Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Report No: ICR00004880 Public Disclosure Authorized

IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION AND RESULTS REPORT

IBRD 82340-CN

ON A

LOAN FROM THE INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT Public Disclosure Authorized IN THE AMOUNT OF

US$150 MILLION

TO THE

PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

FOR THE

CN-JIANGXI POYANG LAKE BASIN AND ECOLOGICAL ECONOMIC ZONE SMALL TOWN

Public Disclosure Authorized DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

June 27, 2020

Water Global Practice East Asia and Pacific Region

Public Disclosure Authorized

This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization.

CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (Exchange Rate Effective December 31, 2019) Currency Unit = Renminbi (RMB) RMB 6.96 = US$1 US$0.14 = RMB 1

FISCAL YEAR July 1 – June 30

Regional Vice President: Victoria Kwakwa Country Director: Martin Raiser Regional Director: Benoit Bosquet Practice Manager: Sudipto Sarkar Task Team Leader(s): Xiaokai Li, Qi Tian ICR Main Contributor: Si Gou, Qi Tian

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

COD Chemical Oxygen Demand CPF Country Partnership Framework CPS Country Partnership Strategy DRC Development and Reform Commission EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMP Environmental Management Plan ERR Economic Rate of Return FYP Five-Year Plan GoC Government of China ICR Implementation Completion and Results Report M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MIS Management Information System MTR Midterm Review O&M Operation and Maintenance PAD Project Appraisal Document PDO Project Development Objective PLEEZ Poyang Lake Ecological and Economic Zone PLG Project Leading Group PMO Project Management Office PPMO Provincial Project Management Office RF Results Framework RP Resettlement Plan SDG Sustainable Development Goal ToC Theory of Change VOC Vehicle Operating Cost

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DATA SHEET ...... 1 I. PROJECT CONTEXT AND DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES ...... 5 A. CONTEXT AT APPRAISAL ...... 5 B. SIGNIFICANT CHANGES DURING IMPLEMENTATION ...... 10 II. OUTCOME ...... 13 A. RELEVANCE OF PDOs ...... 13 B. ACHIEVEMENT OF PDOs (EFFICACY) ...... 14 C. EFFICIENCY ...... 23 D. JUSTIFICATION OF OVERALL OUTCOME RATING ...... 24 E. OTHER OUTCOMES AND IMPACTS ...... 24 III. KEY FACTORS THAT AFFECTED IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTCOME ...... 26 A. KEY FACTORS DURING PREPARATION...... 26 B. KEY FACTORS DURING IMPLEMENTATION ...... 26 IV. BANK PERFORMANCE, COMPLIANCE ISSUES, AND RISK TO DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME .. 28 A. QUALITY OF MONITORING AND EVALUATION (M&E) ...... 28 B. ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND FIDUCIARY COMPLIANCE ...... 29 C. BANK PERFORMANCE ...... 31 D. RISK TO DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME ...... 32 V. LESSONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 32 ANNEX 1. RESULTS FRAMEWORK AND KEY OUTPUTS ...... 35 ANNEX 2. BANK LENDING AND IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT/SUPERVISION ...... 44 ANNEX 3. PROJECT COST BY COMPONENT...... 46 ANNEX 4. EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS ...... 47 ANNEX 5. BORROWER’S COMMENTS ...... 51 ANNEX 6. SUBPROJECT DETAILS ...... 59 ANNEX 7. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS ...... 64 ANNEX 8. PHOTOS OF SELECTED ACTIVITIES ...... 70 ANNEX 9. SITE MAP ...... 74

The World Bank CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (P126856)

DATA SHEET

BASIC INFORMATION

Product Information Project ID Project Name

CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic P126856 Zone Small Town Development Project

Country Financing Instrument

China Investment Project Financing

Original EA Category Revised EA Category

Partial Assessment (B) Partial Assessment (B)

Organizations

Borrower Implementing Agency

The People's Republic of China Jiangxi Provincial Development and Reform Committee

Project Development Objective (PDO)

Original PDO To improve key public services in participating small towns of Jiangxi Province through improvements to prioritized infrastructure

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The World Bank CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (P126856)

FINANCING

Original Amount (US$) Revised Amount (US$) Actual Disbursed (US$) World Bank Financing

150,000,000 150,000,000 150,000,000 IBRD-82340 Total 150,000,000 150,000,000 150,000,000

Non-World Bank Financing 0 0 0 Borrower/Recipient 175,890,000 141,770,000 109,840,000 Total 325,890,000 141,770,000 109,840,000 Total Project Cost 325,890,000 291,770,000 259,840,000

KEY DATES

Approval Effectiveness MTR Review Original Closing Actual Closing 20 -Mar-2013 19-Jul-2013 25-Sep-2015 31-Dec-2018 31-Dec-2019

RESTRUCTURING AND/OR ADDITIONAL FINANCING

Date(s) Amount Disbursed (US$M) Key Revisions 22-Jan-2016 41.48 Reallocation between Disbursement Categories 21-Dec-2016 63.13 Change in Results Framework Change in Components and Cost Change in Loan Closing Date(s) Change in Financing Plan Change in Implementation Schedule 23-Jun-2018 95.08 Change in Results Framework Change in Components and Cost Reallocation between Disbursement Categories

KEY RATINGS

Outcome Bank Performance M&E Quality Satisfactory Satisfactory Substantial

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The World Bank CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (P126856)

RATINGS OF PROJECT PERFORMANCE IN ISRs

Actual No. Date ISR Archived DO Rating IP Rating Disbursements (US$M) 01 23-Jun-2013 Satisfactory Satisfactory 0

02 19-Dec-2013 Satisfactory Satisfactory 0

03 21-Jun-2014 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 12.00

04 18-Dec-2014 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 20.46

05 26-Jun-2015 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 30.62

06 11-Dec-2015 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 41.48

07 14-Jun-2016 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 41.48

08 18-Dec-2016 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 63.13

09 19-Jun-2017 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 63.13

10 19-Nov-2017 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 83.93

11 11-May-2018 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 95.08

12 10-Nov-2018 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 116.36

13 11-Mar-2019 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 127.72

14 19-Jun-2019 Satisfactory Satisfactory 127.72

15 18-Dec-2019 Satisfactory Satisfactory 147.28

SECTORS AND THEMES

Sectors Major Sector/Sector (%)

Public Administration 8 Other Public Administration 8

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The World Bank CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (P126856)

Transportation 62 Rural and Inter-Urban Roads 59 Other Transportation 3

Water, Sanitation and Waste Management 30 Sanitation 10 Other Water Supply, Sanitation and Waste 20 Management

Themes Major Theme/ Theme (Level 2)/ Theme (Level 3) (%) Urban and Rural Development 79

Rural Development 79

Rural Infrastructure and service delivery 79

Environment and Natural Resource Management 21

Renewable Natural Resources Asset Management 3

Biodiversity 3

Environmental policies and institutions 3

Water Resource Management 15

Water Institutions, Policies and Reform 15

ADM STAFF

Role At Approval At ICR Regional Vice President: Pamela Cox Victoria Kwakwa

Country Director: Klaus Rohland Martin Raiser

Director: John A. Roome Benoit Bosquet

Practice Manager: Mark R. Lundell Sudipto Sarkar

Task Team Leader(s): Ximing Zhang Xiaokai Li, Qi Tian

ICR Contributing Author: Si Gou

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The World Bank CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (P126856)

I. PROJECT CONTEXT AND DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES

A. CONTEXT AT APPRAISAL

Context

1. At appraisal, China was experiencing unprecedented economic and social development along with rapid urbanization. Since the reforms and opening-up in 1978, China’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth had reached an average of almost 10 percent per year, making it the fastest sustained expansion by a major economy in history. China emerged as the world’s second largest economy, and more than 850 million people were lifted out of poverty. The urbanization rate increased dramatically, from 17.9 percent in 1978 to 53 percent in 2013.1

2. Although rapid urbanization facilitated the unparalleled economic and social transformation in China, rural-urban inequality was growing and new challenges were emerging. Large cities had attracted millions of migrants due to their high concentrations of industries, services, and job opportunities. However, these cities were facing emerging challenges, such as environmental pollution, high housing prices, rapid expansion of urban areas, and traffic congestion. In contrast, the development of small towns was constrained by gaps in infrastructure and public services. Small towns lacked the agglomeration effects to attract industries and investments. To address these emerging challenges, China aimed to promote diversified urbanization and coordinated development between cities and small towns in its national 12th Five-Year Plan (FYP, 2011–2015).

3. Small town development was identified as the priority in China’s 12th FYP to build a more diversified and coordinated urbanization process. With improved public services, strategic planning, and sufficient specialization, agglomeration effects were expected to be achieved in small- and medium- size towns to attract investments and workforce and relieve the pressures on large cities.2 The 12th FYP emphasized the essential role of improving public services and residential environment in small town development. It also highlighted that strategic priority should be given to areas with geographical advantages, abundant resource endowment, and high environmental carrying capacity for small town development.

4. The 12th FYP identified the Poyang Lake Ecological and Economic Zone (PLEEZ) in Jiangxi Province3 as a pilot region for small town development given its economic and ecological significance.

1 Urban Population-China, World Bank Open Source Data. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?locations=CN. The urbanization rate in China reached over 59 percent in 2019 at project closure and is predicted to achieve 70 percent by 2030 (Sun, D., L. Zhou, Y. Li., H. Liu., X. Shen., Z. Wang., X. Wang. 2017. “New-type Urbanization in China: Predicted Trends and Investment Demand for 2015–2030.” J. Geogr. Sci. 7:943. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-017-1414-4). 2 World Bank, and Development Research Center of the State Council, the People’s Republic of China. 2014. “Urban China: Toward Efficient, Inclusive, and Sustainable Urbanization.” Washington, DC: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/18865. 3 Poyang Lake Basin and Jiangxi Province almost overlap with each other. Poyang Lake Basin accounts for 94 percent of the area of Jiangxi Province. The PLEEZ is an important ecological and economic development region in Jiangxi Province. It accounts for 30 percent area of Jiangxi Province, hosts nearly 50 percent of the provincial population, and contributes to over 60 percent of the GDP in Jiangxi.

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The World Bank CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (P126856)

Poyang Lake is the largest freshwater lake in China, providing multiple ecosystem services such as biodiversity, water supply, flood control, water purification, and climate regulation. It is an important habitat for many critical aquatic ecosystems and birds, hosting the largest number of migratory birds in Asia. As a sub-basin in the middle reach of the Yangtze River, the Poyang Lake Basin contributes 15.6 percent of the total water resources of the Yangtze River Basin4 and plays a critical role in ensuring water security in the middle and lower Yangtze River regions. The Poyang Lake region also has its unique geographical advantages. Located at the junction of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Beijing- Jiulong Economic Belt, it became a growth engine in central China and has been crucial for China’s regional development strategy.

5. Despite its abundant natural resource endowment and high growth potential in the PLEEZ, regional small town development faced many challenges. The small town urbanization rate in the PLEEZ was around 45 percent at the time of project appraisal, lower than the national average. The small towns in the PLEEZ lacked strategic plans to guide integrated and specialized development. There were significant gaps in infrastructure to provide key public services, especially services such as transport and water resources management. It was challenging for these small towns to achieve agglomeration effects and attract investment to improve essential public services.

6. To address the challenge of strategic planning, a series of development master plans were prepared at the national, regional, and county levels. In 2009, the State Council approved a national- level development plan for the PLEEZ in which 38 cities/counties in the Poyang Lake Basin were included. A regional level master plan (2009–2015) for the PLEEZ development was rolled out,5 aiming to create a new model of coordinated ecological protection and economic development for long-term sustainable growth in the central region of China. Under this master plan, each county was tasked with preparing its own master plan that identified gaps in public services and infrastructure needs.

7. The Government of China (GoC) identified the World Bank Group as an important partner to help address the small town development challenges. The World Bank and China had over 20 years of engagement on rural-urban integration and economic growth issues. With the high demand on small town development from the GoC, the World Bank had until then supported several projects for small town development and urban-rural integration in China.6 Moreover, the World Bank, at the request of China’s Premier Li Keqiang, had partnered with the country to conduct a joint study on China’s urbanization challenges,7 which addressed the overarching issues related to the urbanization process and provided valuable suggestions on small town development. The World Bank’s international experience and accumulated lessons learned on China’s urbanization were to be leveraged to address the small town development challenges in China. Given the context of the project intervention, the use of Investment Project Financing instrument was predicated on considerations of large infrastructure activities with appropriate risk management and oversight.

4 The Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world. The Yangtze River Basin has 36 percent of China’s water resources, hosts over 40 percent of China’s population, and contributes to 45 percent of China’s GDP. 5 The State Council approved the PLEEZ Development Master Plan. http://www.gov.cn/jrzg/2009-12/16/content_1488908.htm. 6 For example, Sichuan Small Towns Development (P110632, 2012–2016), CN Integrated Economic Development of Small Towns (P118597, 2012–2018), and Chongqing Urban-Rural Integration Project (P086446, 2010–2017). 7 Refer to footnote 2.

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The World Bank CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (P126856)

8. A number of less developed counties in the PLEEZ were selected for World Bank support, to help bridge the public service gaps identified in their master plans. This project selected 11 less developed counties in the PLEEZ with approved master plans, which identified the substantial infrastructure gaps in key public services, namely transport and water resources management. The average urbanization rate of these 11 counties was only 36 percent at the time of project appraisal, much lower than the 45 percent in the PLEEZ. The World Bank’s global expertise in the transport, water, and urban sectors was sought to contribute to an integrated and innovative project design that included not only traditional ‘gray’ infrastructure investments in transport, flood control, and water supply but also the nature-based ‘green’ infrastructure of wetlands to manage wastewater, along with the pilots to develop and apply smart transport management and flood early warning systems. The participating counties could also benefit from the World Bank’s experience in capacity building and institutional strengthening. Technical assistance was included to support counties in preparing specific sector plans for transport and flood management.

9. The project was well aligned with the World Bank’s Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) (FY2013–2016). The project supported key themes under two engagement areas of the CPS (Report No. 67566-CN): (a) urban design in transport, construction, and water supply and sanitation with substantial environmental benefits (under the engagement area of Supporting Greener Growth) and (b) social protection and labor market, including policies and delivery systems to promote rural-urban integration (under the engagement area of Promoting More Inclusive Development).

Theory of Change (Results Chain)

10. This project aimed to improve key public services in the relatively lagging counties and support them to achieve long-term sustainable and resilient small town development. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the Theory of Change (ToC). At appraisal, the key challenges facing small town development included bottlenecks in transportation, low level of flood protection of the local population and the society, and water pollution from untreated domestic wastewater. The project was designed to address these challenges through a set of combined structural and nonstructural interventions in the participating towns. Although the Project Appraisal Document (PAD) did not explicitly specify the categories of key public services in the Project Development Objectives (PDOs), the project outcomes can be grouped into three categories based on the project design: transport, flood control, and wastewater management services. For improving key public services, the project was designed to bridge the critical infrastructure gaps in the transport sector and flood control and wastewater management subsectors. Complementing the infrastructure delivery, the project also included support for the ‘soft’ activities such as piloting a smart transport management system to enhance the efficiency of transport services, technical assistance in transport strategic planning, and technical assistance for flood management and flood early warning system development to enhance the concerned small towns long-term resilience. In addition, the project supported constructed wetlands as nature-based solutions for wastewater treatment. The results of the above interventions were meant to contribute to a more sustainable and resilient development of the small towns in the long term. It is worth noting that the water supply intervention was small in scale (the estimated cost only accounted for 0.85 percent of the total project cost at appraisal) and was limited to one county, Luxi County. Therefore, water supply service was not considered as a key public service in the context of this project. Its achievement was measured by one intermediate indicator and not a PDO indicator.

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The World Bank CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (P126856)

Figure 1. Theory of Change

Key assumptions and risk Assumptions. The infrastructure development priorities identified in the master plans would be relatively stable, and the implementation capacity would improve with the targeted training planned. Risk. The multisector and multicounty nature of the project may affect the speed of implementation, and the implementation capacity of the project entities could affect speed and quality of implementation.

Project Development Objectives (PDOs)

11. The PDO as stated both in the PAD and the Loan Agreement was “to improve key public services in participating small towns of Jiangxi Province through improvements to prioritized infrastructure.”

Key Expected Outcomes and Outcome Indicators

12. The key public services were transport, flood control and wastewater management and therefore the expected outcomes were improvements in these areas. The project had three key outcome indicators:

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The World Bank CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (P126856)

(a) Increased population with access to newly built or rehabilitated roads (number)

(b) The number of population protected from flooding (number)

(c) Annual reduction of COD8 entering the Poyang Lake (tons/year)

Components

13. The project covered 11 counties: Dexing, Ganxian, Gongqingcheng, Hengfeng, Jinggangshan, Jinxian, Jiujiang, Luxi, Nanfeng, Ruijin, and Yifeng9 (see the map in annex 9). The original components in the PAD were as described in the following paragraphs.

