PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) CONCEPT STAGE INDEPENDENT STATE OF SAMOA

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1 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) CONCEPT STAGE Project Name Samoa Post Tsunami Reconstruction Region EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC Sector Roads and highways (100%) Project ID P Borrower(s) INDEPENDENT STATE OF SAMOA Implementing Agency The Land Transport Authority Land Transport Authority P.O.Box 1607 Apia, Samoa Tel: (+685) Fax: (+685) Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment Private Bag Apia, Samoa Tel: (+685) Environment Category [ ] A [X] B [ ] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined) Date PID Prepared May 28, 2010 Estimated Date of June 2, 2010 Appraisal Authorization Estimated Date of Board June 23, 2010 Approval Key development issues and rationale for Bank involvement Report No.: AB5526 Samoa is highly vulnerable to natural hazards. The World Bank s Natural Disaster Hotspots study identifies Samoa as the 30th country in the world s most exposed states to three or more hazards. Seventy percent of Samoa s population lives on the coast facing coastal hazards such as cyclones, tsunamis, flooding and storm surges. Cyclones Ofa (1990) and Val (1991) have been the most notable affecting 195,000 and 88,000 people respectively and costing approximately four times GDP. Geo-hazards such as earthquakes, tsunami and volcanic eruptions are also threats. The National Tsunami Plan of Samoa identifies a wave of between 7m and 9m average run up height to occur approximately every years. With the currently available analysis, this remains a best design case, equivalent to a once-in-a-lifetime event and resembles the recent tsunami. On September , a powerful earthquake struck south of Samoa and was followed by a tsunami that impacted American Samoa, Samoa, and northern Tonga. In Samoa there have been 143 reported deaths and an estimated 5,274 people homeless. The main affected areas, with 1

2 about 7 percent of the country s population, are the southern, eastern and southwestern coast of Upolu Island. The response from the Government of Samoa (GOS) and the international humanitarian community was immediate, swift and efficient. A fully functional National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) was activated near the capital Apia. Access roads to affected areas were quickly cleared allowing for rapid response efforts by communities, Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) and the national Disaster Management Office (DMO). With support from the Australian and New Zealand military and disaster relief teams, the Government provided medical facilities, tents and clean water. Strong social networks responded effectively, despite the devastation, and many homeless were accommodated by family and friends. The Government s Disaster Advisory Committee requested assistance from the United Nations (UN) for a multi-cluster needs assessment. Advanced teams arrived in Samoa on Oct 4 and 5. At the same time the Minister of Finance, in a meeting with World Bank s East Asia Pacific Vice President, requested World Bank support for a Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) to complement the early recovery assessment and formulate a long term recovery and reconstruction strategy. A joint World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and United Nations PDNA team arrived in Samoa on October to assist the GOS for a damage and loss assessment. The Post Disaster Needs Assessment estimated the sum of direct damages and economic losses in Samoa at US$124 million (equivalent to more than 22 percent of Samoa s GDP). In economic terms, the infrastructure sectors only accounted for three quarters of the total damages at US$64.8 million with an additional US$4.3 million in economic losses. The greatest costs were found in the transport sector, where the coastal road and accompanying sea walls were severely damaged. Furthermore, about 13 percent of the country s housing stock was lost. A significant proportion of the affected population has chosen to relocate inland from the shore and government decided to support this move with provision of services. This move inland, as part of the recovery and future disaster risk reduction, raises the total post-tsunami recovery costs to about US$ million. The GOS officially requested Bank support to address the reconstruction needs of the roads infrastructure in January Before the tsunami disaster, Samoa was performing strongly with real per capita income growing steadily since the mid-nineties. However, the country has been recently affected by the global financial crisis with real GDP falling by more than 5 percent in FY 2008/9. Many jobs have been lost in the domestic economy, primarily in the export manufacturing sector, and other jobs and associated remittances have been lost through the closure of a large tuna canning plant in neighboring American Samoa. The agriculture sector also suffered in 2008/09 as fish exports fell. Construction output was reduced due to a decline in activity following the South Pacific Games in However, the small, but growing tourism sector used to have a positive impact on incomes, but mostly in the tsunami affected area. This was reflected in growth in the hotels, restaurants, and transport and commerce sectors in the affected areas. Despite the global crisis, Samoa s current account deficit narrowed, as remittances and tourism receipts --together accounting for more than 40 percent of GDP-- continued to grow in Samoan authorities responded to the crisis by lowering interest rates and increasing development spending. The deficit was budgeted to double to over 10 percent of GDP in FY 2009/10 and would be financed by soft loans and aid grants. Public debt comprises mostly concessional 2

