Page 1 INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: AC5715 Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 02/15/2011 I. BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country: China Project ID: P122321 Project Name: JiTuHun Railway Task Team Leader: John Carter Scales Estimated Appraisal Date: March 9, 2011 Estimated Board Date: May 31, 2011 Managing Unit: EASCS Lending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan Sector: Railways (100%) Theme: Public expenditure, financial management and procurement (100%) IBRD Amount (US$m.): 200.00 IDA Amount (US$m.): 0.00 GEF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 PCF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 Other financing amounts by source: Borrower 6,103.00 6,103.00 B. Project Objectives [from section 2 of PCN] The development objective of the proposed project is to respond to existing and anticipated transport demand along the Jilin-Tumen-Hunchun corridor by providing increased capacity for freight and passengers, and faster travel time and increased frequency of services for passenger. C. Project Description [from section 3 of PCN] The project will support the construction of a new double-tracked electrified 360km long Passenger Dedicated Line (PDL) and related railway stations. The line will connect the northeastern city of Jilin in Jilin Province with its far eastern cities of Yanji, Tumen and Hunchun located in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous prefecture, close to the international border with Russia and North Korea. The proposed railway would be an extension of the high speed Intercity Changchun-Jilin Railway (117 km) currently under construction and designed for a speed of 250km/h. With the proposed PDL, the passenger journey time between Jilin City and Tumen would be reduced from the current eight hours to less than two hours. Page 2 Once the project is complete, the existing single track railway would be used exclusively for freight trains. However, its performance would be enhanced since freight trains will not be required to wait for overtaking passenger trains as required at present. Various alternatives for the alignment are being considered particularly around urban areas. The alignment being proposed is selected as it is the most direct, connects populated areas, meets the approval of local authorities and avoids most environmentally sensitive areas. The project design institute has consulted urban planning development officials of the cities and counties in selecting sites for the proposed nine new railway stations to be built as part of the project. The planned implementation period is about five years, commencing in mid 2011 and commissioning planned by the middle of 2016. Similar to the last three Bank-financed China Railways projects, the Bank loan will most probably finance goods and equipment possibly consisting of signaling, electrification, bridge beams, and track fittings. In addition the project may finance technical assistance components yet to be agreed. D. Project location (if known) The proposed alignment for the corridor goes through a well developed transport corridor with an existing railway line (Changchun-Tumen Railway), an expressway (Changchun-Tumen- Hunchun Expressway), two national highways (G302 and 301), and local road networks. The alignment area goes mostly through alluvial plain, urban areas, rolling hills, valleys and mountains. Given the presence of a number of sensitive areas in the vicinity of the project corridor and good vegetation cover and dense water system in the east part of the project area, the area of the project presents moderate to high sensitivity from an ecological perspective. E. Borrower’s Institutional Capacity for Safeguard Policies [from PCN] FCTIC engaged qualified consultants with experience on Environmental Assessment (EA), Resettlement Plan (RAP), Social Assessment (SA) and Indigenous Peoples Plan (IPP) under World Bank project to prepare the environmental and social safeguard instruments, either through FCTIC itself or through the design institute responsible for the overall project technical preparation. FCTIC confirmed the engagement of Southwestern Transportation University to prepare the RP and of the Central Minority University to review indigenous people aspects. Those two consultants have already started their assignment. F. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists Mr Songling Yao (EASCS) Mr Peishen Wang (EASCS) Mr Ning Yang (EASCS) II. SAFEGUARD POLICIES THAT MIGHT APPLY Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No TBD Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01) X The proposed project is a Category A project due to its scale of potential environmental and social impact and the sensitivity of the project areas. A full EIA and EMP will be prepared according to OP4.01. The environmental impact assessment study has been commissioned to Railway Science Academy and China Railway Engineering Group. The major environmental Page 3 Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No TBD issues envisaged include: Analysis of alternative alignments. Given the presence of a number of nature reserves, drinking water protection areas, tourism areas and developed urban areas in the vicinity of project corridor, an analysis of alternatives for the selection of the final alignment is the most important environmental and social impact mitigation tool for this project. Several alternative alignments are being considered. The final choice of alignment will be based on multiple criteria that will include: (i) connections with the existing rail network; (ii) minimization of land acquisition and resettlement; (iii) minimum environmental degradation in or near sensitive ecosystems such as protected areas, forest reserves and areas of poor geology; and (iv) connectivity with potential areas of economic development. Ecological Impacts/Crossing Sensitive Areas. The project areas represent moderate to high sensitivity from an ecological perspective. While effort is being made to avoid