Component 1. Transport Infrastructure Improvement (Estimated Cost: US$189.55 million, of which IBRD Loan of US$ 100.39 million and Counterpart Funding of US$89.16 million; Actual Cost: US$178.40 million, of which IBRD Loan of US$106.01 million and Counterpart Funding of US$72.39 million)

(a) Roads. Construction and upgrading of 76 km urban and country roads in seven selected counties, including (i) pavement of road bases; (ii) construction and rebuilding of cross- river bridges and culverts; (iii) layout of urban sanitary pipelines, drainage pipelines, and electric cables along with the road construction; (iv) construction of greenbelt and bus stops; and (v) construction of other urban road ancillary facilities. (There were 14 road- related subprojects in seven counties proposed at appraisal [see table 6.1 in annex 6 for all proposed subprojects].)

(b) Central bus station. Construction of a new urban central bus station, including the main terminal building, maintenance facilities, and administration building in Gongqingcheng City. (One bus station subproject proposed in one city at appraisal.)

Component 2. Water Resources Management Infrastructure Improvement (Estimated Cost: US$86.26 million, of which IBRD Loan of US$45.02 million and Counterpart Funding of US$37.24 million; Actual Cost: US$57.4 million, of which IBRD Loan of US$37.61 million and Counterpart Funding of US$19.79 million)

(a) Flood control. Improvement of flood protection and drainage systems in five selected counties, including (i) strengthening of 36 km dikes, (ii) construction of urban drainage pumping stations, (iii) construction of access roads for dikes, (iv) construction of cross-dike structures, and (v) landscaping along rivers. (There were five flood control-related subprojects in five counties at appraisal [see table 6.2 in annex 6].)

(b) Water supply. Construction of a 10,000 m3 per day water treatment plant and associated water supply facilities in Luxi County. (One water supply subproject in one county at

8 The chemical oxygen demand (COD) is a measure of water and wastewater quality. It determines the amount of oxygen required for chemical oxidation of organic matter using a chemical oxidant, such as potassium dichromate under reflux conditions. 9 Gongqingcheng, Jiujiang, and Ruijin are county-level cities and the rest are counties. Towns with population under 200,000 are defined as small towns (China State Council Notice of Classification of Cities, 2014). These small towns in the participating counties are usually where the county governments are located and are the growth engines of the counties.

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The World Bank CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (P126856)

appraisal.)

(c) Wastewater management. Construction of about 7.8 km of wastewater and stormwater collection pipes in Jinggangshan City. (This subproject was combined with the flood control subproject in Jinggangshan as one integrated water management subproject.)

(d) Wastewater management (wetland). Construction and restoration of 160 ha of wetlands along the Mianjiang River (one tributary eventually flows into the Poyang Lake) in Ruijin City. This subproject also included two small integrated wastewater treatment facilities and several sewer pipes. (One wastewater management (wetland)-related subproject in one city.)

Component 3. Project Management and Capacity Building (Estimated Cost: US$24.93 million, of which IBRD Loan of US$4.21 million and Counterpart Funding of US$20.72 million; Actual Cost: US$12.64 million, of which IBRD Loan of US$6.00 million and Counterpart Funding of US$6.64 million)

(a) Institutional strengthening and capacity building, including (i) providing technical and management training, (ii) providing technical assistance to develop sector plans, including transport plans for three counties and flood management plans for two counties; (iii) developing a smart transport management system in Gongqingcheng City; and (iv) procuring office equipment.

(b) Project management and monitoring and evaluation (M&E), including supporting the project management office (PMO) to (i) adopt a modern, computer-based management information system (MIS) by all provincial and county PMOs; (ii) carry out M&E; and (iii) hire consultants for detailed designs and engineering works supervision.

B. SIGNIFICANT CHANGES DURING IMPLEMENTATION

14. Over the course of implementation, the project underwent three Level 2 restructurings. The first restructuring took place in January 2016 (loan disbursement at US$41.48 million) following the midterm review (MTR) that concluded on September 25, 2015; the second in December 2016 (loan disbursement at US$63.13 million); and the third in June 2018 (loan disbursement at US$95.08 million).

Revised PDOs and Outcome Targets

15. There was no change to the PDO. However, the targets of two associated PDO/outcome indicators were revised in the 2nd and 3rd restructurings as follows:

(a) The target of the PDO indicator ‘increased population with access to newly built or rehabilitated roads (number)’ was reduced from 491,000 (at appraisal) to 478,000 (2.6 percent reduction, through the 2nd restructuring).

(b) The target of the PDO indicator ‘the number of population protected from flooding (number)’ was reduced from 141,000 (at appraisal) to 134,000 (5 percent reduction,

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The World Bank CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (P126856)

through the 2nd restructuring) and further to 100,000 (29 percent reduction, through the 3rd restructuring).

Revised PDO Indicators

16. There was no change to the PDO indicators.

Revised Components

17. During the 2nd restructuring, the following changes were made to the project components.

Component 1. Transport Infrastructure Improvement

(a) Roads. Four subprojects in two counties were dropped, while five new subprojects in four counties were added.

(b) Central bus station. The bus station construction subproject in Gongqingcheng City was dropped (see table 6.1 in annex 6 for the details of all subproject changes).

Component 2. Water Resources Management Infrastructure Improvement

(a) Flood control. Two subprojects in two counties were dropped, while a new subproject ‘Mianjiang River Improvement in Ruijin City’ was added.

(b) Water supply. The only water treatment plant construction subproject in Luxi County was dropped.

Component 3. Project Management and Capacity Building

(a) Several overseas study tours and procurement of some office equipment were cancelled.

(b) More equipment procurement was proposed for the smart transport system in Gongqingcheng City.

18. During the 3rd restructuring, the flood control subproject added under Component 2 in the 2nd restructuring, the ‘Mianjiang River Improvement in Ruijin City’, was dropped.

Other Changes

19. Changes to intermediate outcome indicators. There were several changes to the intermediate outcome indicators: (a) The end targets of ‘length of newly built/upgraded roads (km)’ and ‘travel time saved (minutes per trip)’ were reduced at the 2nd restructuring (Component 1, see table 1); (b) the indicator ‘increased daily water supply capacity (m3)’ was cancelled at the 2nd restructuring; and (c) the end targets of ‘length of dike strengthened (km)’ and ‘increase in area protected from flood (km2)’ were reduced twice during the 2nd and 3rd restructuring, respectively (Component 2, see table 2).

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The World Bank CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (P126856)

20. Changes in project cost and financing plan. The total cost of the project was reduced from US$325.89 million at appraisal to US$301.3 million at the 2nd restructuring and to US$291.77 million at the 3rd restructuring. Throughout the restructurings, the amount of the IBRD loan (US$150 million) remained the same. The borrower’s contribution was reduced from US$175.89 million at appraisal to

US$151.3 million in the 2nd restructuring and US$141.77 million in the 3rd restructuring.

21. Changes in disbursement categories. In the 1st restructuring, the disbursement percentage for civil works was increased to 100 percent and the loan proceeds were reallocated among different disbursement categories. In the 3rd restructuring, the undisbursed funds under the original categories were consolidated into a single disbursement category (civil works, goods, consultant services, and training).

22. Changes in implementation schedule. In the 2nd restructuring, the project’s closing date was extended from December 31, 2018, to December 31, 2019.

Rationale for Changes and Implications for the Original Theory of Change

23. The changes to the project were due to the following reasons and did not affect the essence of the original ToC (see figure 1).

(a) Changes in master plans. China’s rapid urbanization and fast socioeconomic development coupled with the fundamental shift of development strategy toward green and sustainable growth resulted in changes in the county development priorities and consequent adjustments of their master plans. The restructurings responded to those shifts in priorities and were critical to keeping the project relevant.10 For example, Gongqingcheng City was identified as the pilot city for PLEEZ development in 2013 and it became the city directly administrated by the provincial government in 2014. As a result, its urban planning and master plan were significantly revised to adapt to the new priorities in its small town development. Therefore, Gongqingcheng City dropped four planned transport subprojects and added one new transport subproject during the 2nd restructuring. Similarly, Luxi County developed its new urban planning (2015–2030) and decided to drop the Yuanhe flood management subproject and add a new road subproject. Luxi County also planned a larger urban water treatment plant with 50,000 m3 per day capacity to serve more beneficiaries. Therefore, the originally planned 10,000 m3 per day water treatment plant under this project was also dropped.

(b) Emergence of new development priorities. Some subprojects were added because new development priorities emerged. For example, the central government approved the feasibility study of Menghua Railway in 2014 and a new railway station was planned in Yifeng County. The project adjusted course accordingly and added a new subproject ‘West

10 Some World Bank-supported small town development projects also encountered similar situations; the changes in master plans and local development priorities during the implementation resulted in project restructuring. For example, the Sichuan Small Towns Development (P110632) (closed in December 2016) was restructured due to the changes in local master plans, and the CN Integrated Economic Development of Small Towns (P118597) (closed in December 2018) was restructured partly due to the changes in the local industry development strategy.

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The World Bank CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (P126856)

Arterial Road’ to better connect residents to the station.11 Similarly, a new subproject, ‘Nanping Bridge and Linking Road’, in Yifeng was added to link the newly completed Changli Highway with the urban areas. A new subproject, ‘Damaoshan Avenue Rehabilitation’, in Dexing was added to link the downtown with the new Tianmenshan development area, the fast-developed industrial park, and the new South Gate development areas.

(c) Dropped due to land acquisition issue. The planned ‘Xingnong Road in Hedong District’ in Nanfeng County was cancelled because it would have needed to acquire a large tract of orchards owned by many farmers which proved to be a difficult undertaking.

(d) Completed using government funding. A planned subproject, ‘Ecological Development of Eastern Dike along Mianjiang River’ in Ruijin City was completed by the local government using its own funds to accelerate the development of this critical flood control infrastructure.

(e) Dropped due to safeguard concern. The new subproject ‘Mianjiang River Improvement for Flood Control’ in Ruijin City, added through the 2nd restructuring, had to be cancelled in the 3rd restructuring as the detailed design revealed that the subproject would have had severe impacts on a bridge of high cultural value.

(f) Changes in government requirements. Several overseas study tours and the procurement of some office equipment were cancelled because of the government’s stringent requirements on overseas study tours and vehicle procurement. (See annex 6 for the rationale for the adjustments carried out under each component.)

24. The disbursement categories were changed to enable full utilization of the IBRD loan in achieving the PDOs. The project closing date was extended to allow adequate time to complete the newly added subprojects.

II. OUTCOME

A. RELEVANCE OF PDOs

Assessment of Relevance of PDOs and Rating

25. The PDOs continue to be well aligned with China’s national priorities at project closure, articulated in the 13th FYP (2016–2020) and China’s National Plan on New Urbanization (2014– 2020). 12 The relevance of the PDO was assessed at the MTR in September 2015 and at the Implementation Completion and Results Report (ICR). The 13th FYP set new urbanization as a national priority and highlighted the needs of promoting small town development and enhancing urban infrastructure. In 2014, the State Council of China published the National Plan on New Urbanization (2014–2020), which furthers China’s trajectory of building more people-friendly and sustainable cities

11 The new railway station and the Menghua Railway were completed by the Government in September 2019. 12 National Plan on New Urbanization (2014–2020). http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/2014-03/16/content_2640075.htm.

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and providing basic urban services to all residents. The plan emphasized the need to enhance public services in small towns, including water supply, wastewater treatment, transport, solid waste management, and power supply. In addition, the 13th FYP highlighted the importance of integrated water resources management in the Poyang Lake Basin, which is consistent with the project interventions on water resources management.

26. The PDOs are closely aligned with the current World Bank Country Partnership Framework (CPF) (FY2020–2025) at closure. This project directly supports two engagement areas of the latest CPF (Report No. 117875-CN): (a) reducing water pollution and strengthening sustainable natural resource management (under the engagement area of Promoting Greener Development) and (b) promoting shared development by geographically focusing on less developed regions and small towns (under the engagement area of Sharing the Benefit of Growth).

27. The PDOs are also closely aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The PDOs directly link to SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Specifically, the project contributes to the targets of SDG 6 which states “By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally; and by 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate.” The PDOs are also closely aligned with SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation.

28. The relevance of the PDO is rated High, considering the close alignment of the PDOs with national and local development priorities, the current World Bank CPF objectives, and the United Nations’ SDGs.13

B. ACHIEVEMENT OF PDOs (EFFICACY)

29. Unpacking the PDO and necessity of split rating. According to the PDO, the project has one objective： ‘to improve key public services’. The efficacy section assessed the improvement of three key public services (that is, transport, flood control, and wastewater management) as well as other public services. The PDO remained the same throughout the project period, but two PDO indicator targets were scaled down and the scope of the flood control subcomponent was reduced. Therefore, a split rating was applied (see section II.D).

Assessment of Achievement of Each Objective/Outcome

Key Public Service 1—Transport

30. Improvement of transport service. In the Results Framework (RF), there were one PDO indicator and three intermediate indicators measuring the achievement of the expected outcome in transport service improvement, with the indicator targets revised once through the 2nd restructuring.

13 United Nations, SDGs, https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/envision2030-goal6.html.

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(a) Beneficiaries. The PDO indicator ‘increased population with access to newly built or rehabilitated roads (number)’ was used to measure the outcome. At project closure, 565,850 people had access to newly built/rehabilitated roads, exceeding the original and revised targets of 491,000 and 478,000, respectively (115 percent and 118 percent achievement) (table 1). The PMOs estimated the number of actual beneficiaries based on the detailed local census. The newly built/upgraded roads had attracted new schools, hospitals, and many new residents (see the discussion of unintended outcomes in section II.E), so that the actual beneficiaries had significantly increased and exceeded the targets.14

(b) Travel time saved. Although the ‘travel time saved (minutes per trip)’ was designed as an intermediate indicator in the RF, it measured the outcome of transport investments and could be considered towards transport improvement. At project closure, the travel time saved per trip was 160.9 minutes, which exceeded the original and revised targets of 157 and 152 minutes, respectively (102 percent and 106 percent achievement) (table 1). The travel time saved was measured for each road subproject, using the same method defined at appraisal. The travel time was measured for minibuses and cars to travel from the starting points to the destinations at a designated speed. The results were compared to the corresponding travel time measured before the road construction/upgrading to estimate the travel time saved. Although the ‘travel time saved’ provided useful insights to assess the outcome, in retrospect it would have been better if the indicator had been defined in relative terms (for example, percentage of travel time reduction) or in a different unit (for example, minutes saved per kilometer), rather than in minutes saved per trip because the trip length would affect the absolute time saved.

(c) Road length. The intermediate indicator ‘length of newly built/upgraded roads (km)’was designed to measure the output of transport investments. The completed roads had a total length of 66.11 km, which fully achieved the revised output targets of 65 km (102 percent achievement) and was slightly lower than the original target of 76 km (87 percent achievement)15 (table 1). All completed roads are non-rural roads.16 Out of the 14 road subprojects originally planned, ten subprojects were completed with a road length of 47.2 km, while four subprojects were dropped in the 2nd restructuring. The five newly added road subprojects in the 2nd restructuring were also fully completed, with a road length of 18.9 km (see table 6.1 in annex 6 for details). The subproject for the urban central bus

14 Although the population growth could have contributed to the possible increase of beneficiaries, it was not a main factor for the overachievement of the beneficiary targets. The average natural population growth rate in the project areas in the project period was 0.72 percent per year (Source: Jiangxi Statistical Yearbooks). Therefore, the natural population growth during the 6.5-year implementation period was around 4 percent, much lower than the rate of overachievement of the beneficiary targets. 15 It is worth noting that the substantial reduction of road length through restructuring did not lead to reduction in outcome achievements. This was because two originally planned, long roads in Gongqingcheng City were replaced by shorter, higher grade roads in the center of Gongqingcheng City in the 2nd restructuring, leading to the reduction in the target of total road length. But the completed higher-grade roads had more beneficiaries and better performance in travel time saving. 16 There is a sub-intermediate indicator of ‘road constructed, non-rural (km)’under the intermediate indicator ‘length of newly built/upgraded roads (km)’. This sub-intermediate indicator was added as a core indicator, per World Bank requirements, at the time of the first Implementation Status and Results Report. As all the newly built/upgraded roads in this project are non-rural roads, this sub-intermediate indicator has the same targets and results as those of the indicator ‘length of newly built/upgraded roads (km)’.

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station construction in Gongqingcheng City was dropped through the 2nd restructuring due to changes in the local master plan. By the time of project closure, a redesigned central bus station was completed with government budget and put into operation.

