Rail Corridor VIII- Second Phase

Overview
Project Summary Document
Environmental and Social Documentation
Procurement
Complaints

Project ID 44175

Status Repaying

Location

Business Sector

Transport

Notice Type

State

Project timeline

Exploratory
Passed Concept Review
Passed Structure Review
Passed Final Review
Board Approved
Signed
Implementing
Completed

Project ID 44175

Status Repaying

Location

Business Sector

Transport

Notice Type

State

Environmental Category

Approval Date

11 Nov 2014

Disclosure date

30 Jul 2014

As per section 1.4.2 (iii) of the Directive on Access to Information: "For Projects approved by Bank management where the Board of Directors has delegated the approval authority, the PSD shall be disclosed at the start of the relevant no-objection notification period to a member country of the Bank in accordance with Article 13 (iii) of the Agreement Establishing the EBRD."

Translated version of this PSD: Macedonian

Project Description

The EBRD is considering providing €145 million sovereign loan to finance construction of a new section of Pan European Rail Corridor VIII in FYR Macedonia. The length of the section, connecting Beljkavce -Kriva Palanka, is approximately 34 km. This is the second phase of the total investment programme required to complete the entire eastern part of the Corridor VIII.

Transition Impact

The Project aims at promoting regional development and connectivity, as this European Corridor is a key East-West connection which will ultimately link the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria and the Adriatic coast in Albania.

In addition, the transition impact of the proposed transaction is expected to be achieved through the following:

Facilitating cross-border trade through Cross Border Agreements with Serbia and Kosovo
Further commercialisation of core assets, which will allow the Company to generate additional revenue going forward;
Improved standards of business conduct and corporate governance through the ISO 9001 and 14001 certifications;
Improvement of the Company’s procurement procedures with a view to achieving certification by an internationally recognised procurement certification body;
Support for the implementation of EU interoperability rules.

The Client

Public Enterprise for Macedonian Railway Infrastructure (‘PERI’) –the state-owned enterprise responsible for the provision and maintenance of the railway infrastructure in FYR Macedonia

EBRD Finance

Sovereign loan of up to €145 million to be on-lent to PERI.

Project Cost

€151.2 million.

Environmental Impact

The Project has been categorised A, as Phase 2 is an integral part of the whole of Corridor VIII project, which will be used for long distance railway traffic. In accordance with Appendix 1 of the 2008 EBRD Environmental and Social Policy, an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), Resettlement Compensation Framework (RCF) were prepared for the whole railways corridor (Phase 1, 2 and 3) and publicly disclosed on 9th March 2012 for 120 days as part of the due diligence for Corridor VIII Phase 1 (DTM 42921).

The potential environmental and social impacts of the construction and reconstruction of Phase 2 of the Railway Corridor VIII Eastern Section have been assessed within the ESIA for the whole corridor. The environmental and social due diligence was carried out with the assistance of external independent consultants who confirmed that the ESIA has been structured to meet EU Standards and the Banks Performance Requirements. Compliance by the Project will be achieved through the implementation of the Environmental and Social Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (ESMMP), which has also been publicly disclosed. Recent due diligence by the Bank confirmed that the ESIA prepared for the complete Corridor VIII still applies as there have been no material changes that would require a revision to the documentation.

Meetings with the Client and a review of project documentation have demonstrated satisfactory progress of the implementation of the ESMMP line with the stage of project. Identified areas for improvement were primarily in relation to stakeholder engagement and waste management. Work is now underway to update and modify the SEP to align with the stakeholder engagement required for construction works and integrating the role of the contractors. There are no significant biodiversity concerns relating to Section 2 as the two Emerald sites intersected by the project are in Section 3.

A RAP in compliance with the Resettlement Compensation Framework agreed with the Bank and publicly disclosed in 2012 is in the process of being prepared for Phase 2 which shall be submitted to the EBRD for approval.

The ESMMP is included in contract requirements so a series of plans, procedures and operational controls will be required for the Phase 2 project which will be subject to approval and regular independent monitoring by the Supervising Engineer. Occupational and community safety, soil management, erosion control, reinstatement, transportation, noise, air emissions and stakeholder engagement will be important issues to be addressed during the construction phase.

Monitoring will be principally through client annual environmental and social reports submitted to the Bank and periodic reports from the Independent Supervisor will also have responsibility for monitoring implementation of the project in line the PRs and the ESMMP. The Bank may also carry out monitoring visits.

Technical Cooperation

The following technical co-operation support is envisaged as part of this project:

Design and Tender Preparation Assistance
Supervision and Implementation Assistance
Consultancy support to assess and improve PERI’s procurement practices
Assistance to MOTC with drafting the Joint Network Statements as well as to provide assistance with the bylaws for the alignment of the local legislation with the EU interoperability directive.

Transition impact

ETI Score:60

PSD last updated

01 Feb 2019

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement: Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

EBRD project enquiries not related to procurement:
Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

Public Information Policy (PIP)

The PIP sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders so as to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations. Please visit the Public Information Policy page below to find out how to request a Public Sector Board Report.
Text of the PIP

Environmental and Social Documentation is not available for this project.

Selected procurement notices related to this project may be shown below. Further procurement opportunities related to this and other projects, if available, maybe be viewed in the EBRD Procurement Portal.

The EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Access to Information policy (AIP) and Project Accountability Policy (PAP) enable sound and sustainable development in its projects. The Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) deals with complaints about environmental, social and disclosure matters related to the Bank’s investments.

No complaints about this project have been made so far.

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