China, People's Republic of : Xi'an Urban Road Network Improvement Project

Transport / Urban roads and traffic management

Water and other urban infrastructure and services / Urban policy, institutional and capacity development

Xi'an is the provincial capital and the political, economic, and cultural center of Shaanxi Province. As one of the most important growth poles in the western region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the city is expanding and developing rapidly. Its population was 8.4 million in 2009, with 72% categorized as urban. During 2000-07 the population rose at an annual growth rate of 1.85% and gross domestic product grew at 13.5% per annum. The number of registered vehicles increased by 12.2% per annum from 2003-07, with passenger vehicles growing at 21.8% per year. Alongside, and as a result of, such growth the city is experiencing a range of urban transport problems, including: traffic congestion; an under-developed strategic road network, especially for arterial roads which are failing to keep pace with and thus serve urban expansion between ring roads 2 and 3; a poorly integrated transport system that is insufficient to serve the needs of all in the community; very low levels of road safety; and deteriorating local air quality as a result of vehicle emissions. The city is making efforts to address these problems. It is expanding the road network, utilizing their own financial resources and through the Asian Development Bank (ADB) assisted Third Ring Road Project and World Bank project for the First and Second Ring Roads. However, the city lacks adequate financial resources to provide the necessary connectivity to the remainder of the strategic arterial road network. The lack of space in the historic walled city and increasing need for additional public and private sector offices, commercial developments and services such as schools and hospitals, means that the emerging growth poles between the second and third ring roads are developing rapidly, much faster than the transport capacity to serve the increasing demand and change in travel patterns. In these areas of the city the lack of connectivity is most acute and is restraining the supporting role transport plays in economic growth and efficient operations of a city. The city masterplan has identified the need to complete missing sections of the strategic road network to provide access to these emerging growth poles of the city and to do so while providing for all road users; pedestrian, public transport and private transport modes

The proposed project is intended to support the objectives of the PRC to find suitable and sustainable solutions to its urban transport problems and in so doing is directly supportive of the emerging urban transport priorities of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan, 2011-2015 and also of the PRC Country Partnership Strategy (CPS). It is also well aligned with the pillars of ADB's Strategy 2020, focusing on inclusive and environmentally sustainable development. In addition, having a focus on urban transport, it addresses one of the focus areas of ADB's Sustainable Transport Initiative Operational Plan (STI-OP).

1. Road network improvements

2. Pedestrian crossing and safety improvements

3. Multimodal interchange facilities

4. ITS and road user safety program

5. Environmental protection enhancement

The project was completed with loan account closed in February 2021.

Project completion review is scheduled in Q2 of 2021.

The Project is classified as environmental category A. A consolidated Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was prepared in compliance with the PRC regulatory framework, ADB's Safeguard Policy Statement (2009) and Environmental Assessment Guidelines (2003). The consolidted EIA is based upon the findings of the domestic EIA, as well as a due diligence assessment of the environmental impact of the Project. The domestic EIA, including Environmental Management Plans (EMP, were discussed and endorsed by EA. The consolidated EIA was provided to the ADB Board of Directors and made public through the ADB website on 24 June 2011. To ensure all potential adverse environmental impacts of the Project are mitigated, the EA will implement the EMP as specified in the EIA. The EMP will be incorporated in the bidding documents and contracts for civil as specified in the EIA. The EMP will be incorporated into the bidding documents and contracts for civil works; they will be monitored and semiannual reports submitted to ADB.

11 external monitoring reports on environment were disclosed on ADB website as of Sep. 2020.

Updated resettlement plan for the 1st batch of construction components, including Kunming Road, Xinhuo Road interchange, Hongmiaopo interchange, Zhuhong Road-North 2nd Ring road interchange, and Zhuhong Road-Fengcheng 4th road interchange, was disclosed on ADB website in Septebmer 2013. Updated resettlement plan for Fengcheng 8th-Taihua Interchange was disclosed on 16 March 2015. Updated RP for Dazhai Road was disclosed on 1 December 2015. Updated RP for Keji 2nd Road was disclosed on 26 May 2016. The DDR for Fucundonglu and Xigao Transport Hub were disclosed on 28 February 2017. The updated RP of Xi'an National Civil Aerospace Industrial Base was disclosed on 7 February 2017.

10 external monitoring reports on resettlement were disclosed on ADB website as of Sep. 2020.

The PPTA community consultation process included:

(i) formal interview surveys of:

(a) various categories of road users (over 1,000 interviews);

(b) a sample of households living near to project physical work sites (250 interviews); and

(c) a sample of vulnerable households, because of poverty, age and/or disability (50 interviews);

(ii) 12 focus group discussions (FGDs):

(a) 9 with residents of different communities located near areas where the proposed construction will take place,

(b) 2 specifically with women, and

(c) one specifically with elderly; and interviews with key informants from relevant government departments, ERAB, and ACWF.

An estimated 134 person-months (34 international and 100 national) of consulting services are required to facilitate (i) project management and implementation, (ii) implementation of intelligent transport system component, and (iii) implementation of environmental protection component. Consulting firms will be engaged using the quality- and cost-based selection (QCBS) and single source selection (SSS) method with a standard quality-cost ratio of 80:20 simplified technical proposal. The SSS method will be used for one of the four outputs of the intelligent transport component (paras. 52 53), which is the road safety education program.

The Government through the IA will engage and finance 700 person-months of national consultants for (i) preparation of detailed design for roads, interchanges, ITS, pedestrian crossing facilities, multimodal transport facilities, and advanced environmental monitoring system, (ii) construction supervision for road and interchange civil works, multimodal transport interchanges, pedestrian crossing, installation of advanced traffic control system, and installation of advanced environmental monitoring system, (iii) monitoring of environmental impact, resettlement impact, and project performance monitoring, and (iv) capacity building for affected people. The national consultants will be recruited in accordance with government procedures acceptable to ADB.