Technical Assistance Consultant’s Report Project Number: 7059-GEO August 2009 Georgia: Preparing the Ajara Bypass Road Development Project Prepared by Engconsult, Ltd. 21 Queen Street E., Suite 302 Brampton, Ontario, L6W 3P1 Canada For Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City Philippines This consultant’s report does not necessarily reflect the views of ADB or the Government concerned, and ADB and the Government cannot be held liable for its contents. (For project preparatory technical assistance: All the views expressed herein may not be incorporated into the proposed project’s design. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Georgia is located south of the Caucasus mountain range, with Russia to the north, Armenia and Turkey to the south, Azerbaijan to the east, and the Black Sea to the west. It has a population of 4.5 million. The road network (2008) consists of 1,495 kilometers of international roads, with about 92% in good to fair condition; 5,446 kilometers of secondary (interstate) roads of which 28% are in poor condition and need rehabilitation; and 13,480 kilometers of local roads. The 81 km Poti – Batumi – Sarpi (S2) road along the western coast of Georgia, mainly located in the Ajara Autonomous Republic, is a key international highway and international transit route in Georgia. It is connected to the major Black Sea ports of Georgia, viz. Batumi and Poti, and a number of holiday resorts, the two major ones being Batumi and Kobuleti. Due to heavy traffic on this road there has been significant increase in congestion and accidents particularly in Batumi and Kobuleti and especially during the tourist season. The Government plans to construct two bypass roads around Batumi and Kobuleti to address these problems The Government requested ADB’s help to prepare and finance the construction of these two bypass roads. The Technical Assistance (TA) “Preparing the Ajara Bypass Roads Development Project” was approved on 28 January 2008. After discussion between ADB and Government of Georgia it was agreed that the bypass roads would form two projects (tranches) of a Multi-tranche Financing Facility (MFF). The first tranche would comprise the Kobuleti Bypass (28km) and 6 km of existing road widening while it is envisaged that the second tranche would comprise the Batumi bypass (14km). The Project aims at improving transport reliability by providing a cost-effective investment program to improve traffic flow between Poti and Sarpi, with considerable savings in both travel time and accident reduction costs. To achieve the above objectives, the TA Project’s scope of work comprised the following components: • prepare a feasibility study for construction of bypass roads and to undertake a road sector and institutional analysis. • Prepare preliminary engineering design for the preferred alignment; • Prepare a road safety component for the new road; • Identify the needs for capacity building of Roads Department of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure; • Establish benchmark indicators and monitoring system for the project implementation; The following conclusions and recommendations are made by the Technical Assistance (TA) study team based on their investigations and analysis. These are set out in more detail in the main text and appendices of the report. Road Alignment: The road alignment provides a bypass of the developed tourist area of Kobuleti for 28km, then joins the existing coast road for 6km and then provides a bypass of Batumi for 14km. The total road is 48km in length and stretches from the Choloki to the Chorokhi Rivers. The first 34 kilometers is proposed as tranche 1 of a Multi-tranche Financing Facility (MFF) with the Batumi bypass proposed as tranche 2. Road Standard and Design Speed: The new road should be built as a two lane high class road with limited access except for the 6 km section where the existing coast road is to be widened to four lanes. It is recommended that it be generally constructed to the new Georgian design standards for an international road; where these are not applicable other international standards should be used. Traffic volumes would indicate that a two lane road will be sufficient through the 20 year evaluation period. Road Access: It is important that traffic on the project road be allowed to travel quickly and safely and that there is no interaction between through traffic and local traffic and pedestrians. It is therefore recommended that access to the new road be only at interchanges, located near traffic generation centers, and that local traffic, including tractors, pedestrians, bicycles and animals should not be allowed on the highway except for the six km section of coastal road widening. Costs: Based on the preliminary costs the estimated construction cost for the total project is GEL 523 million ($ 314 million equivalent) at current prices, including, land, design, supervision and physical and price contingencies but not including any interest during construction PMU costs or additional TAs. For the first tranche road section the cost is GEL 258 million ($155 million equivalent). Economic and Financial Analysis: Based on the preliminary costs the economic rate of return (EIRR) of the total project (48km) is 14.8 percent; for the first tranche it is 16.2 percent. Organization: It is recommended that the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure (MRDI) be the executing agency (EA) and Roads Department (RD) be the implementing agency (IA). It is proposed that a project management unit (PMU) be formed within RD. Capacity Building: The construction and operation of this high class road will require technical and operational skills that are not yet at present in Georgia. It is recommended that, as part of the project, an extensive training program be initiated to develop these skills during construction and before the project opens. It is recommended that, as part of this capacity building training be carried out in conducting an axle load survey to ascertain the extent of the problem of overloaded vehicles. Other technical assistance is recommended in management of private sector involvement in infrastructure projects and in preparing a roads transport strategy. Road Safety: In order to improve road safety on the project and other roads it is recommended that road safety audits, awareness campaigns and training in road safety issues be included in tranche I of the project. Environment: RD and its related divisions should review the suggested environmental clauses included in the EIA/SEIA and ensure that they are inserted into the contract specifications section of the bid Land Acquisition and Resettlement. The RD, with due assistance from the Ministry of Finance, should ensure that implementation of land acquisition and resettlement are carried out promptly and efficiently in a legal and transparent manner following the Land Acquisition and Resettlement Framework (LARF) and Land Acquisition and Resettlement Plan (LARP) agreed with ADB. The RD should ensure that implementation of the LARP is monitored, evaluated, and reported to ADB as required in the LARP and LARF. Social. RD should ensure compliance with ADB’s Policy on Gender and Development (1998) during implementation of the Project and should take necessary steps to encourage women living in the area of tranche I and further tranches of the MFF to participate in such project implementation, including causing the contractors to maximize employment of women. RD should ensure an independent monitoring of the social impacts throughout implementation of the Project, FINAL REPORT Asian Development Bank Roads Department Ministry of Rural Development and Infrastruucture of Georgia Main Report TA No. 7059-GEO Preparing the Ajara Bypass Roads Development Project August 2009 ENGCONSULT LTD. 21 Queen Street E., Suite 302 Brampton, Ontario, L6W 3P1 Canada BT LTD. ECL CONSULTANTS LTD. Road No 2, House No. 18, (2nd Floor) 11 Brothers Kakabadze St., 0108 Tbilisi, Georgia Mirpur 11, Dhaka 1221, Bangladesh. www.eng‐consult.com i Table of Contents I STUDY CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................... 1 II INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 7 A. Background to the Study ..................................................................................................... 7 B. Description of Project ........................................................................................................... 8 1. Project Area .................................................................................................................... 8 2. Components .................................................................................................................... 8 C. Conduct of the Study ........................................................................................................ 9 1. Executing Agency and Counterparts .............................................................................. 9 2. Study Team ..................................................................................................................... 9 3. Summary of Methodology ............................................................................................... 9 4. Progress ........................................................................................................................ 10 D. Contents of the Report ..................................................................................................