(d) Transport planning. In addition to the improvements in transport services generated from the infrastructure investments, the project further strengthened transport services through supporting three technical assistances for the development and implementation of integrated transport plans for Hengfeng County, Dexing City, and Gongqingcheng City. These plans go beyond project intervention areas and provide short- and long-term guidance for the counties. The plans contributed to prioritizing and optimizing the transport sector development programs of the counties and also included recommendations on pertinent sector policy and regulations. The transport plans developed in Dexing and Gongqingcheng were incorporated into their respective 13th FYPs. Based on the transport plan, Gongqingcheng City already initiated construction and rehabilitation of some of the priority roads recommended, for example, the city had completed the rehabilitation of the Gongqing Main Avenue and planned to complete the construction of Binhu Road in 2020 using government funds. The related intermediate indicator ‘number of counties with traffic/transportation master plans completed and applied’ was fully achieved (table 1).

Table 1. Transport Service Target Achievement Original Revised Actual (at appraisal) (2nd restructuring) Indicators Unit (2019) Target % of Target % of (PAD) Target (Revised) Target Increased population with access to newly PDO indicator Number 565,850 491,000 115 478,000 118 built or rehabilitated roads Length of newly Km 66.1 76 87 65 102 built/upgraded roads Minutes Travel time saved 160.9 157 102 152 106 per trip Intermediate Number of counties indicators with traffic/transportation Number 3 3 100 3 100 master plans completed and applied

31. Resolved local transport bottlenecks and improved connections to national transport networks. The project addressed critical challenges in local transport development and resolved major bottleneck issues. For example, in Yifeng County, the new urban area in the south and the old town were separated by the Yexi River. At appraisal, only one small pedestrian bridge linked the Education and Cultural Development Zone in the new urban area to the old town. The ‘Yuanming Bridge to No. 320 National Road’ subproject constructed the new Yuanming Bridge for motorized vehicles to directly

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access the old town from the Development Zone, greatly facilitating the local transport service.17 Moreover, the project improved the connection of the participating counties to national transport networks. For instance, the ‘Deshang to Railway Station Road’ subproject in Dexing County completed the link necessary to the Hefu High-speed Railway Station, Dechang Highway and Deshang Highway, which connected Dexing County with the national high-speed rail and highway system. The project facilitated around 230,000 passengers in Dexing to enjoy high-speed rail service in 2017 and the number increased to 300,000 in 2018.18 Furthermore, the new/rehabilitated roads improved access to other essential services, such as schools and hospitals. For example, the road subproject in Yifeng County improved public access to the emergency services of the Yifeng County Hospital and to the Chongwen Middle School.19

32. Advanced smart transport management system in Gongqingcheng City. The project supported Gongqingcheng City to develop a smart transport management and early warning system (not measured in the RF), which helped greatly improve the transport efficiency and safety in the city. The system has a shared management platform that integrates various subsystems, including the traffic command center, smart traffic light system, smart police system, automatic monitoring system, and drone system (see photos in annex 8). The system is cloud-based, uses big data, and provides innovative and efficient transport services for (a) online vehicle management, which uses the data from BeiDou Satellites and the integrated platform to track vehicle movement; (b) smart traffic warning, which uses the integrated platform to send warning messages to drivers and other beneficiaries about potential risks; (c) heavy duty truck management, which optimizes heavy truck routing and informs the drivers on time; (d) smart police management, which uses the platform and 4G network to track and regulate the movement of the police and police cars; (e) smart traffic light management, which optimizes the traffic lights operations based on real-time traffic situations; and (f) smart accident investigation, which uses the monitoring system and the drones to collect needed evidence. Initially, the smart accident investigation subsystem supported by the project covered only a quarter of the urban area in the city. Encouraged by the high value addition of the system, the city government decided to scale it up to cover the entire city with government funding. The system has also helped create a safer society through detecting responsible parties for traffic accidents, searching for missing persons, and providing evidence for investigation of criminal cases since 2017.

33. Operation and maintenance (O&M) arrangements and service satisfaction survey. All the infrastructure built under the project has dedicated government entities and state-owned enterprises for the O&M. The O&M funding has been allocated from respective local government budgets (see the dedicated O&M entities in table 6.3 in annex 6). The provincial project management office (PPMO) conducted a beneficiary satisfaction survey on the project-supported public services in the project areas

17 Similarly, the subproject ‘Nanmen Area Trunk Avenue’ in Dexing County established the link between the new urban area in Nanmen Area and the old downtown; the ‘Yiyuan New District Road Network’ in Ganxian County linked the Yiyuan new development area with the old county and surrounding villages; and the subproject ‘Chengfu Road’ in Hengfeng County strengthened the links between the new industrial park and the urban areas and improved the daily commute of the workers in the industrial park. 18 Similarly, the project connected Yifeng County to the No. 320 National Road and the Menghua Railway and enhanced the link between Luxi County and the No. 320 National Road. 19 For example, the road subproject in Jiujiang County created new access to the Third Middle School, the First Elementary School, and the Jiujiang County Hospital to solve the traffic congestion issues. It also established the fire lane in the project area to ensure the access of fire protection services in the event of an emergency.

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of all 11 participating counties in April 2019. The survey interviewed 609 households, including 167 low- income households and 335 women. The results showed a 100 percent satisfaction rate (83.4 percent of the interviewed beneficiaries were highly satisfied and 16.6 percent were satisfied) with the improved public transport services supported by the project.

34. The achievement of the improved public transport service outcome is rated High for both the original and revised outcomes. The project achieved a comprehensive improvement in the public transport services as reflected in the following: (a) the improved transport infrastructure laid the foundation for providing public transport service; (b) the transport plans guided the short- and long- term strategic transport development; and (c) the smart transport management system pilot demonstrated effective modern transport management practices using disruptive technologies. The original and the revised outcome targets were exceeded.

Key Public Service 2—Flood Control

35. Improvement of flood control services. In the RF, there were one PDO indicator and three intermediate indicators measuring the achievement of the expected outcome of flood control service improvement, with the indicator targets revised twice through the 2nd and 3rd restructuring.

(a) Beneficiaries. One PDO indicator ‘The number of population protected from flooding (number)’ was designed to measure the outcome. At project closure, the project interventions in flood control helped protect an additional 99,880 people from flooding, 20 which was lower than the original target and revised target in the 2nd restructuring of 141,000 (71 percent achievement) and 134,000 (75 percent achievement), respectively. It nearly achieved the revised target in the 3rd restructuring of 100,000 (100 percent achievement) (table 2). The beneficiaries were the people living in the impact zones of the design flood. These impact zones were defined on the basis of flood hazard mapping and the actual beneficiary number was identified from the detailed local census.

(b) Dike length. The intermediate indicator ‘length of dike strengthened (km)’ was designed to measure the output of flood control investments. The total length of dike strengthened was 29.35 km, which was lower than the original target of 36 km (82 percent achievement) and the revised target in the 2nd restructuring of 35 km (84 percent achievement) and was the same as the revised target in the 3rd restructuring of 29.35 km (100 percent achievement) (table 2). Of the originally envisioned five flood control subprojects, three subprojects were fully completed, while two subprojects were dropped. A flood control subproject added in the 2nd restructuring was cancelled in the 3rd restructuring (see table 6.2 in annex 6 for details).

20 In the 3rd restructuring paper, the baseline value of the PDO indicator ‘number of people protected from flooding (persons)’ was revised from 0 to 21,320 to include the population originally protected by the degraded flood control systems before the project. The end target was revised to 100,000. However, according to the definition of the indicator in the PAD in paragraph 3, the number of people protected from flooding should be the ‘additional population protected by improved flood control services’. The baseline value for the indicator should not have changed. The ICR team consulted the PPMO and the World Bank task team who confirmed that the original intention of the revised target was that the expected additional population protected by increased flood control services under the project would be 100,000. Hence, the change in indicator baseline value was not supported. In the efficacy assessment, the results of 99,880 people protected from flooding referred to the additional number of people protected from flooding with the baseline value being 0 as assessed at appraisal.

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(c) Area protected from floods. The intermediate indicator ‘increase in area protected from flood (km2)’ was also designed to measure the output of flood control investments. The areas protected from floods were 17,680 km2, which were lower than the original target of 22,400 km2 (79 percent achievement) and the revised target in the 2nd restructuring of 20,200 km2 (88 percent achievement) and were higher than the final revised target in the 3rd restructuring of 17,052 km2 (104 percent achievement).

(d) Flood management plans. Technical assistance was provided to develop the urban flood management plans for Jiujiang County and Jinggangshan City. The ‘Jiujiang Integrated Urban Flood Management Plan’ identified the infrastructure and institution gaps in flood management and recommended among other actions to enhance the natural disaster management capacity. The technical assistance of ‘Jinggangshan Longjiang River Flash Flood Early Warning System Design and Development’ helped establish a flash flood early warning system with a Longjiang River Basin hydrologic model to simulate the dynamics of flash floods, optimize the dam/reservoir operation, and provide flood early warning services. The flash flood early warning system, which is now operated by the Jinggangshan Flood Management Office, played a critical role in ensuring timely evacuation of the local residents and reducing some RMB 2 million of losses in the 2019 floods in Longjiang River Basin. The related intermediate outcome indicator target of counties with flood control and management plans completed and applied was fully achieved (table 2).

Table 2. Flood Control Service Target Achievement Original Revised Revised (2nd (3rd Actual (at appraisal) Indicators Unit restructuring) restructuring) (2019) Target % of Target % of Target % of (PAD) Target (Revised) Target (Revised) Target The number of PDO population Number 99,880 141,000 71 134,000 75 100,000 100 indicator protected from flooding Length of dike Km 29.35 36 82 35 84 29.35 100 strengthened Increase in area protected from Km2 17,680 22,400 79 20,200 88 17,052 104 Intermediate flood indicators Number of counties with flood control and management Number 2 2 100 — — — — plan completed and applied

36. Enhanced flood control system. The project-supported investments significantly improved local flood control systems. For example, Jinxian County is located next to the Qinglan Lake. At appraisal, only 11 discontinued dikes with low flood protection capacity existed around the Qinglan Lake. Floods affected the surrounding areas every year. In response, the project completed eight dikes to form a

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closed dike loop around the lake to increase the flood protection level in Jinxian. In Jiujiang County, the Shahe River channel was blocked by sediments and had limited capacity to convey floods. The existing dikes were severely degraded and collapsed nearly every year during flood season. To remedy this issue, the project supported the construction and rehabilitation of the dikes as well as the cleaning of the river channel. In Jinggangshan County, most areas along the Longjiang River did not have constructed dikes and depended on the degraded riverbanks to protect the local communities against floods. The project constructed new dikes and rubber dams, along with a flash flood warning system (see paragraph above) to manage the floods. As a result of these investments, the flood protection level (design flood) for the beneficiary areas of both Shahe River in Jiujiang County and the Qinglan Lake areas in Jinxian County was raised from 1-in-5-year to 1-in-20-year floods, while that for the Longshi Town with a population of 50,000 in Jinggangshan City was raised from 1-in-5-year to 1-in-10-year floods, for example, a significant flood which is estimated to be close to a 1-in-10-year flood occurred in Longjiang River Basin and there was very little related loss in Longshi Town from the flood.

37. O&M arrangements and service satisfaction survey. O&M plans were also developed for all project flood control facilities (see table 6.4 in annex 6) with dedicated government entities and clear sources of funding for O&M. The beneficiary satisfaction survey conducted by the PPMO showed a 100 percent satisfaction rate (82.2 percent of the interviewed beneficiaries were highly satisfied and 17.8 percent satisfied) with improved flood control service.

38. The outcome achievement of the improved flood control service is rated Modest for the original intended outcomes, Modest for the revised targets (at 2nd restructuring), and High for the final revised targets (at 3rd restructuring). The project achieved the outcome of improving public flood control service in an integrated manner: (a) the flood protection dikes and other affiliated structures provided the basic infrastructure to protect the beneficiary communities against floods, (b) the early warning system enhanced the city’s resilience to flood-related disasters, and (c) the flood management plans provided directions for future flood control investments and service delivery.

Key Public Service 3—Wastewater Management

39. Improvement of wastewater management services. In the RF, there were one PDO indicator and two intermediate indicators measuring the achievement of wastewater management service improvement. The indicator targets were not changed during the restructurings.

(a) COD reduction. One PDO indicator ‘annual reduction of COD entering the Poyang Lake (tons)’ was designated to measure the outcome. At project closure, the annual reduction of COD entering the Poyang Lake reached 110.25 tons, exceeding the original target of 40 tons (276 percent achievement) (table 3). An independent third-party environmental monitoring entity tasked with monitoring achievement of this PDO indicator analyzed water samples taken from the wetland inlets and outlets in 2019 and found COD removal by the wetlands to be approximately 76.12 tons per year. Some wetland plants, however, were not fully developed at the time, indicating that the wetlands may remove even more COD in the future. The environmental monitoring entity conducted a similar analysis at the two project-supported small integrated wastewater treatment facilities constructed at the two wetlands and estimated the COD removal by the two facilities to be 34.13 tons per year. Therefore, the total reduction of COD was 110.25 tons per year (see annex 7.B). It is

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worth noting that the original COD reduction target was set as 40 tons per year mainly because the areas at the proposed wetlands were relatively underdeveloped and the COD concentration level in the proposed wetland areas was relatively low at the time of appraisal. Over the course of implementation, more residents moved to the project areas in line with the town development, resulting in much higher levels of COD than that at appraisal. 21 With water of higher COD concentration flowing through the treatment wetlands, more COD was removed by the wetlands, contributing to overachievement of the PDO indicator target.

(b) Area of wetland. The intermediate indicator ‘increased area of improved wetland (ha)’ was designed to measure the output of wetland investments. The originally envisioned subproject ‘Mianjiang River Wetland Protection and Restoration’ in Ruijin City included five wetlands with a planned area of 160 ha. The project completed five wetlands with a reduced total area of 128.63 ha (80 percent achievement) (see table 3 and annex 7.B). In addition, the project supported integration of “grey” infrastructure around the wetlands to improve their functionality: 11.8 km sewerage pipelines and two small integrated wastewater treatment facilities with a total capacity of 1,060 tons per day were constructed in these wetland areas in Ruijin City. Furthermore, the construction of 7.8 km sewerage and stormwater pipelines in Jinggangshan City, which was included under the subproject ‘Integrated Longjiang River Management’, was fully completed (see table 6.2 in annex 6).

(c) Wastewater flow reduction. The intermediate indicator ‘reduced annual wastewater flow into Poyang Lake from the Mianjiang River Tributary’ was used to measure the output. The same external monitoring entity was also responsible for monitoring and assessing the achievement of this indicator target. With the completion of the different subprojects in Ruijin County, the annual wastewater flow into the Poyang Lake through the Mianjiang River was reduced by 18,666 (1,000 m3), which means that the original target of 18,800 (1,000 m3) was almost fully achieved (99 percent achievement) (see annex 7.B).

Table 3. Wastewater Management Service Achievement, Compared to Original and Revised Targets Original Actual (at appraisal) Indicators Unit (2019) Target % of (PAD) Target Annual reduction of COD entering the Poyang PDO indicator Tons 110.25 40 275.63 Lake Increased area of improved wetland Ha 128.63 160 80.39 Intermediate Reduced annual wastewater flow into Poyang indicators 1,000 m3 18,666 18,800 99.28 Lake from the Mianjiang River Tributary

21 At appraisal, the water quality data collected in the proposed Yeping and Forest Swamp Wetland areas showed that the average COD concentration was 1.80 mg/L (see environmental assessment for Ruijin during preparation). At closure, the water samples collected in these two wetlands showed that the average COD concentration had increased to over 6.96 mg/L (see table 7.2 in annex 7.B).

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40. O&M arrangements and service satisfaction survey. Similar to the transport and flood control subprojects, dedicated government entities were designated to take charge of the O&M with funding allocated from the government budgets (see table 6.4 in annex 6). The beneficiary satisfaction survey showed a 100 percent satisfaction rate (84.9 percent of the interviewed beneficiaries were highly satisfied and 15.1 percent were satisfied) with the improved wastewater management services.

41. The outcome achievement of the improved wastewater management public service was rated High for the original intended outcomes. The project integrated the conventional ‘gray’ infrastructure (that is, wastewater and stormwater pipelines and small wastewater treatment facilities) with the nature-based ‘green’ infrastructure (that is, wetlands) to improve wastewater management services and to protect the water environment in the Poyang Lake Basin in a sustainable manner. The project far surpassed its PDO-level outcome target and significantly contributed to the improvement in wastewater management services for the project area.

