Armenian Water and Sewerage Company Armenian Small Municipalities Water Project Proj. No. 610-1182 STAKEHOLDERS ENGAGEMENT PLAN . I Quarter 03/2013 Armenian Small Munisipalities Water Project SEP – 03/2013 AWS CJSC Fichtner Water & Transportation GmbH / “Jrtuc” LLC Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 4 2. LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR PROJECT DISCLOSURE AND PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS .................................................................................................... 7 3. STAKEHOLDERS IDENTIFICATION ........................................................... 10 4. MEETINGS HELD DURING DESIGN ELABORATION ................................ 12 5. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION IN ELECTRONIC OR PRINTED FORM 14 5.1. Stakeholder Engagement Programme ...................................................................... 14 6. GRIEVANCE MECHANISM ........................................................................ 15 6.1 Grievance mechanism for external stakeholders .................................................... 15 6.2 Grievance mechanism for internal stakeholders ..................................................... 16 6.3 Grievance mechanism for employees ...................................................................... 16 6.4 Grievance mechanism for Contractors ..................................................................... 19 6.5 Monitoring and evaluating the grievance mechanism ............................................ 19 Annex 1: List of stakeholders ............................................................................................................ 20 Annex 2: Public grievance form ........................................................................................................ 23 Annex 3: Grievance form for employees and non-employee workers .......................................... 24 Annex 4: EBRD labor requirements for construction contractors ................................................ 25 Annex 5: Stakeholders` awareness ................................................................................................... 27 Annex 6: Photos .................................................................................................................................. 30 Table 1: List of communities................................................................................................................ 5 Table 2: List of meetings. ................................................................................................................... 12 Figure 1: Administrative map of Armenia ........................................................................................... 5 2 Armenian Small Munisipalities Water Project SEP – 03/2013 AWS CJSC Fichtner Water & Transportation GmbH / “Jrtuc” LLC List of abbreviations ASMWP Armenian Small Municipalities Water Project AWSC Armenian Water and Sewerage Company Closed Joint Stock Bank European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Client Armenian Water Sewerage Company CNR Construction norm Consultant Fichtner Water & Transportation GmbH in association with Jrtuc LLC DRR Daily Regulation Reservoir EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EN European norms FWT Fichtner Water & Transportation GmbH mg/l milligram per liter mg*eq/l milligram equivalent per liter WWTP Waste Water Treatment Plant LGA Local Government Agencies 3 Armenian Small Munisipalities Water Project SEP – 03/2013 AWS CJSC Fichtner Water & Transportation GmbH / “Jrtuc” LLC 1. INTRODUCTION Within the frame of on-going cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Devel- opment, the Republic of Armenia has developed “Armenian Small Municipalities Water Project” (Operation Number 40718) which includes (i) improvement of municipal water supply in Tavush, Lori, Shirak, Gegarkunik, Kotayk, Syunik and Vayots-Dzor provinces and (ii) rehabilitation of wastewater treatment plants and sewerage collectors in Tavush (town of Dilijan) and Vayots-Dzor (town of Jermuk) provinces. The following agreements were signed within the aforesaid Project: a) Financing Agreement (“Grant-Co-Financing”) signed on January 20, 2011 between the European Union represented by the European Commission and the Republic of Armenia represented by the Ministry of Finance and “Armenian Water and Sewerage” CJSC. The grant proceeds under the Agreement make up 7.6 mln EUR. b) Loan Agreement signed on 14 July 2011 between the Republic of Armenia and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The loan proceeds under the Agreement make up 6.5 mln EUR. The Project foresees a contribution from the European Investment Bank amounting at 6.5 mln EUR (“EIB Co-financing”). Project