main navigation menu miga logo
World Bank building

MIGA’s goal is to promote foreign direct investment into developing countries to support economic growth and more.

Young woman bending down to tending to her outside chores

Explore different types of political risk insurance guarantees provided to investors and lenders.

Hyundai building

Explore global projects that support economic growth, reduce poverty and improves people’s lives.

Hands husking peas into a basket full of peas

Learn about the progress MIGA is making in its mission to support economic growth, reduce poverty and improve people’s lives.

Subscribe to Our Monthly Newsletter
x

About Dropdown Description

World Bank building

MIGA’s goal is to promote foreign direct investment into developing countries to support economic growth and more.

Our Impact Dropdown Description

Hands husking peas into a basket full of peas

Learn about the progress MIGA is making in its mission to support economic growth, reduce poverty and improve people’s lives.

Our Products Dropdown Description

Young woman bending down to tending to her outside chores

Explore different types of political risk insurance guarantees provided to investors and lenders.

Projects Dropdown Descriptions

Hyundai building

Explore global projects that support economic growth, reduce poverty and improves people’s lives.

Nigeria

Qua Iboe Power Project

$540 million
Power
Environmental and Social Review Summary
Proposed
twitteremail

This Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS) is prepared by MIGA staff and disclosed prior to the date on which MIGA’s Board of Directors considers the proposed issuance of a Contract of Guarantee. Its purpose is to enhance the transparency of MIGA’s activities. This document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the decision by MIGA’s Board of Directors. Board dates are estimates only.Any documentation that is attached to this ESRS has been prepared by the project sponsor, and authorization has been given for public release. MIGA has reviewed the attached documentation as provided by the applicant, and considers it of adequate quality to be released to the public, but does not endorse the content.

Project Description

The Qua Iboe Power Project (hereafter referred to as the “Project” or “QIPP”) is a proposed nominal 533 MW gas-fired power plant, which is being developed by a Joint Venture (JV) between Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPN) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). MPN, a wholly owned indirect affiliate of Exxon Mobil Corporation, is the operator of the JV. The power plant will be constructed in Ibeno, Akwa Ibom State, on the south-eastern coast of Nigeria on 93 acre greenfield site immediately adjacent to the JV’s Qua Iboe Terminal (QIT) industrial complex. The QIT complex consists of crude oil and condensate storage tanks, crude oil stabilization trains, power generation for the complex, warehouses and offices.

The Project will construct a 53 km offshore pipeline to deliver gas to the Project from the JV’s existing offshore Oso platform. As this platform operates independent of the Project, it is not considered an associated facility of the Project. The pipeline, however, is being constructed specifically for the Project, and is therefore considered an associated facility. The Project will also include the construction of a new, 58 km, 330 kV double-circuit transmission line connecting the plant to the new Ikot Abasi substation. The new substation at Ikot Abasi is part of a larger plan being progressed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Ltd.

Selection of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractors for the power plant, gas pipeline, and the transmission line is being finalized. The World Bank is involved in the restructuring of the energy sector in Nigeria, and will have a role in this project through the Nigeria Power Sector Guarantees Project (PSGP), which was approved by the Board of the Directors of the World Bank on May 1, 2014. The PSGP provides a series of Partial Risk Guarantees (PRGs) to the Government of Nigeria to support IPPs and the privatization program for generation companies and distribution companies. QIPP is one of the IPPs that will benefit from this scheme. Information on the PSGP is provided on the World Bank InfoShop website.

Power Plant – The proposed Project will comprise a combined cycle gas turbine configuration. The gas turbine generators (GTGs) will be capable of operating in simple cycle or combined cycle mode, and fired with fuel gas using Dry Low Nitrous Oxide (NOx) burners. The output of a single gas turbine will be between 125 and 180 MW, and the plant will have between 3 and 4 turbines with a total installed capacity of approximately 575_MW. The plant will occupy approximately 120,000 m2 of land.