Other Public Services

42. Water supply. At appraisal, one intervention for improving water supply service was planned to support the construction of a 10,000 m3 per day water treatment plant and associated water supply facilities in Luxi County. This subproject was cancelled during the 2nd restructuring, as the local government decided and went ahead to construct a larger water treatment plant of 50,000 m3 per day capacity to serve more people in Luxi County. The intermediate indicator ‘increased water supply capacity’ was dropped. At project closure, the local government had completed 70 percent construction of the larger water treatment plant.

43. Public health. The project contributed to the improvement of the public health of the local communities in Jiujiang County by eliminating schistosomiasis in the area. Schistosomiasis is an acute and chronic disease caused by parasitic worms. People become infected when larval forms of the parasite—released by freshwater snails—penetrate the skin during contact with infested water. People are infected, if exposed to infested water,22 during routine agricultural, domestic, occupational, and recreational activities. Jiujiang County has widespread freshwater snails in over 274,000 m2 areas and around 2.62 percent of the local population were infected in 2005. Therefore, during the preparation of the ‘Integrated Jiujiang Urban Flood Management’ subproject, ten experts performed field studies to investigate the distribution of freshwater snails and a series of freshwater snail control activities were included in the feasibility study. During project implementation, the molluscicide (niclosamide) was applied twice in the snail spreading areas before and after construction. The surface silt was excavated, molluscicide was applied, and then buried in the landfills. Some riverbanks were concreted affecting the freshwater snail habitats. Public communication, education activities, and workshops were conducted to increase public awareness on schistosomiasis prevention and control. Following the completion of these activities, the Jiujiang Schistosomiasis Control Station conducted an investigation and the results indicated that all freshwater snails were eliminated in the infected area.

22 Schistosomiasis, World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/schistosomiasis.

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Justification of Overall Efficacy Rating

44. The overall efficacy is rated Substantial against the original intended outcomes, Substantial against the revised outcome targets in the 2nd restructuring, and High against the final revised outcome targets in the 3rd restructuring.

C. EFFICIENCY

Assessment of Efficiency and Rating

45. Economic analysis. The ICR team used the same cost-benefit analysis approach as at appraisal to assess the project’s ex post economic viability at completion for the subprojects under Component 1 and Component 2 (covering approximately 95 percent of total project costs). For road subprojects, the main quantifiable economic benefits included (a) savings in passenger traveling time cost, (b) reduction in vehicle operation cost due to improved road condition in project areas, and (c) avoided economic loss from traffic accidents due to improved transportation conditions. For flood control subprojects, the principal economic benefits were derived from the reduction in the expected future losses caused by floods. The flood loss data were used to estimate losses under the ‘without project’ and ‘with project’ situations and the differences provided the expected economic benefit (saved costs) of reduced flooding. In the analysis, all the subproject costs included both the investments and regular O&M costs.

46. The cost-benefit analysis was applied for both the transportation and flood control subprojects, using quantifiable benefits and costs as outlined earlier. For the wetland restoration subproject, the economic benefits, such as better health, quality of life, and water environment, are difficult to quantify and monetize. Therefore, a cost-effectiveness analysis was carried out to ensure the least-cost option for achieving the development target was selected.

47. The subprojects generated an economic rate of return (ERR) ranging from 11 to 18 percent, indicating each subproject was economically viable on its own; the corresponding range of ERRs at appraisal was 10 to 17 percent. It should be noted that the analysis did not include the significant but not readily quantifiable benefits such as multiplier effects for adjacent land value appreciation, improved public health, accelerated tourism, agricultural development, and local economic growth (see other outcomes discussed in section II.E), thus making the ERRs at project closure conservative estimations for the true economic values of these subprojects. See annex 4 for more detail on the economic analysis.

48. Financial and fiscal impact analysis. This project was essentially a public goods investment project; no private entities were involved. As such, a financial analysis was not applicable. During implementation, the county governments provided counterpart funding for the project. Per current government transport/water sector policy, the local government budget will provide regular O&M funding for the transport and water resources management facilities. No additional fiscal obligation for local governments is expected apart from servicing the IBRD loan, which is a tiny fraction of the local government revenue, given the long-term debt service schedule.

49. Implementation efficiency. The procurement and financial management performance was generally satisfactory (see section IV.B). The project’s one-year extension was well justified to allow

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adequate time to complete the newly added subprojects which produced substantial additional benefits (see section I.B). Although there were some implementation delays (see section III.B), all subprojects were fully completed before the loan closing date. There was no cost overrun against the approved budget, and the IBRD loan was fully disbursed.

50. Project efficiency is rated Substantial.

D. JUSTIFICATION OF OVERALL OUTCOME RATING

51. The split rating approach was applied (table 4), considering that the two PDO indicator targets were revised and the scope of the flood control subcomponent was reduced. The split rating revealed an overall outcome rating of Satisfactory.

Table 4. Split Rating Results Without 2nd Restructuring 3rd Restructuring Restructuring Relevance of PDO High Efficacy Substantial Substantial High Key Public Service 1 – Transport High High Key Public Service 2 - Flood Control Modest Modest High Key Public Service 3 - Wastewater High Management Efficiency Substantial 1 Outcome Ratings Satisfactory Satisfactory Highly Satisfactory 2 Numerical Value of the Outcome Ratings 5 5 6 3 Disbursement US$63.13 million US$31.95 million US$54.92 million 0.21 0.37 0.42 4 Share of Disbursement (that is, 31.95 / (that is, 54.92 / (that is, 63.13 / 150) 150) 150) Weighted Value of the Outcome Rating 5 2.10 1.07 2.20 (Row 2 × Row 4) Satisfactory 6 Final Outcome Rating (2.10 + 1.07 + 2.20 = 5.37 rounding it to 5.0)

E. OTHER OUTCOMES AND IMPACTS

Gender

52. The project design did not include specific gender outcomes though the female residents, accounting for about half of the population, have benefited from the transport, flood, and wastewater management interventions. In the beneficiary satisfaction survey, women beneficiaries showed a high level of satisfaction with the project.

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Institutional Strengthening

53. During project implementation, a total of 2,617 project officials and staff at the provincial and county levels participated in 41 domestic and overseas trainings, workshops, and study tours and benefited from the good practices and lessons learned in different fields. An MIS was established for monitoring progress and results and managing procurement, financial, and disbursement activities.23 The tailored MIS met the project management needs and was adopted by the PPMO and all 11 participating counties, to enhance project implementation management (see more details of MIS application in section IV.A).

Mobilizing Private Sector Financing

54. Not applicable. The project did not mobilize private sector financing.

Poverty Reduction and Shared Prosperity, and Other Unintended Outcomes and Impacts

55. Facilitated the development of schools and hospitals. The improved transport service under this project facilitated the development of new schools and hospitals in several counties. For example, in Jiujiang County buildings for the People’s Hospital and the Shahe Town Central Elementary School were constructed in the project area (with local funds) facilitated by improved transport condition. Similarly, the Second Public Kindergarten and the Xinchang Seventh Elementary School were established following the improvement of the transport condition and accessibility in the project areas of Yifeng County. In Dexing Country, the Phoenix Public Kindergarten and the Shenchun Hospital were built. In addition, the wetland improvements enhanced the desirability of surrounding areas and attracted new schools. For example, the College of Culture and Media and the Red History Education Center decided to develop their campuses next to the Lvcao Lake Wetland constructed under the project.

56. Promoted tourism development. With the support of the project, Hengfeng County developed a new transport-tourism development strategy. The newly constructed and rehabilitated roads helped link the ‘Beautiful Countryside’ tourist spots. One national 4A-level tourist site, two national 3A-level tourist sites, and 14 provincial-level tourist spots were established. Similarly, the new Deshang to Railway Station Road constructed under the project contributed to the development of local tourism in the Longtoushan Town of Dexing City. Over 50,000 persons visited the Longtoushan Town in 2017 after the completion of the new road, and the local tourism revenue increased by 75 percent the same year.

57. Accelerated agricultural development and contributed to poverty alleviation. The project- supported investments in improved transport services helped strengthen agricultural product marketing and processing. For example, along the newly constructed road in Hengfeng County, new vegetable and fruit planting bases had emerged, including 1,000 acres of greenhouse vegetable bases; 2,000 acres of ‘selenium-rich’ sweet potato bases; and 10 fruit bases of mulberry, blood orange, and pomelo. In Ganxian County, the improved road network has facilitated transportation of different agricultural products, such as yuba, stevia, organic vegetables, and honey, and stimulated rural development. These

23 An MIS was also used in other World Bank-supported projects in China, such as the Water Conservation Project II (P114138), which closed in June 2017. The MIS needs to be tailored to meet the application requirements of each specific project.

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had significantly contributed to the poverty reduction in Hengfeng and Ganxin Counties, which were successfully taken off the national poverty county list after the project was implemented.

III. KEY FACTORS THAT AFFECTED IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTCOME

A. KEY FACTORS DURING PREPARATION

58. The project benefited from a well-conceived design with realistic objectives, a clear ToC, adequate risk mitigation measures, and appropriate implementation arrangements. The PDO was clear and achievable. The project components directly supported the PDO with clear operational logic, and the project interventions were closely linked to the outcome and intermediate outcome indicators. Implementation readiness filters were applied during the preparation stage, for example, all project activities were appraised based on solid feasibility studies. Governance risks in terms of cross-sector coordination and implementation agency capacity risks were identified, as the project had multisectoral components spanning 11 selected counties that lacked experience in implementing World Bank- financed operations. Proper risk mitigation measures were developed (see the following section III.B) to strengthen project governance and implementation capacity. However, the risk of changes to the local master plans and development priorities due to the shift in the country’s development strategy to a green growth and sustainable path had not been fully foreseen. Moreover, implementation management was well structured with a clear division of responsibilities. Adequate procurement and financial management as well as social and environmental assessments were carried out and plans were developed to mitigate the related risks.

59. The project was well designed with comprehensive components to provide integrated public services. The project design not only focused on the ‘hard’ infrastructure interventions but also on complementary ‘soft’ innovative activities, such as developing smart transport management and implementing flood early warning systems. These ‘soft’ activities provided the road maps to guide short- and long-term sector development planning and enabled piloting of some innovative tools to enhance public services.

60. The project design was closely aligned with the participating small town development priorities. The project included 11 counties with approved development master plans, and it provided technical assistance to support counties with their sector plan development. With clear guidance from the master plans, the project prioritized the key infrastructure needs of each project county. The adjustments in some master plans later during implementation showed shifts in the small town development priorities and formed the basis for project restructuring.

B. KEY FACTORS DURING IMPLEMENTATION

(a) Factors Subject to the Control of Government and Implementing Entities

61. Well-organized and coordinated two-level implementation management arrangements were critical to the effective implementation of this multisectoral project. The project covered 11 participating counties and required the participation of several sector administrations, including the Development and Reform Commission (DRC), Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Transportation,

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Water Resources, Ecology and Environment, Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement, and Civil Affairs. A two-level implementation management arrangement was established and worked relatively well over the course of implementation:

(a) At the provincial level, a provincial project leading group (PLG) was set up. The Vice Governor of Jiangxi Province chaired the PLG and senior officials from related provincial departments participated as members. The provincial PLG was responsible for coordinating the relevant agencies at the provincial level, improving the cooperation and coordination of the participating counties, and enhancing the engagement between the World Bank and different government agencies. A PPMO was established within the provincial DRC and was responsible for project preparation, management, coordination, and monitoring. A provincial panel of experts was set up to provide technical support and quality assurance in engineering design, procurement, resettlement, and environmental management.

(b) At the county level, a similar structure was put in place. Each county set up a leading group, chaired by a senior leader at the county level with members from related government bureaus. Each county also established its local PMO to manage the implementation of the project.

62. Implementation delays occurred in the early stage of the project period due to the slow internal approval of some subprojects, weak institutional capacity, and slow pace in provision of the required counterpart funds. At appraisal, the counties committed a total of US$175.89 million equivalent counterpart funds, which was revised down to US$141.77 million through the project restructurings. Some counties faced challenges in providing the agreed counterpart funds as several of them were national poverty counties with weak financial capacity. The lag in the provision of counterpart funds led to delays in completing several subprojects. The counterpart funding issue was eventually resolved through additional budget reallocation at the county level and the utilization of loan savings generated from competitive bidding through the restructurings. The overall weak institutional capacity at the county level due to the lack of experience in managing World Bank-funded projects affected the implementation progress in the initial project period. There were frequent changes to the county PLG members and PMO staff in Gongqingcheng City, Ruijin City, and Ganxian County, which caused implementation delays in these counties. In addition, the slow internal approval processes for the subprojects newly added in the restructurings also significantly affected the early implementation progress of these subprojects. To enhance the local institutional capacity, the World Bank team and PPMO had provided a series of well-tailored training workshops for the county PMO staff, including the training on project management, procurement, and financial management as well as M&E. With the continuous capacity building and the secured counterpart funds, implementation progress gradually accelerated.

(b) Factors Subject to World Bank Control

63. The World Bank team was responsive to changing priorities and client needs and showed flexibility in adjusting project design in keeping with the PDO. Implementation support was conducted regularly. As discussed in the preceding paragraph, the World Bank team delivered tailored training to help improve client capacity. The MTR was conducted early which significantly helped steer project implementation. (See also Section IV.)

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(c) Factors Outside the Control of Government and Implementing Entities

64. Prolonged rainy season caused interruptions to the implementation. Four project counties experienced prolonged rainy periods starting from 2018, which caused interruptions to the implementation of newly added subprojects after the last restructuring. Because of that and the implementation delays in the early stage, project performance was rated Moderately Satisfactory for a relatively long period.

IV. BANK PERFORMANCE, COMPLIANCE ISSUES, AND RISK TO DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME

A. QUALITY OF MONITORING AND EVALUATION (M&E)

M&E Design

65. The M&E system had a clear RF with realistic targets but had minor shortcomings in indicator design. The RF provided a clear set of indicators to measure progress against achievement of the PDO. The outcome indicators put emphasis on the direct beneficiaries who gained access to the improved key public services and reflected the efforts to improve the environment in the Poyang Lake Basin. Most of the critical ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ activities had relevant indicators to assess their progress and results. All key infrastructure interventions had straightforward intermediate indicators, such as the length of new/rehabilitated roads, the length of strengthened dikes, and the areas of improved wetlands, to directly monitor their implementation progress. These intermediate indicators were easy to measure and useful for gauging project progress on time. However, the intermediate indicator ‘travel time saved’ was designed to measure the effects of project interventions rather than outputs. The definition of ‘travel time saved per trip’ could also be improved (see discussion in paragraph 30).

M&E Implementation

66. The M&E data were collected and analyzed in a methodologically sound manner, with support from the MIS, government bureaus, and external monitoring agency. All the PMOs had dedicated staff responsible for M&E who used the same MIS to monitor and track the implementation progress of each subproject, along with the related contract and financial data and other project management information. The use of the MIS helped enhance the consistency in data recording and reporting in different counties. In addition, the local government authorities, such as the bureaus of Transport, Water Resources, Ecology and Environment, and City Administration and Law Enforcement, were engaged to oversee the implementation progress and works quality as required by the government regulations. Some of these authorities were also involved in helping verify related monitoring data, for example, travel time saved, water quality, and number of beneficiaries at the subproject level. External third-party monitoring entities (consultants) were contracted to undertake resettlement and environmental management monitoring as part of the implementation arrangements. The environmental monitoring entity was tasked to monitor and report on the results of the wastewater management subcomponent (see section II.B and annex 7.C).

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M&E Utilization

67. The M&E data and other complementary information were used effectively to support project management. Different reports were generated from the MIS for progress reporting, financial reporting, and loan withdrawal applications. The MIS provided critical information on the physical and financial progress for management decisions during the MTR, restructurings, and ICR. For example, timely provision of adequate counterpart funding in Ruijin County was identified as a reason for slow progress with the wastewater management subprojects. In addition, the monitoring and reporting from third- party environmental and resettlement monitoring entities helped the project identify safeguard-related bottlenecks on time and develop practical solutions. Finally, feedback from the interviews conducted by the PMOs and the MIS development team with local communities, engineering design institutes, construction contractors and supervisors also contributed to identifying and resolving implementation issues.

Justification of Overall Rating of Quality of M&E

68. The overall quality of M&E was rated Substantial. Although there were some minor shortcomings in the M&E design, the implementation arrangements for M&E were adequate, data were collected systematically, and the information was used to inform project management and support management decisions.

B. ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND FIDUCIARY COMPLIANCE

Environmental and Social Compliance

69. Compliance with safeguard policies was overall satisfactory. The project was classified as Category B - Partial Assessment. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) documents were prepared and disclosed on the websites of the local government agencies and major local newspapers on August 30, 2012, and at the World Bank InfoShop on September 5, 2012. A third-party monitoring entity was engaged in the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) implementation monitoring. Environmental Assessment (OP 4.01) was triggered, with environmental assessment documents prepared and disclosed according to the World Bank safeguard policies and the GoC regulations, as mentioned above. EIAs were prepared for all subprojects. Natural Habitats (OP 4.04) was triggered by the flood control subproject in Jinxian County given that the subproject could have had negative impacts on a provincial natural reserve on Qinglan Lake. Specific mitigation measures were incorporated into the EMP and Environmental Code of Practice and adequately implemented. Physical Cultural Resources (OP 4.11) was triggered as some subprojects were expected to affect rural household graves. All the compensation and relocation measures for those graves were formally planned, designed, and implemented based on a detailed survey and extensive consultation with the owners. As discussed earlier, the identification of a site of cultural value led to the cancellation of a subproject. Safety of Dams (OP 4.37) was triggered as the Integrated Longjiang River Management subproject in Jinggangshan City was expected to be affected by the safe operation of an existing dam (that is, Qiaolin Dam). The dam safety status and performance history as well as the dam safety plans were reviewed and evaluated. Subsequent actions were taken to implement recommended remedial work and safety- enhanced measures to ensure safety of the dam.

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70. Involuntary Resettlement (OP 4.12) was triggered. The resettlement implementation under the project was fully completed according to the resettlement monitoring report of the third-party monitoring entity. The Resettlement Plan (RP) was revised as a result of project restructuring in terms of adjustment of scope and location of related subproject activities and was reapproved and completely implemented. The final resettlement impact was higher than expected at appraisal because newly added urban transport subprojects incurred additional resettlement; the project affected a total of 10,873 people including land acquisition and relocation. All the compensation due under the project was fully disbursed to the affected people. In Luxi, Hengfeng, and Dexing Counties, house compensation standards applied were higher than those in the RP. Regular training and necessary social security assistance were provided to all affected people. About 14 percent of the affected persons who lost more than 20 percent of farmlands received additional assistance for livelihood restoration. All the relocated households had moved into the replacement houses, with 53 percent of households choosing replacement houses, 44 percent self-construction on the government-provided residential land, and the remaining 3 percent cash compensation. All the new houses were of better quality than the ones owned by the affected households before relocation. An endowment insurance mechanism was established for the farmers whose land was acquired during the project in Jiujiang County. The local government will subsidize the farmers’ insurance premium for 15 years, and these farmers will receive pensions at a certain age (55 years for women and 60 years for men). This mechanism helped ensure the farmers’ income after land acquisition and was scaled up to all the 11 participating counties.

71. Environmental and social safeguards management systems were well established at provincial and county levels. Environmental and social safeguards staff were designated in each local PMO to oversee and report on the EMP and RP implementation. Regular environmental and social training was organized, and external environmental and resettlement monitoring was undertaken. An implementation evaluation on resettlement was conducted and the results included in the final external monitoring report showed that the affected households were generally satisfied with the resettlement implementation results. A transparent and effective Grievance Redress Mechanism was established and operated during the implementation period to collect, record, and echo concerns and complaints. All the disturbed areas, including quarry sites, borrow pits, and spoil disposal sites, were restored or rehabilitated before project completion. The World Bank environmental and social safeguards policies and pertinent government regulations were complied with during project implementation and no new safeguard policies were triggered. There were no outstanding issues at the time of project completion according to the third-party monitoring reports. The project closed with Satisfactory overall ratings for environmental and social safeguards performance.

Fiduciary Compliance

72. Financial management. A sound financial management system was maintained throughout project implementation to ensure project funds would be used for their intended purposes. The PMO’s project financial management capacity was significantly enhanced through targeted training and use of management tools such as the MIS. The IBRD loan was fully disbursed by project completion without ineligible expenditures. Twelve unaudited interim financial reports were submitted to the World Bank in line with the legal documents. The required annual audit reports were submitted on time, and the external auditors issued unqualified audit opinions. However, the auditors also disclosed some project management weaknesses (for example, delays in counterpart funding provision and contract payment in some counties) and related entities were required to take remedial actions. The last project audit report

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is due to be submitted to the World Bank before the end of October 2020. The latest financial management review was conducted in November 2019. The overall financial management performance rating at closure was Satisfactory.

73. Procurement. Procurement was generally conducted in accordance with the agreed procedures and rules specified in the Loan Agreement and Project Agreement. Issues encountered during project implementation included substantial delays in a bid evaluation for a subproject in Jinxian County caused by ambiguous language for qualification and experience requirements in the bidding documents and the long delays in commencement and implementation of flood control works in Jinxian County caused by delayed site possession after contract award. The former was resolved through regular meetings among evaluation committee members, and the latter was resolved through interventions of the provincial government. The overall procurement management performance rating at closure was Satisfactory.

C. BANK PERFORMANCE

Quality at Entry

74. The World Bank performance at entry was Satisfactory. The World Bank team considered lessons learned from other small town projects including having multidisciplinary management teams and a strong implementation coordination arrangement and applied international good practices in designing the transport and water resources management interventions. The team adopted a systematic approach by integrating infrastructure with nonstructural measures as well as capacity-building activities. The project was well designed and had strategic relevance to national, regional, and local development priorities. The World Bank team properly identified the risks of implementing a complex multisectoral project and prepared appropriate mitigation measures. The borrower was highly satisfied with the World Bank performance at entry, stating in the borrower’s ICR that “the project design was advanced and strategic with comprehensive components, and the Bank team clearly defined the project objectives, consisting with regional and local characteristics.”

Quality of Supervision

75. The World Bank performance of supervision was also Satisfactory. The World Bank management set up a multidisciplinary team of senior staff and consultants to supervise the project and provide quality implementation support and practical training on technical quality control, procurement, financial management, safeguards, and project management. In response to the evolving infrastructure service needs, the World Bank team worked proactively with the counterpart project teams to restructure the project three times, which contributed substantially to the achievement of project objectives and full utilization of the World Bank loan. The task team leader was changed twice throughout the project due to staff rotation and movement. However, the transitions did not affect the quality of project supervision and implementation support. The borrower’s ICR also confirmed the dedicated efforts and good performance of the World Bank team in supporting the project implementation and contributing to the successful completion of the project. The World Bank team visited project sites regularly and conducted interviews and consultations with local stakeholders. During the implementation of the urban flood management subproject in Jiujiang County, the World Bank team consulted with the teachers and students of Jiujiang County No. 3 Middle School to seek their views and suggestions on the project. Following these suggestions, a pedestrian bridge next to the

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entrance of the school was added to the design and constructed under the project to facilitate the access, which was widely praised by the school and local community.24

Justification of Overall Rating of Bank Performance

76. The overall World Bank performance was rated Satisfactory. The borrower also concurred with this rating in its ICR.

D. RISK TO DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME

77. The risk to development outcome of the project is low because the important factors that affect sustainability of the project outcome have been fully considered in the project design and implementation. First, a technically good quality assurance mechanism was in place throughout the project preparation and implementation, with inputs from the concerned sector experts at the county level, the provincial expert group, and the multidisciplinary World Bank task team. This involves review of subproject feasibility studies and designs, construction quality control and oversight, and planning for O&M of project facilities. The climate change impact was also factored in the drainage and flood risk analyses for project road and water management works designs. Second, on the institutional front, the concerned sector authorities were involved from the beginning of the project, dedicated entities and teams were appointed to undertake the O&M of completed project facilities following the approved O&M plans. In addition, the beneficiary communities have been consulted and involved in different ways during the project period; the beneficiary survey results demonstrate strong ownership of the project by the beneficiary communities. Third, from a financial perspective, the project facilities were designed following the principle of least project life cycle cost. Each project county is committed to allocating adequate O&M budget required as per the O&M plan. Finally, there are no pending social and environmental issues or grievances at the closure of the project. All the compensation has been paid and necessary livelihoods sustaining arrangements are in place. The project design and implementation were guided by environment-friendly principles promoting use of green infrastructure and cost-effective nonstructural interventions. All the disturbed sites have been restored and construction wastes disposed of properly.

V. LESSONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

78. By integrating the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ interventions, the project made the provision of public services in the small towns more cost-effective and sustainable. The project endeavored to integrate low-cost ‘soft’ interventions with essential ‘hard’ infrastructure investments and achieve more cost- effective and sustainable provision of key public services. This was achieved by combining the transport and water management infrastructure interventions with the following ‘soft’ activities: (a) providing technical assistance to develop strategic sector development plans, (b) establishing a smart transport management system to demonstrate an innovative and efficient way to maximize benefits of an infrastructure service system, and (c) using green infrastructure such as constructed wetlands to provide nature-based solutions to wastewater management and develop a flood early warning system to

24 This information was reflected by the borrower in its comments to the World Bank ICR (see annex 7B).

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enhance the resilience of beneficiary towns. Future projects could adopt similar integrated approach to public services improvement in small town development.

79. An effective coordination mechanism with capacity strengthening is key for successful implementation of multisectoral small town projects scattered in many locations. The implementation challenges the project faced are common in the World Bank-funded projects that require coordination across multiple sectors and that have investments in many different locations. The positioning of the dedicated PMOs in a government department with strong coordination capacity, such as the DRC in China, was key for smooth implementation of the project. A potential downside of this arrangement, however, is that the PMOs may be short of sector specialists for quality oversight. To overcome this challenge, the project established a panel of experts and convened staff from relevant sector authorities to strengthen the technical capacity of the PMOs. This approach also served to enhance project ownership among the sector agencies. In addition, well-tailored capacity-building activities were important to develop the implementation capacity across different sectors and locations. Adequate implementation support was provided by the World Bank team across multiple global practices to the client teams in managing the project.

80. Adaptive implementation approach is critical for projects in a dynamic development environment such as small towns. The rapid urbanization and socioeconomic development in the small towns of the project counties led to shifting priorities and new development needs. Other World Bank- supported small town development projects in China have encountered similar situations25 where changes had to be made to the local government master plans in the course of implementation. It is important for the project to adapt to the changing priorities identified in the new master plans and to accommodate necessary adjustments, to better meet the government’s development requirements. The project was restructured several times in response to the changes in the small towns’ priorities and keeping the investments relevant and effective.

81. Technical and management innovations could serve to expand project benefits with good demonstration effect. A project operating in a diverse and dynamic environment offers opportunities for piloting technical and management innovations to increase project benefits and demonstrate different approaches. Gongqingcheng City established a pilot, smart transport management system with innovative designs and technologies (for example, drones, big data, and cloud technologies). The system helped lift transport management to a new level and improve road safety and social security in the city, benefiting the entire urban population. The pilot demonstrated the benefit of smart transport systems in small town development. Another example of innovation under the project is that the controlling of schistosomiasis disease was integrated into the design of the flood management subproject in Jiujiang County to achieve the win-win results of flood protection and enhancement of public health. Finally, the project also piloted, with very positive results, an endowment insurance mechanism, established to ensure the farmer’s basic income after land acquisition. This good practice could be replicated in other projects and other counties of the project province.

82. Full utilization of project M&E tools can contribute significantly to efficient implementation. Under this project, a tailored MIS applied for progress and results monitoring for the entire project linked physical and financial progress with procurement and contract payment as well as counterpart

25 Refer to footnote 10.

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funding and loan disbursement and effectively improved data consistency and implementation decision- making efficiency and transparency. In safeguards compliance and progress monitoring, the contracted third-party professional entities monitored the performance in implementation of the resettlement action plan and EMP and supported the swift identification of safeguards-related bottlenecks and risks. The environmental monitoring entity was also tasked with conducting technical monitoring for the wastewater management interventions from a technical perspective. The experience in utilization of the MIS and third-party safeguards monitoring from this project can be replicated in other World Bank operations for improving project implementation efficiency. .

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ANNEX 1. RESULTS FRAMEWORK AND KEY OUTPUTS

A. RESULTS INDICATORS

A.1 PDO Indicators

Objective/Outcome: To improve key public services in participating small towns of Jiangxi Province through improvements Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion PO-1. Increased population Number 0.00 491000.00 478000.00 565850.00 with access to newly built or rehabilitated roads. 21-Jun-2013 21-Jun-2013 21-Dec-2016 31-Dec-2019

Comments (achievements against targets): 118 percent achieved. Data from the Borrower's ICR. The actual beneficiary result was higher than the estimated targets, because the newly built/upgraded roads had attracted many new schools, hospitals and residents and the actual beneficiaries had significantly increased.

Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion PO-2. The number of Number 0.00 141000.00 100000.00 99880.00 population protected from flooding. 21-Jun-2013 21-Jun-2013 23-Jun-2018 31-Dec-2019

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Comments (achievements against targets): 100 percent achieved. Data from the Borrower's ICR. In the 3rd restructuring paper, the baseline value of the PDO indicator ‘number of people protected from flooding (persons)’ was revised from 0 to 21,320 to include the population originally protected by the degraded flood control systems before the project. The end target was revised to 100,000. However, according to the definition of the indicator in the PAD in paragraph 3, the number of people protected from flooding should be the ‘additional population protected by increased flood control services’. The baseline value for the indicator should not have changed. The ICR team consulted the PPMO and the World Bank task team who confirmed that the original intention of the revised target was that the expected additional population protected by increased flood control services under the project would be 100,000. Hence, the change in indicator baseline value was not supported. In the efficacy assessment, the results of 99,880 people protected from flooding referred to the additional number of people protected from flooding with the baseline value being 0 as assessed at appraisal.

Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion PO-3. Annual Reduction of Tones/year 0.00 40.00 40.00 110.25 COD entering Poyang Lake 21-Jun-2013 21-Jun-2013 21-Jun-2013 31-Dec-2019

Comments (achievements against targets): 276 percent achieved. Results from the external environmental monitoring report. The result only considered the contributions of wetlands and wastewater treatment plants to the reduction of COD entering the Poyang Lake.

A.2 Intermediate Results Indicators

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Component: Component 1: Transport Infrastructure Improvement

Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion IO 1.1 Length of newly Kilometers 0.00 76.00 65.00 66.11 built/upgraded roads 21-Jun-2013 21-Jun-2013 21-Dec-2016 31-Dec-2019

Comments (achievements against targets): 101 percent achieved. Data from the Borrower's ICR. Fifteen road subprojects were completed, with the total length of 66.11 km.

Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion Road constructed, non-rural Kilometers 0.00 76.00 65.00 66.11

21-Jun-2013 23-Jun-2013 21-Dec-2016 31-Dec-2019

Comments (achievements against targets): 101 percent achieved. All completed roads in this project are non-rural roads.

Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion

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IO-1.2 Travel time saved Minutes 0.00 157.00 152.00 160.90 (minutes per trip) 21-Jun-2013 21-Jun-2013 21-Dec-2016 31-Dec-2019

Comments (achievements against targets): 106 percent achieved. Data from the Borrower's ICR. The actual travel time saved was measured.

Component: Component 2: Water Resources Management Infrastructure

Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion IO-2.1 Length of dike Kilometers 0.00 36.00 29.35 29.35 strengthened 21-Jun-2013 21-Jun-2013 23-Jun-2018 31-Dec-2019

Comments (achievements against targets): 100 percent achievement. Data from the Borrower's ICR. Three flood control subprojects were completed with the total dike length of 29.35 km.

Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion IO-2.2 Increase in Area Square 0.00 22400.00 17052.00 17680.00 Protected from Flood kilometer(km2)

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21-Jun-2013 21-Jun-2013 23-Jun-2018 31-Dec-2019

Comments (achievements against targets): 104 percent achieved. Data from the Borrower's ICR.

Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion IO-2.4 Increased area of Hectare(Ha) 0.00 160.00 160.00 128.63 improved wetland 21-Jun-2013 21-Jun-2013 21-Jun-2013 31-Dec-2019

Comments (achievements against targets): 80 percent achieved. Data from the Borrower's ICR. Five wetlands were completed with the reduced area of 128.63 ha.

Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion IO-2.5 Reduced Annual Cubic 0.00 18800000.00 18800000.00 18666000.00 Wastewater Flow into Meter(m3) Poyang Lake from the Mianjiang River tributary 21-Jun-2013 21-Jun-2013 21-Jun-2013 31-Dec-2019

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Comments (achievements against targets): 99 percent achieved. Results from the external monitoring report. The project considered the contributions of wetlands, wastewater treatment plants and sewerage pipelines to the reduction of wastewater entering the lake.

Component: Component 3: Project Management and Capacity Building

Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion IO-3.1 Number of officials, Number 0.00 2000.00 2000.00 2617.00 experts and PMO staff participating in domestic and 21-Jun-2013 21-Jun-2013 08-Jun-2018 31-Dec-2019 overseas study tours, TA and targeted training programs

Comments (achievements against targets): 131 percent achieved.

Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion IO-3.2 Number of counties Number 0.00 3.00 3.00 with traffic/transportation master plans completed and 21-Jun-2013 21-Jun-2019 31-Dec-2019

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applied

Comments (achievements against targets): 100 percent achieved. Transport master plans were completed and applied in Hengfeng County, Dexing City and Gongqingcheng City.

Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion IO-3.3 Number of counties Number 0.00 2.00 2.00 with flood control and management plans 21-Jun-2013 21-Jun-2013 31-Dec-2019 completed and applied

Comments (achievements against targets): 100 percent achieved. Flood management plans were completed and applied in Jiujiang County and Jinggangshan City.

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B. KEY OUTPUTS BY COMPONENT

Objective/Outcome 1: To improve key public services of transport

Outcome Indicators 1. Increase in population with access to newly built or rehabilitated roads (persons)

1. Length of newly built/upgraded roads (km) 2. Travel time saved (minutes per trip) Intermediate Results Indicators 3. Number of counties with traffic/transportation master plans completed and applied (number) 1.There were 565,850 people who have access to newly built/rehabilitated roads. Key Outputs by Component 2. The total length of newly built/upgraded road was 66.11 km. (linked to the achievement of the Objective/Outcome 3. The travel time saved per trip was 160.9 minutes. 1) 4. Three cities/counties (Hengfeng County, Dexing City, and Gongqingcheng City) had completed and applied the transport master plans.

Objective/Outcome 2: To improve key public services of flood control Outcome Indicators 1. Number of people protected from flooding (persons) 1. Length of dike strengthened (km) 2. Increase in area protected from flood (km2) Intermediate Results Indicators 3. Number of counties with flood control and management plan completed and applied (number) 1. 99,880 people were protected from flooding. Key Outputs by Component 2. The total lengths of dike strengthened was 29.35 km. (linked to the achievement of the Objective/Outcome 3. The areas protected from floods were 17,680 km2. 2) 4. Two cities/counties (Jiujiang County and Jinggangshan City) had completed and applied the flood control and management plans.

Objective/Outcome 3: To improve key public services of wastewater management Outcome Indicators 1. Annual reduction of COD entering the Poyang Lake (tons)

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1. Increased area of improved wetland (ha) Intermediate Results Indicators 2. Reduced annual wastewater flow into Poyang Lake from the Mianjiang River Tributary (1,000 m3) 1. The annual reduction of COD entering the Poyang Lake reached 110.25 tons. Key Outputs by Component 2. The total increased area of improved wetlands was 128.63 ha. (linked to the achievement of the Objective/Outcome 3. The annual wastewater flow into the Poyang Lake from the Mianjiang River was 2) reduced by 18,666 (1,000 m3).

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ANNEX 2. BANK LENDING AND IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT/SUPERVISION

A. TASK TEAM MEMBERS

Name Role Preparation Ximing Zhang Task Team Leader(s)

Jingrong He Procurement Specialist(s)

Yi Dong Financial Management Specialist/Disbursement

Alejandro Alcala Gerez Senior Counsel

Zongcheng Lin Social Specialist

Yiren Feng Environmental Specialist

Yan Sun Social Specialist

Qun Li Senior Operations Officer

Yan Zong Transport Specialist

Shunong Hu Senior Water Engineer

Shiyong Wang Senior Health Specialist

Liping Xiao Senior Education Specialist

Xueming Liu Senior Economist

Geoffrey Spencer Flood Management Expert

Yang Yang Wetland Expert

Xiaoguang Yang Transportation Consultant

Hongwei Zhao Team Member

Supervision/ICR Xiaokai Li Task Team Leader(s) Qi Tian Task Team Leader Jianjun Guo Procurement Specialist(s)

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Name Role Yi Dong Financial Management Specialist Songling Yao Social Specialist Ximing Zhang Team Member Yiren Feng Environmental Specialist Sing Cho Team Member Xueming Liu Senior Economist Anqi Li Team Assistant

B. STAFF TIME AND COST

Staff Time and Cost Stage of Project Cycle No. of staff weeks US$ (including travel and consultant costs) Preparation FY11 0 11,756.36 FY12 50.192 241,724.33 FY13 24.100 112,821.14

Total 74.29 366,301.83

Supervision/ICR FY14 18.503 72,628.48 FY15 20.245 82,845.76 FY16 12.395 40,609.53 FY17 10.232 44,763.61 FY18 12.965 80,035.98 FY19 25.450 138,291.71 FY20 28.030 165,392.47 Total 127.82 624,567.54

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ANNEX 3. PROJECT COST BY COMPONENT

Amount at Approval Actual at Project Closing Percentage Components (US$, millions) (US$, millions) of Approval Total IBRD Loan Total IBRD Loan Component 1: Transport 189.55 100.39 178.40 106.01 94.09 Infrastructure Improvement Component 2: Water Resources 86.26 45.02 57.40 37.61 66.51 Management Infrastructure Component 3: Project Management 24.93 4.21 12.64 6.00 50.76 and Capacity Building Total 300.7426 149.6227 248.4428 149.6229 82.59

26 The total amount in the table at appraisal excludes the contingencies of US$22.16 million, the interest during construction of US$2.61 million, and the front-end fees of US$0.38 million. Thus, the total financing at appraisal was US$325.89 million. 27 This excludes the front-end fees of US$0.38 million. Thus, the total IBRD loan at appraisal was US$150 million. 28 The total amount in the table at closure excludes the interest during construction of US$11.02 million and the front-end fees of US$0.38 million. Thus, the total financing at closure was US$259.84 million. 29 This excludes the front-end fees of US$0.38 million. Thus, the total IBRD loan disbursed at closure was US$150 million.

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ANNEX 4. EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS

Introduction

1. The development objective of the project was to “improve key public services in participating small towns of Jiangxi Province through improvements in prioritized infrastructure.” The project was implemented over a period of six years and financed priority investments in 11 counties in Jiangxi Province through the implementation of three components. The PDO has been achieved through the delivery of investments under three main components: (1) Transport Infrastructure Improvement, (2) Water Resources Management Infrastructure, and (3) Project Management and Capacity Building.

2. Following the approach adopted at appraisal, a cost-benefit analysis was conducted to reassess the project’s ex post economic viability at completion for the roads and flood control subprojects under Component 1 and Component 2 (covering approximately 95 percent of total project costs).

Economic Benefits

3. Road subprojects. Road subproject designs were selected after a thorough analysis of alternatives, ensuring that the selected investments were cost-effective solutions that minimized land acquisition and other social disruptions. Road designs were based on holistic road services that took the latest town master plans into account. National highways, urban roads, and public transport standards were considered; rural-urban roads were designed to support bus service to every village (which is promoted by the national government).

4. The main economic quantifiable benefits include (a) savings in travel time, (b) reduction in vehicle operating costs (VOC) due to improved road conditions in project areas, and (c) avoided economic loss from traffic accidents due to improved transportation conditions.

5. The traffic volume for subprojects that had been in operation for several years before project closing was based on observation using established methodologies. Future volume was estimated based on the projection of increases in local economic growth. For those subprojects completed shortly before the project closed, the traffic volumes were projected based on local economic development and transport demand.

6. The savings in VOC were estimated using an empirical model developed by local consulting firms (including Shanghai Municipal Planning Design Research Institution) with experience working for other World Bank small town road projects in China for the feasibility study of road investments. The model establishes that VOCs are a function of vehicle size and average traveling speed. The difference in VOCs between the ‘with project’ and ‘without project’ scenarios is the estimated saving in travel cost. The traffic volumes over the life of the project were also projected based on local economic development and transport demand.

7. Travel time savings were measured by the change in productivity of passengers and goods. Savings in freight transportation time and passenger travel time were separately measured. Passengers’

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value of time was measured by average income of representative local travelers. Estimation of travel time saved by subproject was reviewed and approved by the Project Evaluation Center under the Provincial Department of Development and Reform Commission.

8. The reduction of traffic accidents was estimated in line with the guidelines for different classes of roads issued by the Ministry of Communication.

9. Other significant but nonquantifiable benefits include (a) productivity increases; (b) better access to public services (education, medical care, cultural services); (c) pollution reduction due to improved road conditions; and (d) increases in amenity and land values associated with improved transportation conditions and environment.

10. Flood control subprojects. Design standards for flood protection/dike strengthening investments were in accordance with Chinese National standard (GB50201-94) for flood protection for different levels of cities. Investments were made to improve flood protection levels as the urban population increases. Environmental protection was essential during dike strengthening work. As quality public open space is in short supply, a secondary objective of dike strengthening in and around central city areas has been to develop high-quality public open space and recreation areas.

11. The principal economic benefits are derived from the reduction in the expected future flood losses. The flood loss data were used to estimate losses under the ‘without project’ and ‘with project’ situations and the differences provided the expected economic benefit (saved costs) of reduced flooding. Past flood frequency and loss data were used to calculate reduction in flood losses in the future under the ‘without project’ and ‘with project’ situations. The difference between the ‘without’ and the ‘with project’ situations provided the expected economic benefit (saved costs) of reduced flooding.

12. Other non-quantifiable benefits include (a) reduced risk to life and health and (b) savings in cost of flood fighting activities.

Economic Costs

13. In the analysis, all the subproject costs include both the investments and regular O&M costs. Economic costs include both capital investment cost and O&M cost.

Assumptions and Methodologies

14. Economic prices. The economic analysis assumes that market prices for most elements of costs and benefits do not vary much from their economic value (that is, estimating separate ‘shadow prices’ is not required). Therefore, in most cases market prices were applied directly in the analysis. The economic costs and benefits are valued in 2019 prices and in local currency. All values are net of inflation, duties, and taxes.

15. Project life. For each subproject, the period of analysis is set for 20 years including operation plus the years of construction.

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16. Opportunity cost of capita. In China, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the national agency for public investment, has adopted a discount rate of 8 percent for public investment projects.30

17. Cost and benefit analyses were applied for both the transportation and flood control subprojects, using quantifiable benefits and costs as outlined earlier. No sensitivity analysis was conducted as the analysis did not include significant nonquantifiable benefits and the results would have been considered floor values.

18. For the wetland restoration subproject, economic benefits such as better health and quality of life and better water environment are difficult to quantify and monetize as the investments are usually too modest in size to establish causal links between them and health and environmental improvements. Therefore, a cost-effectiveness analysis was carried out to ensure the selection of the least-cost option for achieving the development target.

Results of Economic Analysis

19. Based on the above, the results for the road and flood control subprojects at ICR are shown in tables 4.1 and 4.2 alongside those at appraisal or restructuring.

Table 4.1. Road Subproject ERRs ERR (%) ERR (%) County/City Subproject At Appraisal or At ICR Restructuring Dexing Nanmen Area Trunk Avenue 16.9 18.2 Dexing Deshang to Railway Station Road 11.7 12.8 Dexing Damaoshan Avenue Rehabilitationa 14.8 14.4 Ganxian Yiyuan New District Road Network 16.7 17.1 Gongqingcheng Binhu Roada 15.6 15.3 Hengfeng Chengfu Road 16.4 16.9 Hengfeng Yaojia to Gangbian Road 17.8 18.3 Jiujiang Jiujiang to Outside Faciliteis Road 11.1 12.4 Luxi East Yuan River Road 10.3 12.8 Luxi North Circular Roada 10.9 11.2 Nanfeng Nanfeng Bridge 12.2 13.2 Yifeng Yuanming Bridge to No. 320 National Road 14.1 15.2 Yifeng South City Area Road Network 13.7 13.4 Yifeng Nanping Bridge and Linking Roada 14.3 16.1 Yifeng West Arterial Roada 14.4 15.2 Note: a. Stands for newly added subproject at project restructuring.

30 For public investment projects, the NDRC has adopted the discount rate of 8 percent. See “Economic Analysis of Investment Projects: Methods and Parameters,” China Planning Press, Beijing, 2006.

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Table 4.2. Flood Control Subproject ERRs

ERR (%) ERR (%) County/City Subproject At Appraisal At ICR Jinxian Qinglan Lake Flood Protection and Drainage 16.7 18.3 Jiujiang Integrated Urban Flood Control Management 16.9 17.5 Jinggangshan Integrated Longjiang River Management 14.6 16.1

20. The ERRs at ICR and appraisal/restructuring are by and large comparable, reflecting the good estimations at appraisal/restructuring for the costs and benefits. It should be noted that the analyses do not include the significant but not readily quantifiable benefits such as multiplier effects for adjacent land value appreciation, accelerated urbanization, and local economic growth, thus making the ERRs very conservative estimations for the true economic values of these subprojects.

21. No sensitivity analysis was conducted as the results could be considered as floor values of subproject ERRs.

Financial and Fiscal Impact Analysis

22. This project was essentially a public good investment and no commercial entities were involved. A financial analysis was not applicable. During project implementation, sufficient counterpart funding was provided by the Government. Per current government transport/water sector policy, the local government treasury will provide the regular O&M costs for the road and flood subprojects. No additional fiscal obligation for local governments is expected apart from servicing the World Bank loan, which is a tiny fraction of the local government revenue given the long-term debt service schedule.

Project Implementation Impact on Efficiency

23. The procurement and financial management performances were generally satisfactory (see section IV.B). The one-year extension of the loan closing date was well justified as explained in section I.B. Despite the initial implementation delays (see section III.B), all subprojects were fully completed before the loan closing date. There were no significant cost overruns against the approved budget at the subproject and project levels, and the IBRD loan was fully disbursed.

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ANNEX 5. BORROWER’S COMMENTS

A. Borrower’s Comments on the Bank’s ICR (Translated from Chinese)

Dear Mr. Xiaokai Li,

We have received the final draft ICR for the Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project prepared by the World Bank team. Based on a careful review, we would like to share our comments as follows:

1. The information contained in the report is factual and assessments objective supported with accurate data.

2. The report is well structured and completed, which fully reflects the situation of the project.

3. In particular the lessons learned and recommendations are well summarized and to the point, which provide very good references for our implementation of other World Bank-financed projects in the future.

4. We fully agreed with the ‘Satisfactory’ rating of the project. We’d like to express our sincere appreciation of the World Bank team’s excellent technical guidance and hard work for the project.

In addition, we suggest adding the following to the ‘World Bank performance’ section: the approach of site visit and consulting with stakeholders adopted by the World Bank team improved project implementation and brought additional social benefits. For example, during the construction of the integrated urban flood management subproject in Jiujiang County, the World Bank team consulted with the teachers and students of Jiujiang County No. 3 middle school to seek their views on the project. Following the suggestion of the teachers and students, a pedestrian bridge next to the school's side entrance was built under the project for the convenient access, which was widely praised by the school and local community.

Jiangxi Provincial Urban Construction Foreign Capital Utilization Management Office (seal) Nanchang, China May 9, 2020

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B. Borrower’s ICR Summary

I. Project Overview

1. The PLEEZ in Jiangxi Province had been selected by the GoC to demonstrate new small town development highlighted in the 12th FYP. In 2009, the State Council approved a national-level development plan for the Poyang Lake Region - the Poyang Lake Ecological Economic Plan. The small town urbanization rate in the PLEEZ was around 45 percent at appraisal, lower than the national average. This World Bank-financed project, Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project, selected 11 less developed counties in the PLEEZ with approved master plans and supported these counties to improve key public services through improvement to prioritized infrastructures.

2. The project had three main components at appraisal: (1) Transport Infrastructure Improvement; (2) Water Resources Management Infrastructures; and (3) Project Management and Capacity Building. There were 15 transport subprojects and 7 water resources management subprojects planned at appraisal. Along with other technical assistant components and smart transport systems, the project aimed to further enhance the local road transport networks and urban public transport system and improve water resources management services in selected counties including increase of flood protection level in urban areas and improvement of water environment.

3. During implementation, new challenges and requirements emerged from the rapid urbanization in Jiangxi Province. The Jiangxi PPMO requested the World Bank to restructure the project three times in response to the changing demand. During the restructuring in December 2016, eight subprojects had to be dropped due to changes in related master plans and difficulties in land acquisition and resettlement. At the same time, six new subprojects were added to the project. During the June 2018 restructuring, the subproject ‘Mianjiang River Improvement in Ruijin City’ was cancelled because it could not meet the requirements of the World Bank’s Safeguards Policy. In addition, the loan closing date was extended for one year to December 31, 2019, to allow adequate time to fully complete the project activities.

II. Achievement of PDOs

4. The overall development objective of the project has been achieved, that is, to improve key public services in the 11 participating small towns of Jiangxi Province through improvements to prioritized infrastructure. The achievements are verified by M&E of the agreed indicator results. The performance was evaluated using a series of indicators against the end target values, with details shown in table 5.1. Most indicators are rated ‘Highly Satisfactory’ or ‘Satisfactory’.

