Egypt: Sustainable Rural Sanitation Services Program, Phase-2

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the Sustainable Rural Sanitation Services Program (SRSSP) is to strengthen institutions and policies to increase access and improve rural sanitation services in selected governorates in Egypt. This will be accomplished through implementing key sector and institutional reforms together with rehabilitation and construction of integrated infrastructure for collection, treatment, and disposal of household sewage.

DESCRIPTION

The SRSSP-2 comprises a physical infrastructure component, which will provide sanitation services to about 175,000 households in 133 villages of five governorates; namely, Dakahliya, Sharkiya, Damietta, Menoufya, and Gharbiya. The works include: construction of new or expansion/rehabilitation of existing wastewater treatment plants; construction and upgrading of pumping stations; and construction of integrated sewerage networks consisting of collectors and pumping mains. The SRSSP-2 will also ensure that inhabitants of satellites located between the villages where the main sewers pass are also serviced. This will help to maximize the program’s development impacts.

PROJECT FINANCING

For more information about project financing, please review the project summary.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL INFORMATION

An Environmental and Social Systems Assessment (ESSA), which involves assessing the country’s systems for managing environmental and social risks and impacts of the SRSSP-2, has been conducted by the WB in accordance with its PforR Policy. The ESSA is complemented by a Program Action Plan (PAP) at the operational level. While the Bank finds that the ESSA/PAP provides an appropriate and acceptable approach under the SRSSP-2 for management of these issues, it differs in scope and methodology from the Environmental and Social Safeguard Policies used by the WB for conventional sector investment project financing. Therefore, the Program will use the WB’s environmental and social procedures applicable to the PforR Policy and as specifically applied to the SRSSP-2, based on a waiver of AIIB’s Environmental and Social Policy (ESP). The ESSA and PAP have been subject to consultation and have been disclosed by the WB on http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/ 174281528990876317/. The overall environmental and social impact of the SRSSP-2 is expected to be positive. It will support adequate collection and treatment of sewage, according to the standards of Egyptian legislation. In accordance with the PforR Policy, the SRSSP-2 will exclude activities that are likely to have significant adverse environmental and social impacts that are sensitive, irreversible, or unprecedented (equivalent to Category A). The country systems were reviewed to ascertain their adequacy to address the environmental and social risks and impacts as identified during the ESSA. The country’s legislation related to environmental safeguards was found to be adequate; gaps in the legislation pertaining to land acquisition have been addressed through formulation of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for securing land. Consequently, the country’s environmental and social management system, based on the ESSA, will be applied for the SRSSP-2 given that the environmental and social risks and impacts are 4 moderate in nature, limited in their scope and can be successfully managed by known and tested measures (equivalent to Category B).