Initial Environmental Examination May 2018 PAK: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Roads Improvement Project Prepared by Engineering Consultants International (Private) Limited in association with David Lupton and Associates, A.A. Associates (Planners & Consulting Engineers), and Essency Consulting for the Pakhtunkhwa Highway Authority and for the Asian Development Bank. This is an updated version of the draft originally posted in September 2017 available on https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/linked-documents/47360-002-ieeab.pdf. This initial environmental examination is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. Your attention is directed to the “terms of use” section on ADB’s website. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. Volume I: Initial E nvironmental E xamination May 2018 PAK: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Roads Improvement Project 1. S -1 Haripur-Hattar-Taxila R oad 2. S -5 Maqsood-Kohala R oad Prepared by E ngineering Consultants International (Private) Limited in association with David Lupton and Associates, A.A. Associates (Planners & Consulting E ngineers), and E ssency Consulting for the Pakhtunkhwa Highway Authority and for the Asian Development Bank. ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ITE M UNITS DE FINITION AADT No. Average Annual Daily Traffic volume ADB Asian Development Bank S PS S afeguard Policy S tatement 2009 (of the Asian Dev. Bank) CE MWP Construction E nvironmental Management Work Plan CO mg/m3 Carbon monoxide dBA Decibels In the A-weighted system, the decibel values of sounds at low frequencies (< 1000 Hz) are reduced (or weighted), since the human ear is less sensitive at low audio frequencies E IA E nvironmental Impact Assessment E MMP E nvironmental Management Plan E S E nvironment S pecialist of Project Management Unit GR C Grievance R edress Committee GR M Grievance R edress Mechanism GFP Grievance Redress Focal Person IE E Initial E nvironmental E xamination IR I International roughness index Km/h Kilometres per hour LeqT dBA Noise level over a specified time period (T) masl Metres above sea level NE QS National E nvironmental Quality S tandards 3 NO2 mg/cm Nitrogen Dioxide PE PA Pakistan E nvironmental Protection Agency PIU Project Implementation Unit R AP R esettlement Action Plan R oW R ight of Way 3 SO2 mg/cm S ulphur Dioxide SPS 2009 ADB’s 2009 Safeguard Policy Statement TPM ug/m3 Total S uspended Particulate Matter KP-E PA Khyber Pakhtunkhwa E nvironment Protection Agency This initial environmental examination is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. Forward and Acknowledgement This consolidated E nvironmental Assessment report pertaining to eight roads is sub-divided in two parts, Volume – I and Volume – II. The logic for preparing two volumes of consolidated reports stems from the similarity of work, similar geography and a very limited timeframe, and the need to reduce repetition regarding mitigative and monitoring actions. The Volume – I pertains to an IE E report for two ADB category B roads, along with two E MMPs based on E CIL’s experience with this form of environmental assessment documentation. The Volume – II pertains to E nvironemntal S ummary report about six ADB category C roads, along with an abbreviated E MMP. After discussion with ADB, it was agreed that this format was necessary given the limited time available and the need to deal with a number of similar sub-projects. This report borrows some information from the three Cluster IE E s prepared for PKHA by design consultants. Material from these reports has been used, where appropriate, but has also been augmented further as required to comply with ADB specifications. E CIL very much appreciates this cooperation and willingness to share and we acknowledge the valuable efforts of all the three design consultants for preparing these reports, which was primarily meant for submission to KP-E PA. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KP), through its Work and S ervices Department (KPWS D), aims to provide an affordable, safe and sustainable road network in the province. To help achieve this, KP sought assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to reconstruct or rehabilitate up to 300 km of deteriorated roads. The road sections to be reconstructed or rehabilitated were selected from an initial list of 300 km of roads, and then ranked in order of importance (primarily based on the traffic volume) and road condition. The initial technical ranking was adjusted to ensure a more even distribution of roads across the province, especially road rehabilitation in Haripur District is urgently needed. The ten roads making the shortlist totaled 272 km and will mostly involve replacement of old asphalt repair of shoulders and improvement to roadside drainage. R emoval of the asphaltic pavement base layers and granular sub-base layers, building up and widening of the sub-base where necessary to achieve the desired profile and providing new granular and asphalt concrete sub-base, base and riding surface. Of the 10 roads, six were categorized as ADB Category C, requiring no additional work other than summary statements and abbreviated E MPs. This work was completed and companion volume with this IE E has been prepared. The ToR called for the completion of a Rapid Environmental Assessment (RE A) checklist for all the roads, establishing specific classifications for each. E valuation resulted in seven roads classified as C and three as B. ADB decided that two roads should receive a complete IE E , using a consolidated format; i.e. one IE E document but with two specific E nvironmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (EMMP) and completion of at least four consultations (two for each road). This report is a Consolidated Initial E nvironmental E xamination (IEE) for the rehabilitation of two roads in the eastern Haripur District of KP province. The two roads and their lengths are: a. S -1: Haripur – Hattar R oad, 22 km b. S -5: Maqsood – Kohala R oad, 35 km The IE E has been prepared in compliance with Pakistan E nvironmental Protection Act (PE PA) 1997, the KP Wildlife and Biodiversity Act, 2015 and ADB’s S afeguard Policy S tatement (S PS 2009). The proposed activities will be confined to the existing road right-of-way. For the purposes of this IE E , potential impacts were considered within a corridor extending some 15 m on either side of the road centerline and to the nearest sensitive receptor for noise and dust. Both rehabilitation and reconstruction within the existing carriageway is ADB category B works, requiring an IEE . Most of the environmental effects of the project such as shorter travelling time, better access to market, fuel savings, and less dust are positive and do not require mitigation. The social and poverty impacts of the rehabilitation project are addressed in detail in a separate Land Acquisition and R esettlement Plan report. However there is the possibility for some adverse impacts during project preparation, construction and operation, and can be prevented or mitigated. Pre-construction Period: Environmental assessment documentation and its E nvironment Management Plan (E MMP) are prepared and approved during the preconstruction period and translated into the local languages for distribution to all stakeholders. The E MMP’s mitigation and monitoring tasks identify actions to be undertaken by the KPHA and the Construction S upervision Consultant (CS C), including a task to brief the selected maintenance staff of KP C ommunication and Work Department (CWD) and any contractors on the E MMP and the actions to be undertaken. KPCWD will provide a briefing to contractors on the contract and implementation requirements of E MMP. Construction Period: Construction phase E MMP actions focus mostly on contractor activities, management of worksites, contractors’ equipment and people. This part of E MMP makes special focus in defining ways to minimize effects such as dust generation, emission from vehicles, air quality, disposal of spoil and solid waste, noise and vibration from construction machinery, quarry and borrow material transport and disposal, contamination of surface and groundwater resources and workers’ camp management. Many of the culverts are blocked, damaged or poorly sized. If the road is widened, culverts have to be extended. To provide a new culvert, it will be necessary to provide a temporary road diversion, or to close one side of the road at a time and institute traffic controls. R epair of the road once culverts are replaced will follow a specific procedure defined in the E MMP. It may also be necessary to provide temporary diversion for the water around the area being worked. Ideally the work will be undertaken in dry season when water flows are minimal. Due to executing the work within right of way (R oW), no mosques, graveyards and other cultural sites were identified to be affected by the work. There should be no damage to other cultural sites or to any archaeological sites. Only three trees need to be cut, while trees on the embankments need not be disturbed.