sensitive environmental sites through the analysis of various alignment alternatives, a few nature reserves and drinking water protection areas are still expected to be potentially impacted (either by tunneling or running at the edge of the area). Detailed baseline surveys, including ecological and biodiversity study and impact assessment are being conducted along the entire project corridor, with special focus on the protected areas. Proper engineering design, restrictions to new access roads, camp location, and disposal sites in these areas, and environmentally sound construction practices will be adopted in such areas. A tunnel-bridge-tunnel scheme (e.g. nearly 66% of the alignment is tunnel and bridge) will minimize loss of surface of vegetation and related ecological impacts. A dedicated Water and Soil Conservation Plan will be developed to control soil erosion and rehabilitate vegetation at sites impacted by the railway construction. Access roads. The railway alignment will traverse river valleys, low hills and some mountainous region with little or very difficult access by road. If not well managed, the construction of new access roads may cause adverse impact that outweighs the environmental effort for the main alignment. The team is putting special emphasis on this issue during EA preparation. The existing rural road network (present for most part of areas) will be used to the maximum extent to access tunnel portals, bridges and other key infrastructure. An environmental management framework for the evaluation and approval of new access road design and approval will be included in the EMP. Waste management. The railway line will include around 77 tunnels (approximate length 160 km, or 44% of the total length). Given the large portion of tunnels throughout the mountainous region, proper management of disposal sites is an important issue for EIA. Foreseen access roads should be identified to the extent possible, and impacts and mitigations properly addressed in the EA. Consultation with local governments and communities shall be conducted. Soil erosion control plan. The mandatory Water and Soil Conservation Plan will deal with the erosion control for construction sites, access roads, tunnel shafts, camps, disposal/borrow areas and large temporary works, special attention shall be given to those sites that will be identified during construction stage, e.g. borrow/disposal areas, new access roads, new locations Page 4 Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No TBD of pre-casting plants etc. For these, a set of framework requirements shall be developed following the mature practices of past Bank-financed railway projects in China. The framework will serve as mitigation measures in the EMP, which shall include site selection principles, requirement of environmental design, review and approval procedures. Social disturbance and connectivity. The railway construction and operation will have adverse impact on local traffic, community connectivity, agricultural facilities and accessibility of rural production activities. These impacts will be addressed through adequate public consultation and sound engineering design during feasibility study and EA preparation, and good construction management during construction. Mitigation measures will include building adequate underpass and overpass etc. for those potentially impacted local communities. Cumulative/Indirect Impact. The EIA shall address the indirect impact from induced development of railway stations in terms of land use, urbanization and related environmental social and environmental concerns. The assessment of cumulative and indirect impacts will be in a separate chapter/section in the EIA. Other issues such as noise and vibration, camp and construction management, will also be addressed in EIA as following standard environmental practices for design and construction. Public consultation and information disclosure. Two rounds of public consultation are required as per OP4.01 Environmental Assessment, i.e. (1) early stage of EA preparation before the TORs for the EA are finalized; (2) when draft EIA is available. The consultation shall be conducted, i.e. both formal and informal meetings and interviews with the target groups, information dissemination campaigns through fliers, posters, and radio announcements; and questionnaire survey. The EIA is expected to summarize for each round: (i) the dates and venues of consultation events; (ii) the organizations or stakeholder groups consulted; (iii) the main comments provided, particularly regarding the perceived adequacy of mitigation and monitoring measures; and (iv) how the comments and recommendations were or were not taken into account in finalizing project designs. Once the draft EIA is available, the full report shall be disclosed to the public (e.g. through websites of local EPB or government forums) with announcement in local media. The final EA documents expected to be submitted to the Bank include the following, in both Chinese and English: - A full Environmental Impact Assessment Report; - A stand-alone Environmental Management Plan; - An EA Executive Summary. Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04) X This policy is triggered. During EA preparation, a total of 9 nature and water resource reserves have been identified in the vicinity of the project corridor. Careful alignment selection has avoided 6 of them. A tunnel/bridge scheme will be adopted for the sections to minimize loss of vegetation and environmental impacts, thus effectively minimizing the project footprint in these areas. An extensive ecological and biodiversity study will be conducted along the entire alignment, with special focus on protected areas. The study will address the principles and Page 5 Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No TBD requirements of the Bank policy on natural habitats, including identifying critical habitats, assessing short term and long term impacts on the protected areas from construction and operation of the line, assessment of fragmentation of habitats, specially