Restructuring-Integrated-Safeguards-Data-Sheet-GZ-Integrated-Cities-And-Urban
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The World Bank RESTRUCTURING ISDS GZ-Integrated Cities and Urban Development Project (P150991) Public Disclosure Authorized Integrated Safeguards Data Sheet Restructuring Stage Public Disclosure Authorized Restructuring Stage | Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 12-Jan-2021| Report No: ISDSR31294 Public Disclosure Authorized Regional Vice President: Ferid Belhaj Country Director: Kanthan Shankar Regional Director: Ayat Soliman Practice Manager/Manager: Jaafar Sadok Friaa Task Team Leader(s): Rafeef Abdelrazek, Christopher T. Pablo Public Disclosure Authorized The World Bank RESTRUCTURING ISDS GZ-Integrated Cities and Urban Development Project (P150991) . I. BASIC INFORMATION 1. BASIC PROJECT DATA Project ID Project Name P150991 GZ-Integrated Cities and Urban Development Project Task Team Leader(s) Country Rafeef Abdelrazek, Christopher T. Pablo West Bank and Gaza Approval Date Environmental Category 21-Sep-2016 Partial Assessment (B) Managing Unit SMNUR PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions) SUMMARY-NewFin1 Total Project Cost 5.00 Total Financing 5.00 Financing Gap 0.00 DETAILS-NewFinEnh1 Non-World Bank Group Financing Trust Funds 5.00 Special Financing 5.00 2. PROJECT INFORMATION PROG_INF O Current Program Development Objective The proposed PDO is to enhance the capacity of participating urban areas to plan for sustainable urban growth. The World Bank RESTRUCTURING ISDS GZ-Integrated Cities and Urban Development Project (P150991) 3. PROJECT DESCRIPTION 1. The Integrated Cities and Urban Development Project (ICUD) supports local government units (LGUs) of the five leading socio-economic urban areas in West Bank and Gaza (WB&G): Gaza City, Nablus urban area, Hebron urban area, Bethlehem urban area, and Ramallah-Al Bireh urban area1. These five participating urban areas were selected based on their strategic importance in terms of population and future economic growth and include 16 municipalities, 14 village councils, and 8 refugees camps, serving a total of 1.45 million people2, or approximately 30 percent of WB&G’s population. 2. This is the first project to introduce cross-jurisdictional “metropolitan” planning across the LGUs of the leading urban areas in the Palestinian territories. To support this new process of collaboration between the urban area LGUs in the West Bank and to foster ownership and commitment for joint activities, ICUD facilitates the development of intra- urban area coordination mechanisms (joint coordination units – JCUs) to be operational in all of the participating urban areas except for Gaza City, which is comprised of a single LGU.3 Through the intra-urban area JCUs, the participating urban areas in the West Bank, along with Gaza City, are supported by the project to conduct urban growth planning. The project is also strengthening the institutional and technical capacity of participating urban areas to plan for sustainable urban growth through, inter alia, the provision of technical assistance (TA), goods, and training in order to enable the areas to respond more efficiently to the needs of their growing populations and the private sector with more sustainably and well- planned urban spaces and infrastructure. 3. ICUD finances the following components: (a) Component 1: Planning for Sustainable Urban Growth strengthens the institutional and technical capacity of participating urban areas to plan for sustainable urban growth through, inter alia, the provision of TA, goods, and training. Component cost is US$4.55 million from TFGWB and US$19.09 million from PID-MDTF. (b) Component 2: Project Implementation Support and Management Cost finances the training, operating costs, and goods necessary for the technical oversight and implementation support of the proposed project to be performed by, inter alia, a Technical Supervisor and Local Coordinator for the Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah-Al Bireh urban areas. This component also finances the management fee of the Municipal Development and Lending Fund (MDLF), which manages procurement, finance, safeguards, and reporting for the project based on technical inputs from the Technical Supervisor. Component cost is US$0.45 million. 