Table 5.1. M&E of PDO Indicators and Intermediate Outcome Indicators PAD Adjusted Adjusted Achievem Unit of % of 2018 Indicator Target Target Target ent at Rating Measure Target (2012) (2016) (2018) 2019 end PDO Indicator(s) PO-1. Increase in Persons 491,000 478,000 478,000 565,850.0 118.38 Highly population with Satisfactory access to newly built

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PAD Adjusted Adjusted Achievem Unit of % of 2018 Indicator Target Target Target ent at Rating Measure Target (2012) (2016) (2018) 2019 end or rehabilitated roads. PO-2. Number of Persons 141,000 134,000 100,000 99,880.0 99.88 Satisfactory people protected from flooding PO-3. Annual Ton 40 40 40 493.22 1233 Highly reduction of COD Satisfactory entering the Poyang lake IO Indicator(s) IO-1: Length of Km 76 65 65 66.11 101.71 Satisfactory newly built/upgrade roads IO-2: Travel time Minutes 157 152 152 160.9 105.86 Highly saved per trip Satisfactory IO-3: Length of dike Km 36 35 29.35 29.35 100 Satisfactory strengthened IO-4: Increase in area Km2 22,400 20,200 17,052 17,680 103.68 Satisfactory protected from flood IO-5: Increased area Ha 160 160 160 128.63 80.39 Moderately of improved wetland Satisfactory IO-6: Reduced 1,000 m3 18,800 18,800 18,800 19,576 104.13 Satisfactory annual wastewater flow into Poyang Lake from the Mianjiang River Tributary IO-7: Number of Number 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,617 130.85 Highly officials, experts and Satisfactory PMO staff participating in domestic and overseas study tours, TA and targeted training programs IO-8: Number of Number 3 3 3 3 100 Satisfactory counties with traffic/transportatio n master plan completed and applied IO-9: Number of Number 2 2 2 2 100 Satisfactory counties with flood control and management plan completed and

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PAD Adjusted Adjusted Achievem Unit of % of 2018 Indicator Target Target Target ent at Rating Measure Target (2012) (2016) (2018) 2019 end applied Overall rating Satisfactory

5. Among the monitored values, the accumulative value of the PO-3: Annual reduction of COD entering the Poyang Lake was 493.22 tons by the end of 2019, which was far beyond its target. It took into account the contributions from other investments funded by local government subprojects, which constructed additional wastewater intercepting pipes of 11.324 km in length, 5,194 three-grid septic tanks in rural areas, wastewater treatment stations, and wastewater intercepting trunk, and so on.31

III. Economic and Financial Analysis

6. Transport infrastructure improvement. The implementation of transport infrastructure subproject could help add value to the land close to project infrastructures, divert traffic flows and relieve pressure, improve investment environment, and increase the image and influence of the county, thus creating enabling environment and conditions for local economic development. Since the cost- benefit analysis is a quantitative method, ideally all costs and benefits need to be quantified. However, many of the abovementioned benefits are difficult to quantify, hence the benefits derived from the economic analysis based on traffic flows represent only part of the overall benefits. The main benefits of the transport infrastructure subproject include (a) benefits from transport cost saving and (b) benefits from saving in travel time. Cost includes actual investment costs and O&M costs.

7. Water resources management infrastructure. Quantifiable benefits are assessed based on flooding losses avoided or reduced from the construction of flood protection structures under this project, including direct and indirect economic losses. Beyond the analysis, benefits difficult to quantity include loss of life and personal injury, epidemic diseases, and environmental pollution which are avoided and/or reduced from the project implementation. The flood control benefits are assessed based on the losses difference with and without the project. Mean annual benefits of flood protection are calculated based on integrated indicator of unit losses per mu. After the completion of the project, the flood protection standards have been increased to 1-in-10 years and 1-in-20 years in the project area. Cost includes actual investment costs and O&M costs.

8. Results of economic analysis. Primary analysis was conducted based on the aforementioned principles. It shows that the ERRs of the 15 transport subprojects range from 11 to 18 percent and the ERRs of the 3 flood subprojects range from 16 to 18 percent. This verifies that all the transport and flood protection subprojects are economically viable.

IV. Environmental and Social Benefits

31 In the World Bank’s ICR, the indicator achievement of ‘Annual reduction of COD entering the Poyang lake’ and ‘Reduced annual wastewater flow into Poyang lake from the Mianjiang River tributary’ was assessed based on the external environmental monitoring report (annex 7B). The achievements only considered the investments under this project. The contribution of non- World Bank financed subproject was not included.

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9. The social and environmental benefits from implementing this project have been gradually emerging.

Social Benefits

• Road transport system and public utilities in urban area improved and local economic development enhanced • Urban flood protection and disaster alleviation capacity strengthened • Value of land use in project counties (cities and districts) improved • Pace of urbanization in the project counties (cities and districts) increased • Development of rural tourism triggered • Benefits and positive social impacts gained from the traffic monitoring and early warning system subproject in Gongqingcheng City • Management and technical capacity of government staff and stakeholders strengthened; professional personnel trained.

Environmental Benefits

• Natural resources and ecological environment conserved; well-being of people improved • Natural wetland resources conserved; pollution discharges in upper Ganjiang reduced • Public awareness of environmental protection greatly improved • Environment quality and sanitation significantly improved.

Findings of beneficiary satisfaction survey. To further investigate the satisfaction of affected farmers and broad beneficiaries in project counties (cities and districts) with the project, led by the Jiangxi PPMO with participation of relevant agencies, a satisfaction survey was designed and implemented in the 11 project counties (cities and districts). A total of 609 households, of which 167 poor households and 335 female respondents, were interviewed in the project area of 11 project counties (cities, districts). Statistics analysis of questionnaire feedbacks shows that 83.4 percent interviewed farmers and urban citizens were highly satisfied and 16.6 percent of respondents were satisfied with the improvement of transport; 82.2 percent respondents were very satisfied and 17.8 percent respondents were satisfied with effects of flood protection; and 84.9 percent respondents were highly satisfied and 15.1 percent respondents were satisfied with the improvement of environment. Satisfaction survey indicates that the implementation of this project is welcomed and supported by the broad masses of people in the project area.IV. Operation of Project Facilities

10. All PMOs of project county (city, district), related bureaus, and agencies such as bureau of construction bureau, bureau of city administration, bureau of transport, bureau of water resources (water affairs), and beneficial townships and communities are highly committed to the operation and management of infrastructures created under this project, including roads, flood control structures, water environment improvement facilities, and smart monitoring and early warning system of urban transport. Efficient measures have been taken to ensure the O&M of project infrastructure is in line with local conditions.

V. Bank’s Performance

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11. As the executing agency of the lender, throughout the preparation and implementation periods, the World Bank team closely coordinated and worked with the borrower in accordance with terms and conditions set forth in the Project Agreement and Loan Agreement of the project, effectively promoting the normalized and institutionalized management of the project and ensuring the achievement of expected outcomes and impacts. Considering views of different stakeholders, the borrower agreed that the World Bank’s overall performance is initially rated Satisfactory. Details of rating are in table 5.2.

Table 5.2. Performance Assessment and Satisfaction Rating of the World Bank, Evaluated by Borrower No. Item Description Rating 1 Project design Project is designed with clear strategy and advanced concept. Highly Satisfactory 2 PDOs Targeting specific and appropriate issues which are relevant to Highly the region. Could show sustainability of the project. Satisfactory 3 Planning and Proper planning, programming, and restructuring are made Satisfactory restructuring during the appraisal and MTR. 4 Technical support Well experienced, have good personal and occupational ethics, Satisfactory and provide detailed guidance in a considerate manner. 5 Financial management Well planned and then smoothly implemented Satisfactory 6 Performance reporting Timely identification of issues encountered during Satisfactory implementation and recommendations to address those. Standardized and rigorous way of working, professional ethics, and sense of responsibility play an important role in problem solving. 7 Supervision Fulfilled duties, playing a critical role in project completion; Highly meanwhile, introduced advanced management methods and Satisfactory tools. 8 Communication with Timely, flexible, smooth, and candid communications were made Satisfactory the borrower side to ensure progress toward expected directions. However, the frequent changing of World Bank project manager created obstacles to communication between project counties and the World Bank team. The current project manager of the World Bank has been assigned to this project in the latter stage of implementation. Based on enhanced monitoring and coordination and adequate technical guidance, the implementation of this project has been facilitated effectively with all project activities completed on time. 9 Technical assistance by Provided technical guidance and brought in advanced concepts Satisfactory international experts and methods, and so on. 10 Achievement of With the strong support and participation of the World Bank, Satisfactory objectives designed outcomes and objectives have been achieved. However, changing of project manager for three times, especially once per year in the recent two years, has challenged the communication between project counties and the World Bank team. 11 Overall performance The professional working attitude, efficient way of working, and Satisfactory practical working method, of the World Bank team throughout preparation and implementation, is the key to success. Meanwhile, valuable management experiences have been introduced to the governments, which also provides good references and experiences to future international financial

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No. Item Description Rating institution (IFI) projects. However, the frequent changing of project manager of the World Bank made communication between project counties and the World Bank sometimes challenging. The current project manager of the World Bank has been assigned to this project in the latter stage of implementation. Based on enhanced monitoring and coordination and adequate technical guidance, the implementation of this project has been facilitated effectively with all project activities completed on time.

VI. Borrower’s Performance

12. To ensure the smooth implementation of the project, Jiangxi provincial government and governments of 11 project counties have taken their obligations set forth in the legal documents, contributing to the successful completion of the project activities and the achievement of outcomes and objectives.

• On the borrower’s side, coordination office at the provincial level and management offices in each of the project counties were established, which are equipped with designated professional staff, including project management and financial management. PLGs were established in the local government, participating with representatives from related agencies, that is, reform and development commission, finance, urban construction, transport, water resources, land and resources, environmental protection, and civil affairs., to coordinate on major issues encountered. Project advisory group was also established to provide needed technical assistance and consulting services to the implementation of the project.

• Different levels of the government were highly committed to the project and provided counterpart funds in full amount and on time. Relevant procedures and systems were established and completed to ensure compliance with regulations and requirements, including project management, construction management, procurement, contract management, financial management, reimbursement, and disbursement and accounting. The M&E and MIS were set up to improve efficiency and quality of management.

• Technical capacity development was enhanced by organizing domestic and international trainings, study tours, and workshops of different types and topics to gradually increase competency of related management and technical staff from the different agencies and communities, meeting actual needs by the project management.

13. Taking all aspects into consideration, the overall performance of the Jiangxi provincial government and its related departments at the provincial level and PMO in each of the project counties was initially self-rated Satisfactory. Meanwhile, covenants and requirements set forth in relevant legal documents have been fairly enforced and met by the Jiangxi provincial government and governments of 11 project counties (cities, districts).

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VII. Lessons Learned

14. The development and application of the smart transport system significantly improved the management and efficiency of urban transport in Gongqingcheng City. As the first pilot city at the county level developing and applying the smart transport commanding and early warning system, through the development of infrastructures and technical trainings to relevant staff, the level of informatization and automatization of the transport management of the Gongqingcheng City has been significantly improved with its staff in the traffic police brigade able to consult the new tool. Notable results have been achieved from the development and application of the smart transport system, including further improvement of the level of management of urban transport, facilitating and enhancing the speed and quality of urbanization of Gongqingcheng City, which puts Gongqingcheng City ahead of other small- and medium-size cities in Jiujiang City, even in the entire Jiangxi Province, showing proved role of demonstration.

15. Urbanization and the development rate of Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin area have been improved and catalyzed by the demonstrative role of this project. The role of demonstrating best practices of urban planning and transport planning of this project was identified and incorporated during the project processing stage, by (a) improving city development planning of local governments, (b) including specific studies on transport planning to bring new concepts and methodology to the local government to enhance local capacity, and (c) implementing the Gongqingcheng City Smart Transport Upgrading Project to introduce advanced tools and concepts.

16. A security system established for farmers who lost their land underpinned the smooth implementation of the resettlement works in project areas. All such farmers in the 11 project counties (except the Jinggangshan City, Hengfeng County, and Ruijin City), due to change of land use for urban development purpose, have been fully covered by the social security system in compliance with requirements by the integrated urban-rural development, in terms of unemployment insurance, pension, and medical insurance. During the implementation of the social security system for land-loss farmers, preferential policies have been issued particularly for vulnerable land-loss farmers at advanced age and with special difficulties in living. All farmers who lost their land due to the implementation of this project have been included in the abovementioned local security system to ensure the rights and interests of local farmers, which has effectively facilitated the implementation of this project.

17. Significant achievements have been obtained in the preventative control of bilharziasis through combined efforts of flood control activities. Project areas of the Jiujiang County Urban Flood Control Project are covered by epidemic areas for schistosomiasis. The project site, Shanhejie Town of Jiujiang County, is within Shahe area that has a long history as epidemic area for schistosomiasis. Thorough disease control measures have been taken for upstream reaches of the Shahe River. In downstream reaches of the Shahe River, within jurisdictions of Xincheng Village and Dongfeng Village, there are about 274,000 m2 of water areas with freshwater snails in those areas. Notable results have been achieved from the implementation of the Jiujiang County Urban Flood Control Project and the Prevention and Control of Bilharziasis Project. No more freshwater snails were found in the sampling survey conducted by the Schistosomiasis Disease Control Station of Jiujiang County after completion of construction of project infrastructures. It shows that freshwater snails in relevant river sections have been effectively eliminated by the subproject, reducing health risks of local communities and establishing a sound foundation for the economic and social development of Jiujiang County.

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ANNEX 6. SUBPROJECT DETAILS

Table 6.1. Project Details of Component 1 - Transport Infrastructure Improvement At Appraisal 2nd Restructuring At Closure County/City Subproject (Completed Project (Planned Project Details) (Actions) (Planned Project Details) Details) Dexing Nanmen Area Trunk Avenue 1.7 km road 1.1 km road 1.069 km road

Dexing Deshang to Railway Station Road 5.6 km road 5.6 km road 5.597 km road Dexing Damaoshan Avenue — Added 1.8 km road 1.77 km road Rehabilitation Ganxian Yiyuan New District Road 6.5 km road 6.5 km road 6.47 km road Network Gongqingcheng Wusi to Junshan Road 8.1 km road Dropped — — Gongqingcheng Downtown to Sujiadang Road 7.9 km road Dropped — — Gongqingcheng Fenghuang to Zequan Road 8.1 km road Dropped — — Gongqingcheng A New Bus Station (including 1 bus station Dropped — — main facilities and buildings) Gongqingcheng Binhu Road — Added 5.7 km road 5.74 km road

Hengfeng Chengfu Road 7.3 km road 7.3 km road 7.27 km road

Hengfeng Yaojia to Gangbian Road 16.4 km road 16.4 km road 16.439 km road

Jiujiang Jiujiang to Outside Faciliteis 1.9 km road 1.9 km road 1.895 km road Road Luxi East Yuan River Road 2.3 km road 2.3 km road 2.284 km road Luxi North Circular Road — Added 4.42 km road 4.42 km road Nanfeng Xingnong Road in Hedong 4.8 km road Dropped — — District Nanfeng Nanfeng Bridge 296 m bridge 296 m bridge 296 m bridge

Yifeng Yuanming Bridge to No. 320 1.4 km road with 170 m 1.31 km road with 156 m 1.443 km road with National Road bridge bridge 156 m bridge Yifeng South City Area Road Network 4.4 km road 4.4 km road 5.32 km road Yifeng Nanping Bridge and Linking Road — Added 1.3 km road 1.23 km road

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At Appraisal 2nd Restructuring At Closure County/City Subproject (Completed Project (Planned Project Details) (Actions) (Planned Project Details) Details) Yifeng West Arterial Road — Added 4.8 km road 4.87 km road

Total 76.4 km road, and 1 bus 65.1 km road 66.11 km road station

Table 6.2. Project Details of Component 2 - Water Resources Management Infrastructure Improvement At Appraisal 2nd Restructuring 3rd Restructuring At Closure (Planned County/City Subproject (Planned Project (Planned Project (Actions) (Actions) Project (Completed) Details) Details) Details) Qinglan Lake Flood Jinxian 14.3 km dike 14.25 km dike 14.25 km dike 14.25 km dike Protection and Drainage Yuanhe River Flood Luxi Protection and Dike 5.7 km dike Dropped — — — Ecological Development 10,000 m3/day water treatment Luxi Urban Water Supply System Dropped — — — plant and 5.6 km pipelines Integrated Urban Flood Jiujiang 4.5 km dike 4.5 km dike 4.5 km dike 4.5 km dike Management Mianjiang River East Dike Ruijin 1.1 km dike Dropped — — — Ecological Development Mianjiang River Wetland 160 ha 128.63 ha Ruijin 160 ha wetland 160 ha wetland Protection and Restoration wetland wetland Mianjiang River Ruijin Added 5.6 km dike Dropped — — Improvement Project 10.6 km dike 10.6 km dike and 10.6 km dike and 10.6 km dike and Integrated Longjiang River and 7.8 km 7.8 km Jinggangshan 7.8 km wastewater 7.8 km wastewater Management wastewater wastewater collection system collection system collection collection