3 lending from the ADB and World Bank and is expected to reach 41 percent of GDP in 2009/10, slightly above government s target of 40 percent of GDP. Government s Strategy With support from the World Bank s Infrastructure Asset Management program, Samoa has adopted a modern and comprehensive disaster risk management framework in its 2006 Disaster and Emergency Management Act. The National Disaster Council, chaired by the Prime Minister and served by the Disaster Management Office (DMO), serves as the national coordinating mechanism to oversee disaster risk management in the country, including the tsunami recovery plan. Responsibility for Disaster Management is assigned to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) which houses the DMO as a Section of the Meteorology Division with three staff members. A National Samoa Tsunami Recovery Plan has been established by the GOS based on the integrated assessment reports prepared jointly by the GOS and development partners. The plan is coordinated by the Ministry of Finance and a supplementary budget for recovery was approved by cabinet in December The recovery plan estimates total needs at US$108 million with expenditure at approximately US$ 26 million per year in the first three years of recovery. The Ministry of Finance confirmed that financing for the recovery effort will be comprised of a mix of resources including multilateral and bilateral grants, loans and restructuring. The plan includes activities already underway and lists priorities for the medium term from Longer term actions beyond 2012 are to be addressed through ongoing multi-year sector programs. The National Tsunami Recovery Plan calls for US$ 27.9 million investment in the transport sector in the next three years. Whilst immediate clearance of roads and superficial repair was conducted in October and November 2009, increased heavy transport combined with weakened or damaged seawalls have left vulnerabilities from displaced rocks and potential coastal erosion in exposed sections of the road. The tsunami recovery plan also calls for the upgrading of roads to resettlement areas and provides for prioritized investments in the following order: (i) restoration of existing roads; (ii) restoration of bridges and main routes; (iii) a new road to resettled communities; and (iv) reconstruction of the seawalls. The GOS approached the Bank to support the recovery program through financing of transport infrastructure for the resettled communities inland from the coast. The aim is to establish normal living conditions for these communities through the provision of services that will: i) provide better transport access to relocated communities; ii) improve access for agricultural activities in these areas to support income generation; and iii) safeguard the disaster mitigation benefits of moving exposed populations away from the coastal areas, where they are at risk from tsunami and cyclones. Risk factors that affect the Government s tsunami recovery program include the concatenation of events, such as additional natural hazards that might affect the vulnerable population. Affected families have been stretched for resources and find themselves dependent on their community, the government. and family members abroad as they rebuild. While remittances from abroad have provided in many cases a life-line, the newly relocated communities are still vulnerable as they seek to reconstruct at the end of the 2010 cyclone season. The recent passage of cyclone Rene in February , and tsunami warning following the Chile Earthquake of February , fortunately did not materialize in significant events in Samoa, but were reminders of the potential risks Samoan communities must mitigate against. 3

4 Proposed objective(s) The project s Development Objective is to assist the Government of Samoa in its efforts to support the relocation and rehabilitation of communities living in the island of Upolu affected by the tsunami of September 29, 2009, through the provision of improved infrastructure access to relocation sites; enhanced transport infrastructure, and assistance to local communities to address future natural disasters. Preliminary description The proposed Credit incorporates five project components: (a) Component 1. Upgrading of existing access tracks and seawalls US$5.6 million. This component will provide partial retroactive financing for urgent works by LTA to: provide improved road access to relocation areas; construct a new link road that will provide an alternative route along the south coast above the natural disaster risk zone; and reinstate damaged seawalls and construct new seawalls to protect the east and south coast roads. (i) Lepa/Lalomanu link road US$1.1 million. This sub-component responds to the need to provide improved road access to relocation areas and for an alternative route along the south coast above the natural disaster risk zone. (ii) Upgrading of access tracks US$2.8 million. This sub-component responds to requests from village mayors to upgrade existing tracks from the east coast road to areas where residents are relocating after the tsunami. (iii) Sea wall repair and reconstruction US$1.6 million. This sub-component will restore and upgrade seawalls along critical lengths of the coastal roads. (iv) Salani Bailey Bridge repair US$0.04 million. This sub-component will repair damage caused by the tsunami. (v) Technical assistance US$0.06 million. This sub-component will finance specialist technical assistance for storm-water drainage design along all the upgraded routes. (b) Component 2. Community Coastal Infrastructure Management Plans US$0.2 million. This component will update the mapping of the affected and relocation areas, and revise the community level Coastal Infrastructure Management (CIM) Plans for these areas to assist with infrastructure planning and monitoring, and disaster risk reduction. CIM plans will be revised through close consultation with communities. (c) Component 3. East Coast Inland Route (Samusu-Lalomanu) US$4.6 million. This component will provide a new road link along the east coast above the natural disaster risk zone to improve access to and for communities relocating inland from the east coast, and provide a secure transport link between Samusu and Lalomanu. (i) Route alignment study, design & supervision US$0.5 million (ii) Environmental Impact Assessment US$0.1 million (iii) Compensation cost To be determined following route alignment study 4

