The World Bank Enhanced Road Access Project (P145545) REPORT NO.: RES48641 DOCUMENT OF THE WORLD BANK RESTRUCTURING PAPER ON A PROPOSED PROJECT RESTRUCTURING OF ENHANCED ROAD ACCESS PROJECT APPROVED ON OCTOBER 17, 2013 TO SAMOA TRANSPORT EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC Regional Vice President: Manuela V. Ferro Country Director: Stephen N. Ndegwa Regional Director: Ranjit J. Lamech Practice Manager/Manager: Benedictus Eijbergen Task Team Leader(s): Rodrigo Archondo-Callao, Florentina-Alina Burlacu The World Bank Enhanced Road Access Project (P145545) I. BASIC DATA Product Information Project ID Financing Instrument P145545 Investment Project Financing Original EA Category Current EA Category Partial Assessment (B) Partial Assessment (B) Approval Date Current Closing Date 17-Oct-2013 29-Oct-2021 Organizations Borrower Responsible Agency Samoa Land Transport Authority Project Development Objective (PDO) Original PDO To restore key road sector assets damaged by extreme weather events and enhance the climate resilience of critical roads and bridges in Samoa. Summary Status of Financing (US$, Millions) Net Ln/Cr/Tf Approval Signing Effectiveness Closing Commitment Disbursed Undisbursed IDA-H8840 17-Oct-2013 01-Nov-2013 20-Feb-2014 29-Oct-2021 20.00 16.22 2.37 TF-A6371 31-May-2018 12-Jun-2018 31-Aug-2018 30-Apr-2021 5.87 5.87 0 TF-17563 08-Oct-2014 08-Oct-2014 08-Oct-2014 30-Apr-2019 3.76 3.76 0 The World Bank Enhanced Road Access Project (P145545) Policy Waiver(s) Does this restructuring trigger the need for any policy waiver(s)? No II. SUMMARY OF PROJECT STATUS AND PROPOSED CHANGES A. Rationale for Restructuring and Project Status Background 1. On October 14, 2021, the Government of Samoa (GoS) requested an extension of the closing date of the Enhanced Road Access Project (ERAP - P145545) IDA Grant No. H884-WS by twelve months, from October 29, 2021 to October 31, 2022 to complete the repairs of the road safety hazards on the West Coast Road (WCR) and enhance the safety of the ERAP bridges. This is now possible because additional ERAP project savings were identified by the GoS in September 2021 of around US$1.6 million. 2. This is the fourth extension of the project closing date. In October 2018, the closing date was extended from April 30, 2019 to October 31, 2020, to allow sufficient time for the completion of the civil works for Mali’oli’o Bridge, which was required due to delays in project implementation. In April 2020, the closing date was extended from October 31, 2021 to April 30, 2021, due to major implications of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which Samoan road projects were facing, to allow the civil works and other outstanding contracts to be completed. In April 2021, the closing date was extended from April 30, 2021 to October 29, 2021 to incorporate the the most critical recommendations of the post-construction road safety audit on the WCR improvements financed under ERAP and the Enhancing Climate Resilience of the West Coast Road project (ECRWCR, P126504, closed in December 2020). The Regional Vice President (RVP) in-principle approval is required for extensions which cumulatively exceed 24 months from the original closing date. With the proposed 12-month extension under this restructuring, the cumulative extension of the project closing date will be 42 months. 3. The Project Development Objective (PDO) of ERAP is to restore key road sector assets damaged by extreme weather events and enhance the climate resilience of critical roads and bridges in Samoa. ERAP was prepared in response to Tropical Cyclone Evan (TCE), was approved in October 2013, and became effective in February 2014. The project provides funding to repair roads and bridges damaged by TCE and to upgrade, rehabilitate and/or reconstruct existing road sector assets to higher standards to strengthen their resilience to climate change and extreme weather events. Progress towards achieving the PDO and implementation progress are currently rated Moderately Satisfactory. Grant disbursements as of September 2021 amounted to US$16.22 million (89%) of the IDA Grant and US$9.63 million (100%) of the APIP Grant. 4. On April 15, 2021, the GoS had requested to extend the closing date of ERAP by six months from April 30, 2021 to October 29, 2021 to repair critical road safety hazards on the WCR. At that time, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) calculated that the ERAP savings were around US$260 thousand, which justified this extension. That request was granted by the World Bank on April 21, 2021, and since then the repairs of the most critical road safety hazards on the WCR are ongoing with expected completion by October 29, 2021. Only the most critical road safety hazards on the WCR were anticipated to be repaired under the April 2021 restructure, due to the available funds identified by the GoS at that time. The World Bank Enhanced Road Access Project (P145545) 5. However, MOF informed the World Bank on September 2, 2021 that another project saving of WST4.1 million (around US$1.6 million) is found in addition to