57864 INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION THE INSPECTION PANEL 1818 H Street, N.W. Telephone: (202) 458-5200 Washington, D.C. 20433 Fax : (202) 522-0916 U.S.A. Email: ipanel@worldbank.org Roberto Lenton Chairperson IPN REQUEST RQ 10/09 November 10,2010 MEMORANDUM TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS AND ALTERNATES OF THE INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT Re: Request for Inspection LEBANON: Greater Beirut Water Supply Project (proposed) Please be advised that on November 4, 2010, the Inspection Panel (the "Panel") received a Request for Inspection (the "Request") related to the above-mentioned Projects. The Panel registered the Request for Inspection in the Panel's Register on November 10, 2010, as provided in paragraph 17 of the Panel's Operating Procedures. It also delivered a copy of the Request to the President of IBRD pursuant to paragraph 17 of the Resolution that established the Panel. Enclosed for your information are: (1) A copy of the Notice of Registration; and (2) A copy of the transmittal Memorandum to the President. Enclosures INTERNA TIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION THE INSPECTION PANEL 1818 H Street, N.W. Telephone: (202) 458-5200 Washington, D.C. 20433 Fax : (202) 522-0916 Email : ipanel@worldbank.org Roberto Lenton Cbairperson IPN REQUEST RQ 10/09 November 10,2010 MEMORANDUM TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT Request for Inspection LEBANON: Greater Beirut Water Supply Project (proposed) In accordance with paragraph 17 of IBRD Resolution that established the Inspection Panel (the "Resolution") and paragraph 17 of the Inspection Panel's Operating Procedures (the "Operating Procedures"), I hereby notify you that on November 4, 2010, the Inspection Panel (the "Panel") received a Request for Inspection (the "Request") related to the above-referenced Projects. I have on November 10,2010, which is also the date of the dispatch of this notice, registered the Request in the Inspection Panel Register. Enclosed are: 1. copy of the Notice of Registration; and 2. copy of the Request for Inspection In accordance with paragraph 18 of the Resolution, paragraphs 2 and 8 of the "Conclusions of the Board's Second Review of the Inspection Panel" (the "1999 Clarifications"), and paragraph 18 (d) of the Operating Procedures, Bank Management is hereby notified that it must provide the Panel, no later than December 13, 2010, with written evidence that it has complied, or intends to comply with the Bank's relevant policies and procedures in relation to the above-referenced Projects. The subject matter the Management must deal with in a response to the Request is set out in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the 1999 Clarifications. 2 After receiving the Management response, the Panel will, as outlined in the 1999 Clarifications and as provided by paragraph 19 of the Resolution, "determine whether the Request meets the eligibility criteria set out in paragraphs 12 to 14 and shall make a recommendation to the Executive Directors as to whether the matter should be investigated." The Request has been assigned IPN Request Number RQ 10/09. Sincerely, Roberto Lenton Chairperson Enclosures: Request for Inspection Notice of Registration INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION THE INSPECTION PANEL 1818 H Street, N.W. Telephone: (202) 458-5200 Washington, D.C 20433 Fax: (202) 522-0916 U.S.A. Email: ipanel@worldbank.org IPN REQUEST RQ 10/09 November 10, 2010 NOTICE OF REGISTRATION Re: Request for Inspection Lebanon: Greater Beirut Water Supply Project (Proposed) On November 4, 2010 the Inspection Panel (the "Panel") received a Request for Inspection relating to the proposed Lebanon: Greater Beirut Water Supply Project (GBWSP) (the "Project"). The Request was submitted by Mr. Fathi Chatila on behalf of himself and around 50 residents of the Greater Beirut area, who fear that they are likely to suffer harm as a result of failures and omissions of the Bank in the design and preparation of the Project. The Request for Inspection comprises a number of attachments, which also include the names and signatures of the Requesters. The Project According to the August 20 I 0 Project Information Document the proposed Project's objective is to "increase the provision of potable water to the residents in the project area [Greater Beirut] including those in the low-income neighborhoods ofSouthern Beirut, and to strengthen the capacity of the Beirut Mount Lebanon Water Authority in utility operations." This objective is to be achieved by building a conveyor, a water treatment plant, storage reservoirs and distribution networks to deliver water from the Litani and Awali Rivers to the Greater Beirut region. The proposed project aims at meeting the demand for 250,000 m3/d of potable water in the Greater Beirut and Mount Lebanon areas. The proposed Project has three components. Component 1 (Bulk Water Supply Infrastructure: Tunnels, Water Treatment Plant, Transmission & Bulk Storage) provides for the construction of two water tunnel conveyors (3 and 21 km respectively), a water treatment plant, two transmission twin pipelines (7.6 and 2.7km respectively), three storage reservoirs (35, 50 and 20 ML capacity respectively) and all related equipment. Component 2 (Supply Reservoirs, Distribution Network and Metering) requires construction 16 supply replacement or of water supply network and 3 (Project Management, Utility and Studies) of the Project Management Unit, procurement of utility strengthening systems, equipment and technical advisory services, and pnonty national studies to undertaken on sector areas in alignment with the priorities set forth in the National Water and Sector (NWSSS) under by Government Lebanon. to proposed Integrated Data Project will require land acquisition and involuntary resettlement in relation to surface structures and establishing easement right of along the corridor the water conveyor. to pn<>nnn Water Authority (BMLWA) is to will finance US$30 million for land acquisition and the front-end fee. The Loan is is to be considered for approval by the World Bank Board of on December 1 2010. The Project is to be by the Council for Ant'YlPt"lT and (CDR), for the implementation of Component 1, BMLWA, for 2 and 3. The Request The raise issues compliance and harm related to the proposed Project that their rights and interests are likely to be directly and adversely as a result failures and of the World in the of the Project. The question of Environmental (EA), in particular environmental analysis alternatives and the consultation They state that in preparation of the proposed Project, which calls for delivering water "from the Litani River at the Qaroun lake diverted to the Awali river" by means of "a 26 kilometer tunnel to the Khalde village Greater Beirut" Environmental Assessment's analysis of considered no sources of water other than that from the Litani/Awali addition, claim that this alternatives was on 1972 and 1984 that the of the data in studies is as designed, will deprive of much needed water the south of Lebanon and the Litani River basin that suffer from water which could harm the livelihood of agriculture-dependent communities The claims that water analyses that were """.U.H'V on River water stored at Qaroun Lake that this water IS "extremely industrially polluted and has high level of and bacteria". of this, Requesters that water in wastewater treatment built in the Litani basin will not be 2 The Requesters claim that the EA included consultations only with national and local authorities, while nobody who can be considered representative of local communities affected by the proposed Project was consulted. They also state that these consultation took place a long time ago, in 1997 and 1998. The Request adds that two consultations events were held recently in 2010, but from the list of attendees and the questions asked, it appears that the consultations were not "comprehensive" and "do not reflect the opinion of Greater Beirut inhabitants" and "the communities of Damour, Al Chouf and lkleem Al Kharroub" that may be affected by the Project. Furthermore, according to the Requesters, the Resettlement Action Plan CRAP) was not available in the Bank's website, at least until the time they lodged their complaint to the Panel, nor were Arabic versions of the document provided to citizens prior to consultations. The Request also raises an issue with respect to the application of the involuntary resettlement policy to lands that were expropriated in the late 1990s or lands for which expropriation is still to be carried out in order to implement Project activities. The Requesters state that it is not clear whether the Project RAP refers to all lands, even those already expropriated, or only to those that still have to be acquired. They believe the policy should be applied to all lands already expropriated or to be expropriated. They also claim that the related consultations were inadequate and were conducted with people who are not the representatives of the affected communities. With respect to the economic analysis, the Requesters state that it is not clear whether the Project is the least costly option because in their view the alternatives considered are not exhaustive. In addition, the Requesters believe that certain investment costs were not taken into consideration, and as a result of this, the total cost of the Project will almost double. This, the Requesters believe, will also increase the water tariffs by 10 to 15% annually, making the service unaffordable for poorer people. The Requesters also raise issues in relation to the "Bisri Dam" project on the Awali River, which is to be financed by the Islamic Development Bank but that, according to the Requesters, is closely linked to the Project because "the GBWSP will necessitate the construction of the dam at Bisri village." The Requesters also claim that while the World Bank representative in Lebanon stated that the World Bank is not financing the dam, the Ministry of Energy and Water stated to a local newspaper that the Bisri Dam is the second phase of the GBWSP, that the Government agreed to the Litani/Awali project on condition that the World Bank would finance the Bisri dam and that the "World Bank agreed to finance the Bisri Dam". In light of this, the Requesters argue that the Involuntary Resettlement policy of the World Bank should be applied to the resettlement that might also occur as a result of the construction of the Bisri Dam. The Requesters state that they brought their concerns to Bank Management but are not satisfied with the response. They ask the Panel to carry out an investigation of the matters raised in their Request for Inspection. The above claims may constitute non-compliance by the Bank with vanous provisions of the following operational Policies and Procedures: OPIBP 4.01 Environmental Assessment 3 OMS 2.20 Project Appraisal OPIBP 10.04 Economic Evaluation of Investment Operations OPIBP 4.12 Involuntary Resettlement The World Bank Policy on Access to Information dated July 1,2010 In accordance with paragraph 17 of the Panel's Operating Procedures (the "Operating Procedures"), I am notifying you that I have, on N ovem ber 10, 2010, which is also the date of the dispatch of this notice, registered this Request in the Inspection Panel Register. Please note that the Panel's registration is an administrative procedure and it implies no judgment whatsoever concerning the merits of the Request for Inspection. As provided in paragraph 18 of the IDA Resolution that established the Panel (the "Resolution"), paragraphs 2 and 8 of the "Conclusions of the Board's Second Review of the Inspection Panel" (the "1999 Clarifications"), and paragraph 18(d) of the Operating Procedures, Bank Management must provide the Panel, no later than December 13,2010, with written evidence that it has complied, or intends to comply, with the Bank's relevant policies and procedures in relation to the above-referenced Project. The subject matter that Management must deal with in a response to the Request is set out in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the 1999 Clarifications. After receiving the Management response, the Panel will, as outlined in the 1999 Clarifications and as provided by paragraph 19 of the Resolution, "determine whether the Request meets the eligibility criteria set out in paragraphs 12 to 14 [of the Resolution] and shall make a recommendation to the Executive Directors as to whether the matter should be investigated." Until further notice, all communications with the Requesters in connection with the Request will be sent to Mr. Fathi Chatila. The Request has been assigned IPN Request Number RQ 10/09. Yours sincerely, I Roberto Lenton Chairperson 4 Mr. Fathi Chatila P.O.Box: 13-5121 Chouran, Postal Code: 11022802, Beirut - Lebanon Email: f.chatila@cphworldmedia.com Mr. Robert B. Zoellick President International Bank for Reconstruction and Development The Executive Directors and Alternates International Bank for Reconstruction and Development 5