4. As requested by the Palestinian Authority (PA), through the Ministry of Finance, and the Municipal Development and Lending Fund (MDLF) and Ministry of Local Government (MoLG), as the Implementing Agencies of the project, ICUD will be restructured to incorporate the following changes: (i) an adjustment of the scope of Component 1 to include the addition of works; (ii) revision of the Results Framework to establish previously undefined targets and capture additional project results; and (iii) an extension of the project closing date to allow for full achievement of both the project indicators and the PDO. 1 With the exception of Gaza City, which is located in the Gaza Strip, the latter four urban areas are located in the West Bank and are considered the territory’s major “urban agglomerations”, which are defined as built-up urban areas extending across existing municipal and village council boundaries with common labor and housing markets. They were identified at project preparation through spatial analysis of urban extent and in consultation with MoLG and selected LGUs. 2 As per Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) 2017 census figures. 2021 predicted population for the corresponding areas is 1.59 million. 3 Ramallah, Al Bireh, and Bitounia municipalities prior to the project had a joint unit. The project works with this unit. Based on the spatial analysis of the area, Surda-Abu Qash Municipality was added to the unit under this project. The World Bank RESTRUCTURING ISDS GZ-Integrated Cities and Urban Development Project (P150991) 5. As part of the adjustment of the scope of Component 1, small-scale works in the form of demonstration projects will be added to pilot prioritized joint investments by the participating urban area LGUs. These projects are intended to demonstrate the benefits and effectiveness of coordinated planning and sustain the progress and momentum of joint cooperation and integrated planning that ICUD has fostered among the agglomeration LGUs. To include these activities under the project, an amendment will be drafted to include “works” under the project Grant Agreement. 4. PROJECT LOCATION AND SALIENT PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS RELEVANT TO THE SAFEGUARD ANALYSIS (IF KNOWN) The project's activities are being implemented in the five leading socio-economic urban areas in West Bank and Gaza. These consist of Gaza City in the Gaza Strip and four urban agglomerations in the West Bank: (i) Nablus urban area; (ii) Hebron urban area; (iii) Bethlehem urban area; and (iv) Ramallah-Al Bireh urban area. These five participating urban areas were selected because of their strategic importance in terms of population and future economic growth, and include 16 municipalities, 14 village councils, and 8 refugees camps, serving a total of 1.45 million people, or approximately 30 percent of the population. 5. ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL SAFEGUARDS SPECIALISTS ON THE TEAM Helen Z. Shahriari, Social Specialist Shafick Hoossein, Environmental Specialist Najm-Ul-Sahr Ata-Ullah, Social Specialist SAFEGUARD_TABLE 6. SAFEGUARD POLICIES TRIGGERED Safeguard Policies Triggered Explanation To safeguard for potential downstream environmental and social risks of the project activities, the project is categorized as a Category B and the instrument used is an Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF), which will act as the overarching tool to guide the project. This ESMF will screen all ICUD planning studies and works, explicitly exclude activities with category A impacts (if any), identify potential downstream Environmental Assessment (OP) (BP 4.01) Yes environmental and social risks, and guide preparation of safeguards-specific studies in parallel to technical planning activities. More specifically, Terms of Reference for the activities financed under Components 1 and 2 (Planning for Sustainable Urban Growth and Project Implementation Support and Management Costs) will contain provisions to examine the environmental and social implications of any policy The World Bank RESTRUCTURING ISDS GZ-Integrated Cities and Urban Development Project (P150991) changes, modifications in land use, detailed studies of specific infrastructure, and any issues of potential impact to beneficiaries. Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs) will also be prepared to guide and monitor each activity involving works under the pilot projects. Consultations to be carried out for each pilot project will inform affected businesses and people on the proposed activities and potential impacts (e.g., disruptions caused during construction) as well as orient them on the project GRM. As the project includes works, the ESMPs will incorporate aspects of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Standards relevant to the proposed activities and mitigate for and adequately address any impacts that may arise. A Strategic Environment and Social Assessment (SESA) was also prepared under the project as one of the tools under the ESMF. It is used as a guiding tool for the pilot activities to identify the priority impacts but also to advise the project on what opportunities and constraints exist the context of the project. Performance Standards for Private Sector No N/A Activities OP/BP 4.03 Sub-project screening forms will ensure exclusion Natural Habitats (OP) (BP 4.04) No of any activities with potential OP 4.04 impacts. Sub-project screening forms will ensure exclusion