5 (iv) Road construction US$4.0 million (d) Component 4. Dual-purpose pedestrian access routes US$0.6 million. This component will provide new and improved pedestrian access routes to relocation areas above the south east escarpment area, both to facilitate access for resettled families between their new homes and the coast, and to serve as evacuation routes in the event of a tsunami or cyclone. (i) Feasibility study, design and supervision US$0.1 million (ii) Construction of pedestrian access routes US$0.5 million (e) Component 5. Project Management and Support US$0.3 million. This component will support contracted consultant services, and staffing plus operating costs for in-house project management, administration, and monitoring and evaluation activities by LTA and MNRE. (i) Project Management US$0.23 million. Support for in-house project management, administration, training, and monitoring activities by MoF, LTA and MNRE. (ii) Monitoring & Evaluation US$0.07 million. This sub-component will support TA to establish the project evaluation framework and conduct before-and-after analysis to evaluate the impact of the project. Given the emergency preparation of the above activities, there are uncertainties regarding the final design and costs of the above components. The project will therefore include an amount of unallocated funds of US$0.50 million to cover contingencies and currently unforeseen needs. Safeguard policies that might apply 16. The project triggers OP Because of the works taking place where roads already exist and/or the size of the activities is limited, the project is characterized as category B. Samoa has well-developed environmental assessment and monitoring procedures for road works. Relevant Codes of Environmental Practice (COEP) were developed with the assistance of international consultants to modern standards, have been adopted by Samoa, and are used for the SIAM-2. Appropriate environmental and social frameworks have been developed to be implemented under this emergency operation. 17. Social Issues. The project will restore and improve access to communities and relocation areas. Overall, the impacts are expected to be positive, as access to critical infrastructure (e.g. schools, hospitals, markets) will be restored and improved bringing better development outcomes to affected communities. 18. A Social Assessment will be conducted early in the implementation period in an effort to (i) increase awareness of the project, (ii) identify relevant social issues that may arise from the project, (iii) discuss potential impacts of the project with the community (and mitigation measures), (iv) (identify and recommend actions that will mitigate negative impacts and/or maximize positive impacts either on the general population or on specific groups, and (v) solicit input from community members into the project design, in particular the alignments of the Samusu-Lalomanu road and the dual-purpose pedestrian access routes. 19. The preparation of the social assessment and the consultations will be broad based and representative, paying particular attention to the input and experiences of women, the 5

6 youth, and other potential vulnerable groups. Any relevant actionable inputs will strengthen the project design, including the LARAPs, and the ESSAF. 20. Component 1 is providing retroactive financing for activities. Due diligence will be undertaken to determine whether the activities were implemented in compliance with national law. The ESSAF provides guidance on the information that is required from the due diligence including summaries of relevant legislation, summaries of the activities location and scope, description of the scope and magnitude of adverse impacts, and details on measures put in place to mitigate those impacts. If the due diligence reveals that national law was not complied with actions to remedy adverse impacts will be developed and discussed with Government. 21. OP 4.12 is triggered as Components 3 and 4 may require involuntary land acquisitions and/or resettlement. The project aims to minimize involuntary land acquisition and/or resettlement, in part by involving communities in the design of the route alignments. In addition, a Land Acquisition and Resettlement Framework has been prepared. The project has adopted a framework approach because the alignment of the relevant sub-projects under Component 3 and 4 will not be known prior to project approval. 22. The LARF provides guidelines for temporary and permanent land acquisition, resettlement (if necessary), and compensation for loss of crops and economic trees. The LARF provides principles for land use which include the avoidance and minimization of involuntary resettlement, land acquisition, and damage to physical assets. It also details procedures on institutional roles and financial responsibilities. The LARF provides guidelines for the preparation of Land Acquisition and Resettlement Action Plans once the specific route alignments of sub-projects are known. 23. Component 2 is financing the updating of Coastal Infrastructure Management Plans. The Component will include close consultation with affected communities as an integral part of the process of updating the district Coastal Infrastructure Management Plans. Tentative financing ($m.) Source: BORROWER/RECIPIENT TBD International Development Association (IDA) 10 Pacific Regional Infrastructure Facility Trust Fund 1.8 Total 11.8 Contact point Contact: Demetrios Papathanasiou Title: Senior Infrastructure Specialist Tel: Fax: dpapathanasiou@worldbank.org Location: Sydney, Australia (IBRD) 6

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