also foresees provision of the technical grant from other donor organizations amounting at 1.1 mln EUR. The total investments under the Project are estimated at 21.7 mln EUR. The Project is targeted at rehabilitation of municipal water supply and wastewater systems in 14 towns and 3 villages in 7 provinces of Armenia. In general, 22 settlements were studied, however considering the limited loan funds it was decided to include into Project 17 settlements selected on a priority basis. Based on the preliminary investigations, the following approaches were applied for selection of activities in settlements; Direct the loan proceeds provided by EBRD to the most essential and priority improve- ment measures within WW systems of settlements (e.g. construction of WWTP in Jermuk, which is aimed at maintaining clean water in Lake Sevan). In order to get maximal tangible and notable results, it was decided to implement major rehabilitation and technical improvement of individual integral elementary components of WW systems, thus trying to avoid diffusion of investments (such as improvement of water supply system of Shamakhyan District of Dilijan). The Armenian Small Municipalities Water Project will be implemented in the following communi- ties: 4 Armenian Small Munisipalities Water Project SEP – 03/2013 AWS CJSC Fichtner Water & Transportation GmbH / “Jrtuc” LLC Table 1: List of communities. N Province Community Ijevan 1. Tavush Azatamut Dilijan Akhtala 2. Lori Spitak Jrashen Tashir 3. Shirak Artik Sevan Chambarak 4. Gegarkunik Gavar Sarukhan Martuni Kotayk Byureghavan 5. Abovyan 6. Syunik Kapan 7. Vayots-Dzor Jermuk In order to achieve timely and efficient attainment of Project goals, a consultant was selected through international competitive bidding (JV Fichtner Water & Transportation GmbH/ Jrtuc LLC) who will assist AWS CJSC in preparation of the design, technical supervision of construction works, procurement, payment and all other functions. A contract on Engineering, Design and Contracts Supervision was signed between JV Fichtner Water & Transportation GmbH/ Jrtuc LLC and AWS CJSC on March 21, 2012. Figure 1: Administrative map of Armenia 5 Armenian Small Munisipalities Water Project SEP – 03/2013 AWS CJSC Fichtner Water & Transportation GmbH / “Jrtuc” LLC The Stakeholders Engagement Plan (SEP) was prepared in accordance with EBRD’s Environ- mental and Social Policy (2008), in particular its Performance Requirement PR 10: Information Disclosure and Stakeholder Engagement and Public Information Policy (2008). The EBRD’s Environmental and Social Policy (2008) and requirements to its implementation are available at: http://www.ebrd.com/downloads/research/policies/esp08ru.pdf Stakeholders engagement means building and maintain sustainable relations with persons who are impacted by or interested in Armenian Small Municipalities Water Project and its perfor- mance. The SEP provides overall description of relations between various stakeholders at vari- ous stages of the design including EIA, preparation works, designing, construction, operation and conservation. This communication will facilitate the process throughout the design, enhance and follow-up the achievement of the best performance at each design stage. The objective of SEP is to make accessible in a timely manner the relevant and understandable information to all stakeholders including vulnerable people and indigent groups. The SEP shall include the opinions and concerns of stakeholders in relation to the Project. This will enable Con- sultant and AWS CJSC address them adequately. This SEP should be seen as an active working document. It will be updated each three months. The Consultant and AWS CJAC will assess all the proposals on improving the SEP and the inter- action process between stakeholders. The project initiator and contact person for AWS CJSC is Mr. Norik Gevorgyan Director Investment Programs Coordination Department 8A Vardanants Blind Alley, Yerevan 0010, Armenia Phone/Fax: (+374 10) 542877 Email: [email protected] 6 Armenian Small Munisipalities Water Project SEP – 03/2013 AWS CJSC Fichtner Water & Transportation GmbH / “Jrtuc” LLC 2. LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR PROJECT DISCLOSURE AND PUB- LIC CONSULTATIONS EBRD considers information disclosure, public consultations and stakeholders engagement an on-going process that should be launched at the initial phases of project preparation and continue throughout the project implementation. The SEP shall be prepared and implemented in accordance with EBRD’s Environmental and So- cial Policy (2008), in particular its Performance Requirement PR 10: Information Disclosure and Stakeholder Engagement and Public Information Policy (2008). The following documents also are relevant for preparation of SEP. UN ECE (Economic