation into bidding documents for contractors; environmental management and supervision organization setup (institutional arrangement of involved parties, responsibilities and staff capacity requirements); environmental monitoring plan; institutional capacity analysis and necessary training plan; cost estimated of environmental mitigation measures. Other issues such as slope stability, erosion, rural connectivity, noise, vibration, safety and occupational health issues, and camp and construction management will also be included in the EIA in accordance with standard environmental practices for design and construction. The EIA and EMP will also address cultural resource issues, scenic impacts, and social impacts (a summary of resettlement and ethnic minority impacts). Environmental supervision of construction and environmental monitoring will also be included in the EMP. Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04) X The railway right-of-way will pass through a single city level protected nature reserve called Mayihe River Wetland Reserve. As noted previously the reserve consists predominately of cultivated land on both river banks with little evidence of presence of swamp or water birds, indicating likely low value in terms of ecology and biodiversity. In addition, the vicinity of the Page 6 Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No TBD railway alignment within the nature reserve includes the HaJia Expressway and several local roads. As such, it is unlikely that the project will cause significant degradation of the natural habitats. Nonetheless, as a standard practice of EA preparation, the EA institute will undertake an impact assessment to determine if the area merits a valuable natural habitat, and if there is significant degradation impact. The task team also reminded TSDI that adequate assessment should also be conducted for those sections other than the nature reserve, in terms of ecological and biodiversity value, potential impact and necessary offset and mitigation measures. Forests (OP/BP 4.36) X The project is unlikely to cause significant conversion or degradation of natural forests. Pest Management (OP 4.09) X The project will not involve procurement of pesticide or have any impact on pest management practice. This policy is not triggered. Physical Cultural Resources (OP/BP 4.11) X Whether this policy is triggered is to be determined. Though no sites of historical and cultural importance along the alignment have been identified, further investigation will be carried out during the EA preparation stage. Attention will be paid to those sites or buildings (e.g. local temples, holy mountain or trees, etc.) which present special cultural or religious value to the local communities, even though they are not officially designated as protected cultural properties. Indigenous Peoples (OP/BP 4.10) X It is reported that there are individual ethnic minority people, mainly Man and Mongolia nationalities, in Harbin and Jiamusi cities, but few minority villages or communities along the alignment. A social screening will be conducted to determine the presence of ethnic minority villages and communities in the project impact corridor which will assess whether they, if any, fall within the Bank#s definition of indigenous people. Based on the social screening, the Bank will assess the applicability of this policy and determine following actions. Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) X Given the low population density in the rural project areas and that most project stations will be within these areas, resettlement impacts under the project could be relatively minor. Strategies to mitigate resettlement and land acquisition and to carryout resettlement planning will be adopted such as: - The engineering design is coordinated with resettlement planning in order to reduce resettlement impacts. -The planning team is to carry out a socioeconomic survey is to cover at least 20% of the affected households. - An inventory survey of physical impacts and a census survey of the affected population will be carried out within the impact zones. - Initial rounds of consultations will be carried out with the affected people, project information will be disseminated, feedback from the communities received and recommendations for resettlement planning and feedback from local governments on the approach and practice on resettlement obtained. - Review and development of the resettlement policies for the project, following local laws, regulations and the Bank resettlement policy and based on consultation with all the key Page 7 Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No TBD stakeholders, including compensation rates and livelihood restoration approach. The Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) will be based upon the feasibility study and project documents will clarify the schedule for the preparation of the RAP. The RAP will adopt a two- phased planning approach. Based on the general experience in China of linear infrastructure development and initial consultations with the affected communities and local governments, the RAP will develop a strategy and a package of measures for livelihood restoration and compensation for communal village land particularly those considered to be severally affected. This includes land allocation, land redistribution, cash compensation, non-farm employment, social security program and vocational training. The second phase of planning is the detailed village planning process that will develop specific implementation actions and livelihood restoration applications in the affected villages. The village councils will discuss and reach agreement with the relocating village households on the new house plots. Implementation measures will also be discussed and developed by the project resettlement office and relevant agencies over the relocation of the urban households, the restoration and reconstruction of affected infrastructure, enterprises and schools in accordance with the national Village Organization Law. Local governments and project agencies will advise and monitor the process to make sure it complies with the relevant laws and the RAP. The Client will monitor the implementation of the RAP including the severely affected villages and the Bank will review the monitoring reports, carry out periodic site visits, and require remedial actions when deemed necessary. If deemed required, the client will supplement the RAP in a manner and time frame satisfactory to the Bank in order to update the implementation measures. It is planned that the following documents will be prepared. i) Resettlement Policy Framework (as an annex to the RAP) ii) Resettlement Action Plan Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4.37) X Projects on International Waterways (OP/BP 7.50) X Projects in Disputed Areas (OP/BP 7.60) X Environmental Category: A - Full Assessment III. SAFEGUARD PREPARATION PLAN A. Target date for the Quality Enhancement Review (QER), at which time the PAD-stage ISDS would be prepared: 01/15/2010 B. For simple projects that will not require a QER, the target date for preparing the PAD-stage ISDS: N/A Page 8 C. Time frame for launching and completing the safeguard-related studies that may be needed. The specific studies and their timing 1 should be specified in the PAD-stage ISDS. The safeguard documents will be based upon the completed feasibility study. IV. APPROVALS Signed and submitted by: Task Team Leader: Mr John Carter Scales 10/20/2009 Approved by: Regional Safeguards Coordinator: Mr Peter Leonard 01/13/2010 Comments: Acting on behalf of Panneer Selvam Sector Manager: Mr Ede Jorge Ijjasz-Vasquez 11/01/2009 Comments: 1 Reminder: The Bank's Disclosure Policy requires that safeguard-related documents be disclosed before appraisal (i) at the InfoShop and (ii) in-country, at publicly accessible locations and in a form and language that are accessible to potentially affected persons. Page 9