Initial Environmental Examination August 2020 NEP: South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Airport Capacity Enhancement Project Airport Capacity Enhancement Project - Tribhuvan International Airport Prepared by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Government of Nepal for the Asian Development Bank. CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 8 July 2020) Currency unit – Nepalese rupee (NPR) NPR1.00 = $ 0.008370 $1.00 = NPR 119.48 ABBREVIATIONS ACEP - Airport Capacity Enhancement Project ADB - Asian Development Bank BOQ - Bill of Quantities CAAN - Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal CSC - Construction Supervision Consultant DoA - Department of Archaeology EIA - Environmental Impact Assessment EMP - Environmental Management Plan EMoP - Environmental Monitoring Plan EPA - Environmental Protection Act GBIA - Gautam Buddha International Airport GoN - Government of Nepal GRM - Grievance Redress Mechanism GRC - Grievance Redress Committee IA - Implementing Agency IEE - Initial Environmental Examination IFC EHS - International Finance Corporation Environmental Health and Safety ITB - International Terminal Building MoFE - Ministry of Forests and Environment MoPE - Ministry of Population and Environment OHS - Occupational Health and Safety PPC - Project Preparatory Consultant PMU - Project Management Unit PPEs - Personal Protective Equipment/s PPTA - Project Preparation Technical Assistance REA - Rapid Environmental Assessment SASEC - South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation SEMR - Semi-annual Environmental Monitoring Report SPS - Safeguards Policy Statement (ADB) TIA - Tribhuvan International Airport WHO - World Health Organization WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ºC - degree Celcius cm - centimeter dBA - decibels A km - km ppm - parts per million GLOSSARY Bikram Sambat (B. S.) – Nepalese calendar year that runs from mid-April to mid-April. Unless otherwise stated, year ranges written in the form 2015/016 denote a single calendar year. NOTES i.) The fiscal year (FY) of the Government ends on 15 July. FY before a calendar year denotes the year in which the fiscal year ends, e.g., FY2020 ends on 15 July 2020. ii.) In this report, "$" refers to US dollars unless otherwise stated. This initial environmental examination is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. Your attention is directed to the “terms of use” section on ADB’s website. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................... i I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 1 A. Overview of the Sector Development Program ............................................................................. 1 B. SDP Investment Components ....................................................................................................... 1 C. TIA investment Components Overview ......................................................................................... 1 D. Rationale of the IEE ...................................................................................................................... 2 E. Objectives of the IEE ...................................................................................................................... 3 II. POLICY, LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK .................................................................. 3 A. Nepal’s Legal Framework and Regulatory Requirements for the Project ..................................... 3 B. Initial Environmental Examination ............................................................................................... 11 C. Asian Development Bank Policies .............................................................................................. 12 III. PROJECT DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................................. 12 A. TIA Investment Component ........................................................................................................ 13 B. Associated Facilities .................................................................................................................... 16 C. Proposed Implementation Requirement ..................................................................................... 19 IV. DESCRIPTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT ......................................................................................... 20 A. Physical Environment .................................................................................................................. 20 B. Biological Environment ................................................................................................................ 29 C. Socioeconomic Environment....................................................................................................... 30 V. ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES......................................................................................................... 32 A. With and Without Project Scenario ............................................................................................. 32 B. Alternatives .................................................................................................................................. 34 VI. ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES ............................... 35 A. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 35 B. Beneficial Impacts and Benefit Augmentation Measures ........................................................... 35 C. Adverse Impacts during Pre-construction Stage ......................................................................... 36 D. Adverse Impacts during Construction Stage ............................................................................... 36 E. Impacts during Operation Stage ................................................................................................. 47 F. COVID 19 pandemic Risk and Management Issues .................................................................. 49 G. Climate Change Impacts and Risks ............................................................................................ 51 H. Indirect, Induced and Cumulative Impacts .................................................................................. 64 VII. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN ........................................................................................ 65 A. Plan for Mitigation Measures - Environmental Management Plan .............................................. 65 B. Institutional Arrangement ............................................................................................................ 65 C. Environmental Monitoring Program ............................................................................................ 81 D. Estimated EMP Budget ............................................................................................................... 90 VIII. PUBLIC CONSULTATION, PARTICIPATION AND INFORMATION DISCLOSURE ........................ 91 IX. GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM ............................................................................................. 94 X. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................... 96 ANNEXES ................................................................................................................................................... 97 ANNEX 1 – RAPID ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST ...................................................... 98 ANNEX 2 – NOISE QUALITY GUIDELINES ............................................................................................ 103 ANNEX 3 – AIR QUALITY GUIDELINES ................................................................................................. 105 ANNEX 4 – NEPAL’S DRINKING WATER QUALITY STANDARDS AND WATER QUALITY FOR IRRIGATION ............................................................................................................................................. 106 ANNEX 5– PROBABLE CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS QUARY SITES / BORROW AREAS .............. 107 ANNEX 6– GUIDELINES FOR WORKERS’ SAFETY DURING CONSTRUCTION ................................ 108 ANNEX 7– SAMPLE INSPECTION CHECKLIST ..................................................................................... 110 ANNEX 8– ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE AUDIT REPORT ............................................................ 115 ANNEX 9– LIST OF PERSONS WHO PARTICIPATED IN CONSULTATION ........................................ 168 ANNEX 10 - PHOTOGRAPHS ................................................................................................................. 171 ANNEX 11– ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING REPORT OUTLINE ..................................................... 172 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Review of Environmental Acts, Regulations and Guidelines ........................................