the previous saving of US$260,000. According to MOF, this miscalculation was caused because the previous calculation had missed taking into consideration the followings: i) the variation to the contract for Lots 2A & 2C of the WCR, financed under the other World Bank-funded project: ECRWCR, to add an asphalt concrete overlay to the roads being upgraded, valued at WST3.3 million (around US$1.3 million) was planned to be paid under ERAP, but was actually paid by ECRWCR to exhaust available ECRWCR funds; ii) additional savings from contracts (i.e., review of axle load limits, road standards and construction specifications study, and laboratory specialist consultant) being completed identified after the completion of the contracts; and iii) identified overspent for the Aia bridge, Nu’usuatia bridges works that will be reimbursed by GoS to the project accounts. MOF recalculated that the correct amount of the remaining project budget is around US$1.6 million after paying all balances of the ongoing signed contracts. The World Bank carefully reviewed the MOF’s calculations and confirmed that the revised project savings are accurate. 6. The option of canceling the project savings to be used on a forthcoming IDA project that could implement the needed road safety repairs was discarded because it would prolong the time to complete the repairs, and not address the imminent risk for those using the recently upgraded roads and bridges. In this, scenario, the repairs would need to wait for the project to be approved, and then issue new contracts, increasing the procurement time. Keeping the necessary repairs under ERAP will allow the contractors who did the WCR improvement works to do the repairs as variation orders, without going through a lengthy procurement process. Proposed Activities 7. The main justification for the proposed closing date extension is to complete the rectification of all works done on the WCR, which are needed to incorporate the recommendations of the post-construction Road Safety Audit (RSA), and implement all other RSA recommendations regarding the road safety features of the WCR and the bridges improved under ERAP (Mali’oli’o bridge, Moamoa crossing, Aia bridge, Nu’usuatia bridge), representing 77% of available savings. In addition, the extension will finance some pending climate resilience activities (i.e., Mali’oli’o bridge undermining works, classified network traffic count survey on Savaiʻi, and Upolu East Coast Road (ECR) control survey), which were not executed before due to budget constraints, representing 17% of available savings, and procurement of goods to support the Land Transport Authority (LTA) (4%), leaving 2% for contingencies. 8. The West Coast Road is one of the main roads in Samoa. As a consequence of World Bank financed upgrades under ECRWCR and ERAP, traffic speeds are expected to increase, which will increase the risk of crashes (especially those which run off the road). The post-construction RSA was performed on WCR improvements after the task team identified high risk locations which did not incorporate recommendations from previous road safety audits undertaken during pre-design (2011) and design (2019) stages. The post-construction RSA, which was released in March 21, 2021 indicates that there are roadside hazards along the WCR including: (i) unsafe drains and driveways culverts that need to be replaced; (ii) lack of proper road delineation; (iii) lack of plastic guideposts in rural areas, and width markers on the bridges; (iv) too short steel beam safety barriers with unsafe end terminals; and (iv) unsafe bus stops for pedestrians, but also for vehicle traffic due to stopping on the carriageway and/or shoulders. In addition, there is a need to improve the road safety features of ERAP bridges, by (i) correcting the barriers currently in place, which have unsafe ends and do not reach their purpose (to shield hazards); and extend footpaths and make them accessible for disabled road users. The most critical road safety hazards identified by the RSA are the unsafe drains and driveway culverts, which are being partially repaired under the current project extension. Currently, only 88 out of 280 unsafe drains and driveway culverts are being repaired (at locations with higher traffic), only one side, while the RSA The World Bank Enhanced Road Access Project (P145545) recommends repairing all 280 on both sides. ERAP and ECRWCR financed the design and construction of the improvements of the WCR, thus, the projects have the responsibility of ensuring road safety along the road. The road safety hazards could represent a high-risk liability for IDA and the Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), financier of APIP Grant No. TF0A6371, if not repaired properly and soon, and there are additional savings identified under ERAP to finance completion of the required rectification works. It is estimated that would take 10 months to perform all the needed RSA rectification works. 