DISRUPTION DURING CONSTRUCTION

During construction the traffic will be organised such that the existing road can be utilised even where widening and realigning is not taking place. A similar approach will be used for the construction of culvert pipes. For the bridge construction, a temporary road bypass will used.

During the construction, alternative routes for dirt roads while intersections are constructed should be in place. Communities should not be cut off during construction. It was stated that most dirt roads will be connected to the road if used regularly and that consultation with farmers on this issue will take place.

Disruptions of traffic and limited crossing points during the construction phase will cause issues for the general traffic, public transport vehicles, local residents and herders. From a community health and safety perspective it is important that individual construction contractors have their own plans and procedures to raise awareness of scheduled works resulting in disruption of traffic and allocate adequate road signs to ensure safe traffic. In case of lane or road closures, stakeholders such as public transport companies, road users and local residents should be notified so they can plan timetables, trips and schedules accordingly.

A community health and safety plan will be developed by the construction companies to minimise accidents and incidents resulting from road works. The increase in construction vehicles and other heavy goods vehicles carrying construction materials will result in increased noise and dust in the area and likely disruptions in traffic or road closures. Mitigation measures are identified in the ESAP to minimise these impacts.

LIVESTOCK AND LIVLIHOOD

The construction of the new road is unlikely to result in negative impacts on the livestock and livelihoods of farmers and landowners in the area. There is no agricultural production taking place due to the climatic conditions. No agricultural activity was observed during the visit along the road. There were herds of cattle and sheep and horses observed during the site visit. Four new cattle underpasses and five agricultural machinery underpasses will be built. The locations of the underpasses were defined as a result of public hearings and take into account the opinions of the local farmers. Temporary crossings will be designated during the construction period to ensure that economic activities of local residents are not disturbed as a result of the construction.

LAND ACQUISITION

Land acquisition data was provided for inspection. In total land acquisition will affect 183 ha of 52 private and commercial land owners and tenants. Only a small percentage of the total area of each land owner /tenant is affected, with the execption of two tenants, where 41.8% and 9.6% of their land plot is to be acquired and the others will lose on average 1.3% of their land.

The owners of two plots are still to be found. The owner of one of these plots has died with no inheritors found to date while the owner of the other plot cannot be found. 0.5% and 1.4% of each of their land plots respectively will be acquired. The Ili District Council Land Management Office is conducting the search for evidence of the land owners to present to the Regional Inter-economic Court. The Court will review the presented documents within a month and decide on the ownership transfer. If the landowners appear at a later stage they can claim compensation in land or cash through the same court.

In addition, 176ha will be acquired from the state enterprises and also 159ha of the State reserved land will be used. The land is mainly required for the five re-alignment sections and the Kurty junction but also along the road for accommodation of higher embankments to provide the requirements for the road category vertical visibility.

Land acquisition will be conducted in accordance with the Kazakhstan legislation through negotiations and compensation in land or cash. The land rental agreements allow the State to terminate the rent of all or part of the land plots for the State needs unilaterally. All the land to be acquired is used for grazing with the exception of few plots. There is an unused dairy farm at 2.3 km located on State Reserve Land. The land availability will not limit the livestock composition or numbers which gradually increases through natural birth. There is also the planned acquisition of two plots with each being split into two as the road will pass each of them. There is the 18ha plot at 2km from the start of road that is owned and designated for material base construction and further along at 2.5 km, a plot of 2 ha rented and occupied by greenhouses. The former land ownership condition allows passage through the plot. This plot has not been developed according to their designations yet. The latter plot had greenhouses in the past but they have been demolished. Only a derelict entity remains at the northern part of the plot. The access to the split parts of these plots is provided by the Project.

On the basis of this review and the visit to the road, it is concluded that it is unlikely that there will be any land acquisition that will result in physical or economic displacement of businesses / commercial activites. Land acquisition data is documented and the process going forward will include valuation of land, compensation payments and consultation with landowners. It will be important that for those that rent land are also appropriately compensated and informal land use is also taken into account. It has been recommended in the ESAP that a Livelihood Restoration Framework (LRF) identifying all affected people and compensation framework is developed. It is also recommended that the land acquisition process is independently audited.

VULNERABLE GROUPS

A vulnerable group assessment has been undertaken to identify whether certain groups of communities affected by the Project prove to be especially sensitive to the impacts.

The house 400m southwest and the café 300m south of the Kurty junction are thought to be vulnerable to blasting work. The café is popular among the long haul drivers. To ensure that any damage caused to their structures is accounted for it is recommended that a pre-blasting survey shall be conducted with the presence of the owner. The baseline condition reports shall be signed by the owners. The Community Liaison Officer (CLO) shall provide both properties with his contacts and the junction construction information including the schedule and any changes to it as the work progresses. Any complaints shall be recorded and acted upon promptly. At the end of the blasting work, the post-blasting survey of these properties shall be conducted and any new evidence of structural damage recorded. The report is to be signed by the owner. Repairs shall be made to the damages as a result of the blasting activities, identified through the pre-blasting and post-blasting surveys.

