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| Grant Name | Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif Railway Project | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Afghani., Is Rep. of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grant Number | 161 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Project Number | 42533- 02 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fund Source/Amount[Approved] |
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| Thematic Classification |
Economic growth
Gender Equity Capacity Development |
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| Project Rationale | The Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif railway link is part of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program. It fits with Transport Corridors 3 and 6, which connect Central Asia to South Asia and the region to the Caucasus and the Middle East. Although the road between Hairatan and Mazar-e-Sharif has been improved, it cannot meet national and regional traffic needs. A railway from Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif will (i) improve links between Afghanistan and neighboring countries, as well as nearby seaports; and (ii) develop an integrated transport network that caters for different cargo.
The existing Uzbek railway network stops at the border town of Hairatan. This is a gateway to Afghanistan, but it has reached its full capacity (4,000 tons of cargo per month). The flow of goods from Central Asia to Afghanistan will increase from 25,000 tons to 40,000 tons per month over the next few years. To prevent bottlenecks at the border, the existing Uzbek railway at Hairatan needs to be extended into Afghanistan, in a first intervention, to Mazar-e-Sharif. At a later stage, the railway network will be extended to Herat in the west and Tajikistan in the east. The railway will service commercial and non-military cargo. The project is a priority one for Afghanistan. It fits with its Railway Development Plan. It is closely linked to ADB's Country Partnership Strategy for 20092013, which identifies the construction and rehabilitation of national roads and railways as a priority. It is also consistent with the CAREC Transport and Trade Facilitation Strategy. |
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| Impact | The impact of the Project will be an improved transport system in the region that supports socioeconomic development and the regional development strategy. Contribution to sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction in Afghanistan by facilitating intra- and inter-regional trade along the CAREC corridors through a more affordable, environmentally friendly, energy efficient, and reliable transport system. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Safeguard Categories
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| Environment | B | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Resettlement | B | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indigenous People | C | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Summary of Environmental and Social Issues | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Social Aspects |
The railway line passes through mainly barren lands and is expected to have very minimum land loss and few resettlement issues. A resettlement plan (RP) will be prepared based on the preliminary design; village surveys; household surveys; local government statistics; and consultations with local officials, village leaders, and affected households. The draft RP will be circulated to the affected areas and will be finalized during the fact-finding mission.
No archeological site, cemetery or other socio-cultural facilities will be affected by the project. And also no indigenous people are expected to be negatively affected in the project area. The implementation arrangements will be discussed during the fact-finding mission. |
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| Environmental Aspects | The project will have limited negative impacts on the environment (to be updated during further project processing). No archeological site, cemetery or other socio-cultural facilities are expected to be affected by the proposed project. The project is classified as environmental category B. An initial environmental examination (IEE) will be prepared. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stakeholder Participation and Consultation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| During Project Design | Stakeholder participation will be through discussions and consultations with relevant agencies and affected communities. Consultations-including surveys-involving local villagers, businesspersons, transport users, and local governments will be carried out. This helps to (i) understand public opinion about the proposed railway; (ii) conduct the environmental, economic, and social assessments; (iii) plan resettlement; and (iv) identify the role of various stakeholders. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| During Project Implementation | The consultation process will be continued during implementation to formulate appropriate land compensation, relocation, and rehabilitation measures during project implementation. The railway construction offices will play a significant role in this process. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Procurement | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consulting Services |
Consultants will be recruited in line with ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants. A consulting firm will be selected to oversee the design and construction work. It is estimated that a total of about 200 person-months of consultancy services will be needed (100 person-months international and 100 person-months national and regional). Consulting firm will be selected and engaged using ADB's quality- and cost-based selection procedures and the procurement plan agreed with ADB. Full technical proposals will be required.
The executing agency will procure 10 person-months of advisory services for railway sector and institutional development. The individual consultants will be selected and engaged in accordance with the Guidelines on the Use of Consultants and the procurement plan agreed with ADB. |
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| Civil Works/Goods |
Procurement of goods, civil works, and related services financed from the ADB grant will be done in accordance with ADB's Procurement Guidelines. The Government requests for ADB's waiver to procure rail tracks from non ADB member countries, as the prices from non-member countries are more competitive than from member countries..
The Project involves one contract package by direct contracting with UTY for design, procurement and construct civil and railway works. The direct contracting will allow quick procurement process due to urgency of the Project. The direct contracting to UTY is justified for the following reasons (i) UTY was involved in the construction of existing railway line and station yard at Hairatan; (ii) UTY is currently operating and maintaining the existing railway line between Termez and Hairatan, the Hairatan station and marshalling yard, and (iii) UTY has strong track record in design, construction, operation, and maintenance of railways. |
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| Responsible ADB Officer |
Balabhaskara Reddy Bathula |
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| Responsible ADB Department |
Central and West Asia Department |
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| Responsible ADB Division |
Transport and Communications Division, CWRD |
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| Executing Agencies |
Ministry of Public Works |
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| Timetable | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Concept Clearance | 09 Jul 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fact-finding | 09 Aug 2009 to 18 Aug 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Board Approval | 30 Sep 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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