INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET APPRAISAL STAGE Report No.: ISDSA13509 Public Disclosure Copy Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 13-May-2015 Date ISDS Approved/Disclosed: 06-Apr-2015, 01-Jun-2015 I. BASIC INFORMATION 1. Basic Project Data Country: Egypt, Arab Republic of Project ID: P153487 Project Name: Equal Access and Simplified Environment for Investment (EASE) in Egypt (P153487) Task Team Sherif Bahig Hamdy,Nabila Assaf Leader(s): Estimated 01-Apr-2015 Estimated 25-Jun-2015 Appraisal Date: Board Date: Managing Unit: GTCDR Lending Investment Project Financing Instrument: Sector(s): Public administration- Industry and trade (100%) Theme(s): Regulation and competition policy (40%), Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise support (40%), Managing for development results (20%) Is this project processed under OP 8.50 (Emergency Recovery) or OP No 8.00 (Rapid Response to Crises and Emergencies)? Public Disclosure Copy Financing (In USD Million) Total Project Cost: 5.00 Total Bank Financing: 0.00 Financing Gap: 0.00 Financing Source Amount Borrower 0.00 MENA Transition Fund - IBRD as Implementing Agency 5.00 Total 5.00 Environmental C - Not Required Category: Is this a No Repeater project? 2. Project Development Objective(s) To improve the regulatory environment for investors through simplified licensing and transparent industrial land allocation processes. 3. Project Description Page 1 of 5 The project aims to provide technical assistance and systems to enable GAFI to implement its mandate based on the newly issued Investment Law, and streamlining IDA’s licensing and land allocation processes, making them more predictable and transparent. The project will support the Public Disclosure Copy deployment of these reforms through GAFI’s OSSs by providing technical assistance, systems and capacity building. The project will also provide technical assistance and capacity building to the ERRADA regulatory governance program. Full detailed project description in available in Annex 2 of PAD. Component 1: Facilitating accessible and transparent investor services (GAFI) The Project aims to support GAFI become the national platform facilitating business entry, licensing, and access to investor information at the sub-national level through its One Stop Shops and GAFI Information Portal. This would entail addressing GAFI’s processes and interfaces with all the involved regulators, including primarily IDA, but also other line ministries and local authorities involved in licensing, developing an IT system to deliver business entry, licensing services, and investor information, and capacity building and technical assistance to enable and support GAFI in this enhanced client-facing role, particularly of its OSSs. This component will also include supporting GAFI in developing the necessary implementation instruments and action plan that would enable it to carry out its mandate in light of the new Investment Law. This component will also include project management activities to be undertaken by the Project Management and the Project Implementation Units as defined under Section IV “Implementation”. Component 2: Industrial Sector Regulatory Reform (IDA) The Project aims to support IDA in focusing on its strategic roles of regulation and development and transform its approach to implement risk based regulation principles. This component will focus on the two primary functions of IDA, industrial licensing and industrial land allocation. The IDA is currently engaged in mapping its industrial licensing processes in collaboration with ERRADA and with World Bank Group support. The project will build on this work by supporting a fundamental restructuring of the IDA’s role in industrial licensing as well as the reengineering of underlying Public Disclosure Copy processes for administering the industrial license. The redesigned process will then be deployed in IDA branches and GAFI OSSs. On industrial land allocation the project will support developing a “wholesale” model of land development (through reforming the developer concession agreements) and developing and deploying an online industrial land allocation system. This component will also finance IDA staff training, workshops, and ICT upgrading needed to implement these activities. Component 3: Capacity building for managing regulatory reforms (ERRADA) The Project aims to strengthen the capacity of the GoE regulatory reform program (ERRADA). The project will focus on supporting ERRADA around a set of “horizontal” (cross-cutting) reforms that target constraints affecting firms in all sectors of the economy. It will in particular focus on reforms that promote transparency and predictability of the regulatory environment. It will also support “vertical” reforms in priority areas like industrial licensing and land allocation that complement components 1 and 2. Within the horizontal reforms, the project will support ERRADA in: - completing a comprehensive