Pakistan: Lahore Water and Wastewater Management

OBJECTIVE

The objective is to: (i) ensure sustainable supply of safe water; (ii) reduce deteriorating environmental impacts due to untreated sewage disposal; and (iii) strengthen the institutional capacity of LWASA so it may deliver improved services to the people of Metropolitan Lahore and become a financially strong entity.

DESCRIPTION

The Project consists of the following components:

Component One: Investment for safe water supply infrastructure, which will comprise the construction of a diversion structure for the surface water from BRBD Canal and associated SWTP, rehabilitation/replacement of leaking pipes and pumping machinery, and installation of bulk and consumer water meters. The total capacity of the SWTP will be 245,000 m3/day or 53.8 MGD. This component will also ensure that 100 percent schools/colleges in Lahore are connected with safe drinking water facility.

Component Two: Investment for safe sanitation infrastructure, will include the construction of three WWTPs at the locations of Mahmood Booti, Shadbagh, and Shahdara; rehabilitation/replacement of inefficient wastewater pumping stations and selected sewer lines; and the construction of main trunk sewers to be connected with the new WWTPs. The proposed WWTPs will treat the wastewater from North and Northwest areas of Lahore. The plants will be fed by disposal stations located at Shadi Pura,Bhogiwal, Khokhar, Shadbagh, Shahdara and Farkhabad; and by drainage stations at Mehmood Booti and Siddique Pura through trunk sewers fed by secondary and tertiary sewerage networks.

Component 3: Technical Support for Institutional Performance Improvement, and Project Construction Supervision. The LWASA will appoint Project Management Consultant (PMC) for the execution of activities relating to (a) institutional performance improvement; and (b) project construction supervision support.

PROJECT FINANCING

For more information about project financing, please review the project summary.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL INFORMATION

The Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) will be applicable to the proposed project, and the Environment and Social Standards (ESSs) will be applicable for screening, categorization and due diligence with respect to the subprojects. As per the Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework (ESF), the Project is proposed to be Category A, considering the nature of the project activities and local environmental and social contexts. Categorization for the Project will be further reviewed and finalized based on the Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs), as well as the Bank team’s site visits prior to appraisal. As part of project preparation, instruments, such as an ESIA and Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) should be prepared in parallel to other project documents, under the ESF. If some sub-projects are not identified or finalized at the time of project appraisal, instruments, such as an Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF), should be prepared to provide the technical guidance and procedural requirement for in environmental and social matters project implementation. The Borrower has assured that LWASA will use the AIIB’s ESF to guide their environmental and social due diligence and preparation of relevant instruments. LWASA has carried out preliminary due diligence including 3 environmental and social impact studies of the Project, in accordance with national policy and requirement. Overall the environmental and social impacts are expected to be positive as the works relate to the augmentation of the water supply systems, minimization of water losses, and reduction of deteriorating environmental impact of untreated sewage disposal in Lahore. An ESMF is under preparation. Guidance on Environmental and Social Assessment followed by preparation of a specific ESIA and Management Plans will be prepared as part of the ESMF. For each specific sub-project identified during the project preparation, the ESIA and the ESMP will be prepared. This will include consultation with relevant stakeholders, with a focus on project affected peoples (PAPs) and enabling women to actively participate, and adequate information disclosure.