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At Appraisal 2nd Restructuring 3rd Restructuring At Closure (Planned County/City Subproject (Planned Project (Planned Project (Actions) (Actions) Project (Completed) Details) Details) Details) system system 36.2 km dike, 160 29.35 km dike, 35 km dike, 160 ha 29.35 km dike, ha wetlands, 10,000 and 160 ha Total wetlands and 128.63 ha m3/day water wetlands wetlands treatment plant

Table 6.3. Dedicated Entities for O&M of Component 1 - Transport Infrastructure Improvement

County/City Subproject At Closure Dedicated Entities for O&M Dexing Nanmen Area Trunk Avenue Completed Dexing Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau Dexing Deshang to Railway Station Road Completed Dexing Road Bureau Dexing Damaoshan Avenue Rehabilitation Completed Dexing Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau Ganxian Yiyuan New District Road Network Completed Ganxian Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau Gongqingcheng Wusi to Junshan Road Dropped due to Gongqingcheng Downtown to Sujiadang Road master plan changes Gongqingcheng Fenghuang to Zequan Road Dropped due to master plan changes, — A new bus station (including main while the local Gongqingcheng facilities and buildings) government plans to redesign and construct the station Gongqingcheng Binhu Road Completed Gongqingcheng Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau Hengfeng Chengfu Road Completed Hengfeng Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau Hengfeng Yaojia to Gangbian Road Completed Hengfeng Road Bureau (rural road management department) Jiujiang Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau, Jiujiang Jiujiang Jiujiang to Outside Faciliteis Road Completed Municipal Company

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County/City Subproject At Closure Dedicated Entities for O&M Luxi East Yuan River Road Completed Luxi Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau Luxi Rural Operation and Management Company (the company will be responsible for the O&M, while the local government will provide Luxi North Circular Road Completed RMB 160 million per year from the government budget to support the O&M) Dropped due to land Nanfeng Xingnong Road in Hedong District — acquisition issue Nanfeng Transport Bureau, Nanfeng Urban Administrative and Law Nanfeng Nanfeng Bridge Completed Enforcement Bureau, Nanfeng Water Resources Bureau Yuanming Bridge to No. 320 National Yifeng Completed Road Yifeng South City Area Road Network Completed Yifeng Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau Yifeng Nanping Bridge and Linking Road Completed Yifeng West Arterial Road Completed

Table 6.4. Dedicated Entities for O&M of Component 2 - Water Resources Management Infrastructure Improvement

County/City Subproject At Closure Dedicated Entities for O&M Qinglan Lake Flood Jinxian Completed Jinxian Water Resources Bureau Protection and Drainage Yuanhe River Flood Luxi Protection and Dike Dropped due to master plan changes — Ecological Development Dropped from this project, while the local government is using other funds to construct a Luxi Urban Water Supply System — larger water supply system (70 percent completion at project closure) Integrated Urban Flood Jiujiang Completed Jiujiang Water Resources Bureau Management Mianjiang River East Dike Dropped from this project, while the local Ruijin — Ecological Development government had completed the project with

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County/City Subproject At Closure Dedicated Entities for O&M its own funds Mianjiang River Wetland Local Town Governments, Ruijin Cultural and Tourism Ruijin Completed Protection and Restoration Development Company Mianjiang River Ruijin Dropped due to safeguard concerns — Improvement Project Jinggangshan Water Resources Bureau, Jinggangshan Integrated Longjiang River Jinggangshan Completed Flood Control Office, Longshi Town General Law Management Enforcement Bureau

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The World Bank CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (P126856)

ANNEX 7. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

A. Key Bank Documents

• Loan Agreement between People’s Republic of China and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (LOAN NUMBER 8234-CN), May 17, 2013

• Project Agreement between People’s Republic of China and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (LOAN NUMBER 8234-CN), May 17, 2013

• The World Bank, Project Appraisal Document for the Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project, February 7, 2013

• The World Bank, Aide Memoires and Implementation Status Reports for the Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project, 2014–2019

• The World Bank, Restructuring Papers for the Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project, January 22, 2016, December 21, 2016, and June 23, 2018

• The World Bank, China - Country Partnership Framework for the Period FY2020–2025 (Report No. 117875-CN)

• The World Bank, China - Country Partnership Strategy for the Period FY2013–2016 (Report No. 67566-CN)

• Borrower’s ICR (in Chinese), April 2020.

B. Monitoring and Assessment Results of Wastewater Management Subprojects

Project Details

1. There were two wastewater management subprojects—the Mianjiang River Wetland Protection and Restoration in Ruijin City and the Integrated Longjiang River Management in Jinggangshan City. The original Mianjiang River Wetland Protection and Restoration subproject in Ruijin City included five wetlands with a planned area of 160 ha (see table 7.1). During implementation, the planned intervention areas in Yeping and Lvchao Lake Wetlands were reduced due to the difficulties in land acquisition, and the Longzhu Lake Wetland, which had an area of 4.73 ha, was added. Therefore, the project completed works in five wetlands, but the total area was reduced to 128.63 ha. In addition, as planned, the project completed 11.8 km sewerage pipelines along with two small integrated wastewater treatment plants with 560 and 500 tons per day design capacity. The Integrated Longjiang River Management Project in Jinggangshan City included a 7.8 km wastewater and stormwater collection pipelines, which were fully completed by project closure. A third-party environmental monitoring

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agency, Beijing Jingcheng Huanyu Environmental Technique Company, was hired to monitor the contribution of the wastewater management subprojects to the related output and outcome indicators.

Table 7.1. Wetland Subproject Details Planned Components Subproject Name of Project Component Completed Components Wetlands Types Details Mianjiang Rentian Wetland Wetland 40.2 ha 40.2 ha wetland, with 3,694 km sewerage pipes River Wastewater Capacity One wastewater treatment plant with 560 Wetland treatment 560 tons/day capacity Protection plant tons/day and Yeping Wetland Wetland 49.1 ha 44 ha wetland, with 1,676 km sewerage pipes Restoration Yaoqianba Wetland 2.5 ha 0 ha wetland, with 0.918 km sewerage pipes in Ruijin Wetland in Xiang City Lake Forest Swamp Wetland 13.7 ha 13.7 ha wetland Wetland Lvchao Lake Wetland 86.3 ha 26 ha wetland, with 2,316 km sewerage pipes Wetland Integrated Capacity One wastewater treatment plant with 500 wastewater 560 tons/day capacity treatment tons/day plant Baimianba Sewerage — 3.203 km sewerage pipes Sewerage Pipeline pipe Project Longzhu Lake Wetland — 4.73 ha wetland Wetland Total 160 ha 128.63 ha wetland, 11.8 km sewerage wetland pipelines, two wastewater treatment plants with 1,060 tons/day design capacity in total

Wetland Contributions to Output/Outcome Indicators

2. To monitor the impacts of wetlands on wastewater treatment, the environmental monitoring agency collected water samples during June, October, and December 2019, when the water levels were above, equal, and below average levels, respectively. Each monitoring period lasted three days, and water samples were taken three times a day from the wetlands’ inlets and outlets. In addition, water depth, water flow rate, and other hydrological parameters were measured in these locations. Figure 7.1 shows an example of the spatial distribution of water samples taken in the Rentian, Yeping, and Forest Swamp Wetlands.

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The World Bank CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (P126856)

Figure 7.1. Water Sample Distribution in the Rentian, Yeping, and Forest Swamp Wetlands

(Source: External environmental monitoring report)

3. The contributions of wetlands to the reduction of COD entering the Poyang Lake were estimated as follows:

• Rentian Wetland. The Rentian Wetland has a wetland area of 40.2 ha and water purification plants that cover 10.92 ha. The flow rate of the Rentian Wetland is 21,845 m3 per day. According to the measured water quality results, the COD of inflow is 12.65 mg/L, and the COD of outflow is 8.22 mg/L. Therefore, the contribution of the Rentian Wetland on the COD reduction is 21,845 m3 per day × (12.65 mg/L − 8.22 mg/L) × 365 days = 35.32 tons per year (see table 7.2).

• Yeping Wetland. The Yeping Wetland has a wetland area of 44 ha and water purification plants that cover 7.03 ha. The flow rate of the Yeping Wetland is 14,057 m3 per day. According to the measured water quality results, the COD of inflow is 7.80 mg/L and the COD of outflow is 6.24 mg/L. Therefore, the contribution of the Yeping Wetland on COD reduction is 14,057 m3 per day × (7.80 mg/L − 6.24 mg/L) × 365 days = 8 tons per year (see table 7.2).

• Forest Swamp Wetland. The Forest Swamp Wetland has a wetland area of 13.7 ha and water purification plants that cover 1.0 ha. The flow rate of the Forest Swamp Wetland is 4,160 m3 per day. According to the measured water quality results, the COD of inflow is 6.96 mg/L and the COD of outflow is 5.96 mg/L. Therefore, the contribution of the Forest

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The World Bank CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (P126856)

Swamp Wetland on the COD reduction is 4,160 m3 per day × (6.96 mg/L − 5.96 mg/L) × 365 days = 1.52 tons per year (see table 7.2).

• Lvcao Lake Wetland. The Lvcao Lake Wetland has a wetland area of 26 ha and water purification plants that cover 2.47 ha. The flow rate of the Lvcao Lake Wetland is 4,945 m3 per day. According to the measured water quality results, the COD of inflow is 22 mg/L and the COD of outflow is 4.67 mg/L. Therefore, the contribution of Lvcao Lake Wetland on the COD reduction is 4,945 m3 per day × (22 mg/L − 4.67 mg/L) × 365 days = 31.28 tons per year (see table 7.2).

• Longzhu Lake Wetland. The Longzhu Lake Wetland was completed in September 2019. The plants are gradually developing in the lake. Therefore, the contribution of Longzhu Lake on COD reduction was not considered in this assessment.

Table 7.2. Contributions of Wetlands to COD Reduction Flow Rate (m3/day) Inflow COD (mg/L) Outflow COD (mg/L) COD Reduction (tons/year) Rentian 21,845 12.65 8.22 35.32 Yeping 14,057 7.80 6.24 8.00 Forest Swamp 4,160 6.96 5.96 1.52 Lvcao Lake 4,945 22.00 4.67 31.28 Longzhu Lake — Total 45,007 76.12

Wastewater Treatment Plant Contributions to Output/Outcome Indicators

4. The third-party agency monitored the inflow COD of two wastewater treatment plants and estimated the annual COD reduction as follows:

• Rentian Wastewater Treatment Plant. The Rentian Wastewater Treatment Plant has a design capacity of 560 tons per day and the actual treatment rate is 520 tons per day. According to the monitoring, the inflow COD is 144 mg/L. The outflow of the treatment plant reaches the I-Level B standard, with an outflow COD of 60 mg/L. Therefore, the contribution of the Rentian Wastewater Treatment Plant on COD reduction is 520 tons per day × (144 mg/L − 60mg/L) × 365 days = 15.94 tons per year (see table 7.3).

• Lvchao Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant. The Lvchao Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant has a design capacity of 500 tons per day and the actual treatment rate is 450 tons per day. According to the monitoring reports, the inflow COD is 125.89 mg/L and the outflow COD is 15.14 mg/L. Therefore, the contribution of the Lvchao Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant on COD reduction is 450 tons per day × (125.89 mg/L − 15.14 mg/L) × 365 days = 18.19 tons per year (see table 7.3).

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The World Bank CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (P126856)

Table 7.3. Contributions of Wastewater Treatment Plant to COD Reduction

Treatment Rate Inflow COD Outflow COD COD Reduction (tons/day) (mg/L) (mg/L) (tons/year) Rentian 520 144.00 60.00 15.94 Lvchao 450 125.89 15.14 18.19 Lake Total 970 34.13

Sewerage Pipe Contributions to Output/Outcome Indicators

5. The sewerage pipes collected and treated the wastewater in the wastewater treatment plants. The wastewater collected in the sewerage pipes is estimated as follows:

• Sewerage pipes in Rentian Wetland. The wastewater collected through these sewerage pipes was transferred into the Rentian Wastewater Treatment Plant for treatment.

• Sewerage pipes in Yeping Wetland. The wastewater collection area of the sewerage pipelines in Yeping Wetland is 38.8 ha. The designed wastewater collection rate is 0.4 L/s/ha. The annual wastewater collection is 38.8 ha × 0.4 L/s/ha × 365 days = 489,000 m3 per year.

• Sewerage pipes in Lvchao Wetland. The wastewater collected by these sewerage pipes was transferred into the Lvchao Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant for treatment.

• Sewerage pipes in Yaoqianba Wetland. The wastewater collection area of the sewerage pipelines in Yaoqianba Wetland is 21.3 ha. The designed wastewater collection rate is 0.4 L/s/ha. The annual wastewater collection is 21.3 ha × 0.4 L/s/ha × 365 days = 269,000 m3 per year.

• Sewerage pipes in Baimianba Wetland. The wastewater collection area of the sewerage pipelines in Baimianba Wetland is 89.3 ha. The designed wastewater collection rate is 0.4 L/s/ha. The annual wastewater collection is 89.3 ha × 0.4 L/s/ha × 365 days =1,126,000 m3 per year.

Total Contributions to Output/Outcome Indicators

6. Since the sewerage pipes are the ancillary facilities of the wastewater treatment plants where major COD reduction occurs, the direct contributions of sewerage pipelines on COD reduction were not considered in this assessment. Therefore, the total contribution of wastewater management subprojects (wetlands and wastewater treatment plants) to the outcome indicator ‘Annual reduction of COD entering the Poyang Lake’ was 76.12 + 34.13 = 110.25 tons (see the results in tables 7.2 and 7.3).32

32 The outcome achievement was assessed based on the external environmental monitoring report. The achievement only considered the investments under this project. In the borrower’s ICR, the target achievement was much higher, as it included the contribution from other investments funded by the local government. Similarly, the target achievement of the intermediate

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7. The result of the output indicator ‘Reduced annual wastewater flow into Poyang Lake from the Mianjiang River Tributary’ is estimated at 18,666,000 m3 per year (table 7.4).

Table 7.4. Annual Wastewater Flow Reduction Wastewater Reduction Project Details m3/day m3/year Wetlands Rentian Wetland 21,845 7,973,425 Yeping Wetland 14,057 5,130,805 Forest Swamp Wetland 4,160 1,518,400 Lvchao Lake Wetland 4,945 1,804,925 Longzhu Lake wetland — — Wastewater Treatment Plants Rentian Wetland 520 189,800 Lvchao Lake Wetland 450 164,250 Sewerage Pipes Rentian Wetland Calculated in Rentian wastewater treatment plant Yeping Wetland 1,340 489,000 Lvchao Lake Wetland Calculated in Lvchao Lake wastewater treatment plant Yaoqianba Wetland 737 269,000 Baimianba Lake Wetland 3,085 1,126,000 Total 18,665,605

outcome indicator ‘Reduced annual wastewater flow into the Poyang Lake from the Mianjiang River Tributary’ was also assessed based on the external environmental monitoring report, rather than on the borrower’s ICR.

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The World Bank CN-Jiangxi Poyang Lake Basin and Ecological Economic Zone Small Town Development Project (P126856)

ANNEX 8. PHOTOS OF SELECTED ACTIVITIES

Smart Transport Management System—Gongqingcheng City

1. This project supported Gongqingcheng City to develop a smart transport management system. The system has an integrated management platform based on the cloud and big data (figure 8.1, i–ii). Various monitoring systems were installed (figure 8.1, iii–vi). The system also uses disruptive technologies, such as drones (figure 8.1, vii), to collect data. The intelligent police management subsystem (figure 8.1, viii) was included, which helped create a safer society and assist in event management (for example, figure 8.1, ix shows an example of how the system was used to monitor and manage a city marathon).

Figure 8.1. Smart Transport System in Gongqingcheng City (i) (ii)

(iii) (iv)

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(v) (vi)

(vii) (viii)

(ix)

Source: PPMO.

Transport Subprojects

2. Figure 8.2 shows the comparison of the before and after situations of selected transport subprojects, such as the Nanping Bridge and Linking Road Subproject in Yifeng County (figure 8.2, i– ii) and Yaojia to Gangbian Road Subproject in Hengfeng County (figure 8.2, iii–iv).

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Figure 8.2. Examples of Improved Transport Service in Yifeng and Hengfeng Counties (i) Before (ii) After

(iii) Before (iv) After

Source: PPMO.

Flood Management Subprojects

3. Figure 8.3 shows the example of Integrated Longjiang River Management in Jinggangshan City. The flood protection level was raised from 1-in-5-year to 1-in-10-year floods after the project completion.

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Figure 8.3 Examples of Improved Flood Control in Jinggangshan City (i) Before (ii) After

Source: PPMO.

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ANNEX 9. SITE MAP

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