inventory of business related formalities/administrative procedures; - process mapping and re-engineering of the most relevant/frequent formalities/administrative procedures with the objective of streamlining and simplifying them; - establishing an informational portal of business related administrative procedures rendering all information related to the requirements of these procedures accessible to the general public in a simple and comprehensive manner; Page 2 of 5 - putting in place a public consultation and review mechanism to secure that all business related legislative proposals are properly reviewed and consulted with the stakeholders, including the private sector. Public Disclosure Copy 4. Project location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis (if known) The aim of the project is to reform key investment processes and services, as well as enhance the Government of Egypt’s capabilities to implement these services, which would be achieved primarily through analytical and advisory services. The project will be implemented both in Cairo and throughout Egypt, particularly since Component 3 will involve TA to the GAFI One Stop Shops which are located in governorates outside Cairo. World Bank safeguard policies are not triggered as a result of proposed activities under the components. The project will not include the construction of physical infrastructure or civil works. Increased business activity that may indirectly result from the project is not expected to have adverse environmental impacts as beneficiaries are expected to largely be SMEs in less capital intensive sectors. 5. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists Amal Nabil Faltas Bastorous (GSURR) Banu Setlur (GENDR) 6. Safeguard Policies Triggered? Explanation (Optional) Environmental No Assessment OP/BP 4.01 Natural Habitats OP/BP No 4.04 Forests OP/BP 4.36 No Pest Management OP 4.09 No Public Disclosure Copy Physical Cultural No Resources OP/BP 4.11 Indigenous Peoples OP/ No BP 4.10 Involuntary Resettlement No OP/BP 4.12 Safety of Dams OP/BP No 4.37 Projects on International No Waterways OP/BP 7.50 Projects in Disputed No Areas OP/BP 7.60 II. Key Safeguard Policy Issues and Their Management A. Summary of Key Safeguard Issues 1. Describe any safeguard issues and impacts associated with the proposed project. Identify and describe any potential large scale, significant and/or irreversible impacts: Page 3 of 5 There are no safeguards issues or impacts associated with the proposed project. 2. Describe any potential indirect and/or long term impacts due to anticipated future activities in the project area: Public Disclosure Copy 3. Describe any project alternatives (if relevant) considered to help avoid or minimize adverse impacts. 4. Describe measures taken by the borrower to address safeguard policy issues. Provide an assessment of borrower capacity to plan and implement the measures described. 5. Identify the key stakeholders and describe the mechanisms for consultation and disclosure on safeguard policies, with an emphasis on potentially affected people. B. Disclosure Requirements If the project triggers the Pest Management and/or Physical Cultural Resources policies, the respective issues are to be addressed and disclosed as part of the Environmental Assessment/ Audit/or EMP. If in-country disclosure of any of the above documents is not expected, please explain why: Not Applicable C. Compliance Monitoring Indicators at the Corporate Level The World Bank Policy on Disclosure of Information Have relevant safeguard policies documents been sent to the Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] World Bank's Infoshop? Have relevant documents been disclosed in-country in a public Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] Public Disclosure Copy place in a form and language that are understandable and accessible to project-affected groups and local NGOs? All Safeguard Policies Have satisfactory calendar, budget and clear institutional Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] responsibilities been prepared for the implementation of measures related to safeguard policies? Have costs related to safeguard policy measures been included Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] in the project cost? Does the Monitoring and Evaluation system of the project Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] include the monitoring of safeguard impacts and measures related to safeguard policies? Have satisfactory implementation arrangements been agreed Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] with the borrower and the same been adequately reflected in the project legal documents? III. APPROVALS Task Team Leader(s): Name: Sherif Bahig Hamdy,Nabila Assaf Approved By Page 4 of 5 Practice Manager/ Name: Najy Benhassine (PMGR) Date: 01-Jun-2015 Manager: Public Disclosure Copy Public Disclosure Copy Page 5 of 5 The original had problem with text extraction. pdftotext Unable to extract text.