Cambodia: Second Urban Environmental Management in the Tonle Sap Basin Project

Water and other urban infrastructure and services / Urban flood protection - Urban policy, institutional and capacity development - Urban sewerage - Urban solid waste management

The Tonle Sap basin is home to about a third of Cambodia's population, and nearly half of its population depends on the lake's resources, particularly its fish, for livelihood. The basin hosts one of the most productive inland fisheries in the world, contributing about 60% of the country's total production. Between 1998 and 2013, Cambodia's urban population growth rate of about 4% (one of the highest in Southeast Asia), combined with unprecedented rural urban migration, has led to significant growth in the basin's cities. The three project cities in the largely rural region together with Kampong Chhnang, Pursat, and Siemreap are key for economic growth in the basin and their development is linked to the surrounding environment.

Rapid urbanization has resulted in significant environmental impact, including pollution, on the basin, which is designated a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) biosphere reserve. While flooding is important for maintaining the basin's ecosystem services, severe flooding can cause damage to life and infrastructure and exacerbate pollution, as receding floodwaters leave accumulated solid and liquid waste. The basin's urban areas are located next to rivers and are sensitive to climate change, with most experiencing flooding during the wet season.

Urban environmental infrastructure improved

Institutional effectiveness improved

Policy and planning environment improved

The preliminary project design was informed by consultations carried out with stakeholders and affected persons. Consultation will be ongoing during implementation as described in the safeguard documents and the Stakeholder Communication Strategy. PMU and GDR shall ensure consultations are carried out during update of the safeguards documents following detailed engineering design. Consultation will include individual and focus group discussions to ensure the displaced persons are informed about: (a) resettlement impacts, asset valuation/RCS, entitlements and compensation payment modalities with time lines, (b) rehabilitation and income restoration measures suggested for the project displaced persons, (c) environmental impacts and mitigation measures; and (d) project grievance redress mechanism.

Consultations are currently subject to, and constrained by, COVID-19 mitigation considerations.

Consultants are being recruited according to ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (2013, as amended from time to time). Consulting firms will be engaged using the quality- and cost-based selection (QCBS) method with a standard quality cost ratio of 80:20.

The Project Management Consultants for this project was combined and bid out together with the Project Management Consultants for the Fourth GMS Corridor Towns Development Project (GMS CTDP-4) under a single consulting services package. Both projects have a similar scope of work, implementation schedule and are managed by the same Project Management Unit and Executing Agency. The consulting firm has separate budgets for each project and submit separate payments. The PMU is managing the firm's overall outputs as well as payments under the consulting services budget line of each project.