the Nature Reserve habitats, crossed by the line, and identifying mitigation and compensation measures. In addition, consultation with relevant management authorities will be conducted and documented in the EIA report, and their concerns shall be incorporated into the project design and mitigation measures. Relation to the Potential Tiger Habitat in Northeast China. The proposed alignment corridor is located to the west and south of Hunchun city, while the existing official tiger habitat (i.e. Hunchun Wild Tiger National Nature Reserve) is in the northeast of Hunchun city extending further into Russia. The proposed project alignment will not affect the tiger habitat reserve and it is at least 10 km away from any of the Priority Wild Tiger Habitats as delineated by Bank/GEF Global Initiative. Therefore, the proposed project is not expected to affect these potential tiger habitats. Forests (OP/BP 4.36) X As a linear project, although some trees are expected to be cleared (a few hundred hectares as a maximum), it will not significantly impact forested areas. 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 Three cultural relic sites have been identified in the vicinity of the project corridor. The project railway alignment avoids all the relic protection zones but will go through the construction control area between the Maoershan Cemetery and the Longtanshan Cultural Relic Protection Unit, through viaducts and tunnels. Assessment of potential adverse impact will be conducted in close consultation with relevant management authorities, and adequate precautious measures will be developed in EMP. Chance-find procedures will be included in the EMP and bidding documents. Indigenous Peoples (OP/BP 4.10) X The Task Team social development specialist conducted an Ethnic Minority (EM) screening during the identification mission. The mission was advised that there are some Korean minority villages in Jiaohe County and some Man minority villages in Yanji City along the project line, but their precise locations and IP status will need to be further investigated and reviewed as part of project design and preparation. Such EM additional screening data collection will take place as part of a social assessment in project areas to determine the applicability of OP 4.10. The social assessment (SA) under preparation will help the Task Team to further identify whether or not ethnic minorities are present. In the positive case, it will include consultation with IP regarding their level of support to the project and the preparation of an IPP or IPPF in accordance with the SA findings. An IPP or IPPF if IP will be prepared if ethnic minorities are found in the project area following the additional screening undertaken by the SA. A technical TOR for the SA has been prepared and submitted the WB for review. Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) X The project will cause adverse social impacts due to land taking and resettlement. The project goes through eight counties/districts in Jilin City and Yanbian Prefecture. While rural Page 6 Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No TBD areas affected by the project have low population density, the affected urban areas are quite crowded with an extensive number of houses/enterprises. Options for station locations and railway realignment have been proposed, but various alternatives are still under review, with particular attention paid to mitigating resettlement impacts. The current planning indicates that the alignment would include about 100 bridges and nealry 80 tunnels, accounting for about 65 percent of the railway length. This is done, in part, to reduce land take and relevant impacts. Based on the draft estimation avaiable to date, about 1,400 ha. (about 20,300 mu) of land are to be permanently acquired and about 700 ha. (about 10,500 mu) are to be temporarily acquired. A RP should be prepared to address these impacts, which should include a RPF for resettlement related activities which are not clear at preparation stage such as camp sites and access roads. The RP will be based on the feasibility study of the project. Urban resettlement will be critical for the project. Rail stations close to urban areas will result in extensive resettlement at the following sites: Jilin, Dunhua, Antu, Tumen and Yanji. Urban resettlement should include impact investigation, compensation rate justification, but also proper restoration schemes. Since rural resettlement relies more on social security programs as n important measure in livelihood restoration, the RP should include a chapter to reflect the social security program approach in each county/district. Impacts during construction, mainly including facilities across the railway, temporarily used land, will be covered in the RP. All resettlement will be financed by provincial government, and the resettlement cost will be reflected as equity and shares in the project company. Local governments will be not required to finance but implement resettlement activities. Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4.37) X The policy is not triggered. The project will not involve any dams. Projects on International Waterways (OP/BP 7.50) X The policy is not triggered. The project will not involve any international waterways. Projects in Disputed Areas (OP/BP 7.60) X The policy is not triggered. The project will not involve any disputed areas. 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: N/A B. For projects that will not require a QER, the target date for preparing the PAD-stage ISDS: 02/07/2011 Page 7 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 completion of the safeguard-related studies is expected in early February. IV. APPROVALS Signed and submitted by: Task Team Leader: Mr John Carter Scales 01/13/2011 Approved by: Regional Safeguards Coordinator: Mr Peter Leonard 02/15/2011 Comments: Signed by the WBOB Safeguards Focal Point on behalf of Regional Safeguards Coordinator Sector Manager: Mr Ede Jorge Ijjasz-Vasquez 02/03/2011 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 8