Farm 4, being only 50m from the Kurty junction, is vulnerable to construction air pollution, dust, noise and vibration. Although the farm house is not the sole dwelling of the owner who lives in Akshi village and uses the farm house more as an office, this may change with time. The CLO or his designee shall visit the site with the owner prior to the earthwork and explain him the nature, lateral and temporal extent, overall scale of the work, expected impacts and possible impact mitigation measures (e.g. reducing the rollers vibration power if excessive vibration inside the house is reported by the owner). The CLO shall give the owner his contacts.

Kultyyeva Raygul rents a land plot and will have to give up more than 40% of the land for the road and is, therefore, potentially vulnerable to a reduction in income. The CLO is to verify the land deeds data as some information states that this land plot is not 60 ha but 601 ha. The CLO is to visit Raygul and verify that she has been properly compensated for the lost land and can continue her activities as before.

Farm 21 will be about 700m away from the ground quarry 5 (25 ha at 59 km). Both the quarry and the farm are located on the State reserve land. The farm has sheep and cows that pasture around the farm with not much attention to the adjacent land ownership. However, if the neighbours restrict access, the livestock would only have the area around the quarry (300 ha). This may be still sufficient but as the number of the livestock and the farmers future plans are currently not known, the CLO should establish the baseline status and monitor the number and composition of the livestock at the end of the vegetative period during construction. There is also a risk that cows might fall into the quarry if the quarry land area is unstable. This risk will be removed after the quarry is decommissioned but the CLO shall ensure that the quarry walls are levelled out according to the decommissioning plan. The livestock of the nearby farms 3 and 6 do not use the quarry area.

The majority may not be vulnerable but due to their close vicinity to the construction activities they may be disproportionately affected by noise, dust, traffic and vibration. A Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) inclusive of Traffic Management Plans will need to be developed and this is included in the ESAP.

Herders could potentially be identified as vulnerable as they can often use the land informally. The majority of herders are formally/informally employed by land owners and farmers in the area, thus they will be covered by compensation according to Kazakh legislation. However, herders may cross the road or temporarily live there during the seasonal migration or when they transport the animals to the bigger farms to sell them. These informal herders are not recognised under Kazakh national legislation and thus mitigation measures have been identified to assess additional compensation measures or consultation activities to comply with EBRD’s PR5. Compensation might not only be monetary, but ensuring that they have safe road crossings and are informed of any road closures and construction work that might impact on their migration and herding. Recognition and compensation of informal herders and land users is a requirement under the EBRD policy. It may be that there are no informal land users identified, however an assessment should be undertaken to confirm that this to be the case.

Depending on the number of workers’ migrating to the area, females might be vulnerable to abuse and harassment. As detailed in the contractor management section, a strict code of conduct will apply to the camp area. The influx of migrant workers might escalate the vulnerability of women, though, based on local knowlege, it is unusual for migrant workers to target the construction industry for employment. They are more likely to work in farms or factories. It is not known where the workers camps will be located as yet.

Finally, other vulnerable groups may be people living with disabilities or other health issues or the elderly that may be more vulnerable to the increased noise and dust resulting from construction activities. It is important that the recommendations proposed are therefore implemented to also protect this group of people.

CONTRACTOR MANAGEMENT

The design is completed. Contractor tenders have not yet been prepared. A contractor will be appointed for the road construction and there will also be the appointment of the CSC in the future. The PIU will undertake the PMC role. Suitably qualified personnel should be appointed to monitor the different contractors undertaking construction activities. It is recommended that independent audits are carried out to ensure that environmental, health and safety standards are complied with and that social issues such as terms and conditions of employment and standards of the camp planned for workers are compliant with EBRD requirements.

A workers camp is proposed, location currently unspecified, that will provide accommodation for up to 500 workers. It was stated that workers’ camp will be compliant with IFC / EBRD standards^[1] and this has been recommended and included in the ESAP. It is understood that there may be more than one worker camp. There are also a number of planned construction pads.

It is known that construction health and safety standards do not often meet international standards in Kazakshtan. Tender documents for the procurement of construction companies should include EHSS performance standards that should be met. As a minimum, national standards should be met such as the occupational health and safety regulations provided in Table 6 below.

Table 6 – National Occupational Health and Safety Regulations

It is recommended that these national requirements should be fully met and also go beyond these requirements to meet EBRD requirements that require compliance with EU Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) standards^[2] that are relevant to the project.

In addition, regular communications on relevant information or changes anticipated that might affect the workforce and the opportunity to provide comments as part of continuous improvement, including how to raise grievances should be undertaken. Furthermore, the following should be undertaken:

¡ Provision of security to safeguard workers and property;

¡ Training of workers and the provision of appropriate incentives for them to use and comply with health and safety procedures and protective equipment; and

¡ Implementation of emergency prevention, preparedness and response arrangements.

At this stage of the Project, the construction companies i.e. the primary supply chain are unknown. The Committee for Roads should (as confirmed with the previous EBRD funded sections) contain the ESAP within the tender documents, so all actions committed to by the Client are included in the contract for the construction companies. In addition, labour and social policies should be reviewed and incorporated into contractual arrangements with contractors – to include terms of employment, skills, dismissal, discrimination, harassment, violations, human rights, forced and child labour, wages and social leave/benefits and bribery and corruption etc. These recommedations are included in the ESAP.