Transport / Road transport (non-urban)

The proposed additional financing will support an increase in the scope of the current project by constructing a 40-kilometer (km) road section connecting Chashmasoron to Kurgonteppa in Khalton province, improving safety in priority sections of the national highway network, and continue strengthening the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Transport (MOT). The overall project will improve the connectivity between the capital Dushanbe and Kurgonteppa, which are two major cities and economic hubs in Tajikistan, and enhance the safety of the national highway network.

The proposed additional financing will enable expansion of existing outputs and include a new output to address safety deficiencies on the national highway network. The overall aggregate outputs will be: (i) improved road conditions, facilities, and safety along, and in the vicinity of, the project road (expanded); (ii) strengthened institutional capacity of MOT regarding financial management, road safety, and road asset management (expanded); (iii) completed procurement readiness for the Chashmasoron Kurgonteppa road section (unchanged); and (iv) improved safety on selected priority sections of the national highway network (added).

The Additional financing is sought to scale up the project by improving a contiguous 40 km road section (Chashmasoron Kurgonteppa) to the current project's 33 km road section. It is expected that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will help finance, through collaborative parallel financing, the remaining 9 km section in Kurgonteppa to complete the project road improvement. The additional financing will also support the MOT's program to improve the road safety situation on selected priority sections of the national highway network, which may include existing tunnels, intersections, black spots, and failed lengths of pavement.

The proposed additional financing will continue strengthening the MOT's capacity on financial management, road safety, and road asset management. The MOT will revisit and update its current standard technical specifications, which follow the highway construction standards (1998), to improve quality of bidding documents for typical road rehabilitation projects. The MOT will also inventory and geo-reference the main bridges on the national highway network to build up the bridge module of the road asset management system, which is being developed with the World Bank assistance.

Economic growth promoted

Competitive corridors across the CAREC region established

Road conditions, facilities, and safety along, and in the vicinity of, the project road improved

Institutional capacity of the MOT regarding financial management, road safety, and road asset management strengthened

Completed procurement readiness for the next road section to be improved

Safety on selected priority sections of the national highway network improved

Output indicator will be assessed after project completion.

Output indicator will be assessed after project completion.

Output indicator will be assessed after project completion.

The project is classified as category B for environmental impacts. The environmental assessment established that the project will have site-specific environmental impacts related to air and water pollution, noise and vibration, soil erosion, loss of roadside trees, relocation of utilities, and traffic disruption during the construction stage. Additionally, it was found that the project could result in split communities, disruption of farming patterns, and loss of access to roadside businesses during operation.

An initial environmental examination (IEE) and an environmental management plan (EMP) have been prepared for the project and were disclosed on the ADB website in January 2017, in accordance with the ADB Safeguard Policy Statement. Public consultations were conducted during initial environmental examination preparation, and involved people from roadside villages, nongovernment organizations, and other project stakeholders. Adequate mitigation measures are included in, and will be implemented through, the EMP. The project design incorporates measures for preserving community cohesion such as improved road crossings, access to public facilities, and access of agricultural machinery to fields and livestock to pastures. The cost for implementing the EMP will be financed by the project through the civil works contract (mitigation measures) and the PMCSC's contract (environmental monitoring).

The project is classified as category A for involuntary resettlement impacts. The census carried out during project preparation identified approximately 246 affected households including private agriculture plots, owners and users of land and buildings, business owners, renters, and employees with 1,956 household members affected. Of the 246 affected households, 92 households with 766 members will experience severe impacts on their livelihood and 66 households with 632 members were found to belong to vulnerable groups. A total of 18 residential buildings and 39 main business buildings will be permanently impacted. The small road safety-related works will not have impacts on resettlement.

A land acquisition and resettlement plan (LARP) has been prepared to mitigate and address all the associated losses in accordance with the ADB's Safeguard Policy Statement and relevant national legislation. The LARP was disclosed on the ADB website in January 2018.

Consultations with the project stakeholders and displaced persons were undertaken during LARP preparation and will continue throughout implementation. If modification of the LARP is required, or additional land requirement or involuntary resettlement impacts are identified, the LARP will be updated in accordance with applicable laws, and ADB approval will be obtained prior to any further implementation. All displaced people will receive compensation in accordance with the LARP provisions. The land required for the project will be made free of encumbrances in sections prior to commencement of construction. A grievance redress mechanism is in place in accordance with the LARP to assist affected persons in resolving grievances and complaints. The MOT will submit semiannual safeguards monitoring reports to ADB for review and disclosure.

All consultants will be recruited according to ADB's Procurement Policy (2017, as amended from time to time) and Procurement Regulations for ADB Borrowers (2017, as amended from time to time).

The MOT, in August 2018, engaged Kocks Consult GmbH to carry out services for (i) project management and contract supervision (PMCSC) (CS-03). The MOT engaged one individual consultant for external monitoring of resettlement plan implementation (CS-07) in December 2018, one consulting firm for project auditing (block audit) was engaged in June 2019, and one individual consultant for independent technical audit services (CS-06) in July 2019.

Other consultancy services contracts will be procured for: (i) road asset management system (CS-04); in lieu of the highway bridge inventory and load testing, and (ii) developing standard technical specifications for highway construction (CS-05).

All procurement of works will be undertaken in accordance with ADB's Procurement Policy (2017, as amended from time to time) and Procurement Regulations for ADB Borrowers (2017, as amended from time to time).

In July 2018, the MOT awarded the civil works contract to Sinohydro Corporation Limited for the rehabilitation and improvement of the Dushanbe-Kurgonteppa road, from Km33+475 to Km73+050 (CP-03).

About four small contracts will be procured for priority road safety improvements.