9. The Mali’oli’o bridge, designed and constructed under ERAP, was completed in 2020. Heavy floods following prolonged rainfall in December 2020 caused some localized and limited undermining of the natural rock face. While this undermining does not present any immediate or short-term threat to the structural integrity of the bridge or its foundations, it could possibly cause problems if left unrepaired and/or allowed to continue in the long term. It is therefore recommended that the undermining / erosion should be repaired under the ERAP extension. It is estimated that would take six weeks to perform the undermining works. 10. Using ERAP funding, LTA is nearing the completion of a classified traffic count survey of the main road network in Upolu. Data from this survey will form the traffic baseline for LTA’s Roads Asset Management System. The survey was originally intended to include several counting stations on Savai’i, but due to budget constraints the Savai’i counts were dropped from the contract. An ERAP extension will enable the current contract to be extended and amended to include several counts on Savai’i. It is estimated that would take eight weeks to perform the traffic counts. The GoS is working to bring the cadastral and topographic survey data along all the main roads in Samoa in line with the new world geodetic system (WGS 84 system). Two World Bank funded projects, the current Samoa Climate Resilient Transport Project (SCRTP) and proposed Samoa Aviation and Roads Investment Project (SARIP), include sub-projects to increase the climate resilience of the Upolu ECR, but prior to any field investigations or studies taking place, a control survey needs to be completed. An ERAP extension will enable this survey to be quickly completed. It is estimated that would take five weeks to perform the survey. 11. The expected timeline of the planned activities is given on the table below. There will not be extensive procurement. All the proposed works will be procured through variation orders to existing contracts, with the exception of the East Coast Road Control Survey that will be procured under single source procurement to enable this specialized survey to be quickly completed. Timeline of Planned Activities Contract signing of WCR RSA Works by December 2021 RSA Works for Lot 2B by January 2022 RSA Works for Lot 2C by January 2022 RSA Works for Lot 2A by March 2022 RSA Works for Lot 1 by September 2022 Contract signing of Mali’oli’o Bridge RSA Works by February 2022 Mali’oli’o Bridge RSA Works by June 2022 Contract signing of Moamoa Crossing RSA Works by December 2021 Moamoa Crossing RSA W orks by May 2022 Contract signing of Nu’usuatia Bridge RSA Works by December 2021 Nu’usuatia Bridge RSA Works by June 2022 Contract signing of Aia Bridge RSA Works by December 2021 Aia RSA Bridge Works by June 2022 The World Bank Enhanced Road Access Project (P145545) Contract signing of Mali’oli’o Bridge Undermining Works by January 2022 Mali’oli’o Bridge Undermining Works by May 2022 Contract signing Traffic Counts on Savai’i by December 2021 Traffic Counts on Savai’i by January 2022 Procurement East Coast Road Control Survey by December 2021 East Coast Road Control Survey by January 2022 B. Proposed Changes 12. The proposed change under this Level 2 Restructuring is an extension to the closing date by twelve months from October 29, 2021 to October 31, 2022 (Grant No. H884-WS). No changes are proposed for the closing date for TF017563 and TF0A6371. 13. All of the ongoing activities financed under the project are expected to be completed before the current closing date of October 29, 2021. Accordingly, the unallocated savings of around US$1.6 million under IDA Grant No. H884-WS will be used to finance the proposed additional activities as described above, provided the IDA Grant is extended by twelve months. All funds of the ERAP APIP Grant No. TF0A6371, with closing date of April 30, 2021, were already disbursed, thus, this restructuring is not seek ing to extend the closing date of the APIP Grant. 14. The proposed restructuring is within the current scope of the project. There are no changes to the above- mentioned PDO or project components. There are no changes to the Results Framework because no new activities affecting the PDO are being added to the project nor are changes to ongoing activities being monitored under the Results Framework. Project risk ratings remain the same. No additional safeguard policies will be triggered. No changes in the financial management arrangements are scheduled and MOF/LTA will need to closely monitor the project balances and inform the World Bank of any changes in the timeline and costs of the planned activities. There are no overdue audits or Interim Financial Statements, and the project is in compliance with all legal covenants. III. DETAILED CHANGES LOAN CLOSING DATE(S) Original Revised Proposed Proposed Deadline Ln/Cr/Tf Status Closing Closing(s) Closing for Withdrawal Applications 31-Oct-2020, 30-Apr- IDA-H8840 Effective 30-Apr-2019 31-Oct-2022 28-Feb-2023 2021, 29-Oct-2021 TF-17563 Closed 30-Apr-2019 04-Mar-2020 31-Oct-2020, 30-Apr- TF-A6371 Closed 30-Apr-2019 2021, 14-Sep-2021 The World Bank Enhanced Road Access Project (P145545)