Transmission Line - The power station will use transformers to step up the voltage from 15 kV to the transmission voltage of 330 kV. A 58 km 330 kV double-circuit transmission line will transmit the power from the power plant to the substation under construction at Ikot Abasi. The Project transmission line will have a 50 m Right-of-Way and cross small amounts of swamp forest and other wetland, as well as agricultural and plantation land. The routing of the line was designed to minimize impact on environmentally sensitive areas (such as wetlands) and populated areas.

Gas Pipeline - The Project will construct a new 20-inch, 53 km pipeline from the offshore Oso gas field to an onshore gas distribution header in the southwest corner of the QIT complex. The pipeline will be laid in an existing 600 meter wide pipeline corridor. Upon arrival onshore, the pipeline will be tied into a 12 inch pipeline, which will be routed above ground 823 m through a brownfield pipeline route through the QIT complex to the power plant.

Environmental and Social Categorization 

The Project is a category A under MIGA’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability dated October 2013. As described above, the Project is one component of a larger World Bank lending program to Nigeria, the Power Sector Guarantees Project (PSGP) that will support the establishment of up to 14 IPPs. The World Bank has also categorized PSGP as a Category “A” project.

The main environmental and social issues associated with the Project relate to air quality (dust during construction and decommissioning and greenhouse gases during operations), noise, waste water, solid waste, biodiversity (terrestrial and marine during construction), resettlement (associated with the transmission line), community health, safety and security risks and worker health and safety impacts. 

While all Performance Standards are applicable to this investment, based on our current information indicates that the investment will have impacts which must be managed in a manner consistent with the following Performance Standards:

  • PS1:  Social and Environmental Assessment and Management Systems
  • PS2:  Labor and Working Conditions
  •  PS3:  Pollution Prevention and Abatement
  • PS4:  Community Health, Safety & Security
  • PS5:  Land Acquisition & Involuntary Resettlement
  • PS6:  Biodiversity Conservation & Sustainable Natural Resource Management
  • PS8: Cultural Heritage

No indigenous people will be affected or require relocation as a result of the Project. The potential presence of ‘Indigenous Peoples’ (as defined by OP4.10 and PS7) were considered during the assessment of the transmission line, as the line crosses through areas populated by a number of different ethnic groups. The ethnic groups in Akwa Ibom State, however, are relatively homogenous and the people along the proposed transmission line route are of the Ibibio ethnicity, which is the largest ethnic group in the Akwa Ibom State. As a result, PS7 does not apply to this Project.

For the PSGP, the World Bank applied the following Operational Policies (OP): OP 4.01 Environmental Assessment, OP 4.04 Natural Habitats, OP 4.11 Physical Cultural Resources and OP 4.12 Involuntary Resettlement. The requirements of OP 4.36 Forests were also considered during the planning and assessment of the transmission line, and the line route was selected to minimize impact in these areas. Therefore, OP 4.36 was not triggered.

World Bank Group (WBG) General Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Guidelines, EHS Guidelines for Thermal Power Plants, EHS Guidelines for Electric Power Transmission and Distribution and EHS Guidelines for Offshore Oil and Gas Development apply to this project.

The following documents were reviewed by MIGA: 

  • Environmental Impact Assessment of Joint Venture Power Plant Project, July 2013, BGI Resources
  • Environmental Impact Assessment 58 km 330 kV QIT – Ikot Abasi Transmission Line, July 2013, prepared for Transmission Company of Nigeria
  • Integrated Safeguard Datasheet – Nigeria Power Sector Guarantees Project, April 11, 2014, World Bank
  • Project Appraisal Document – Nigeria Power Sector Guarantees Project, April 1, 2014, World Bank
  • Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for the 58 km 330 kV QIT – Ikot Abasi Transmission Line,  November 2013, prepared for the Transmission Company of Nigeria
  • Social and Environmental Safeguards – Mission Observations from Site Visits; Aide Memoire from IBRD Appraisal Mission, February 2011

Additional documents and background information, including updated information on the Project, were also reviewed and are summarized in this ESRS. The World Bank disclosed the EIAs for this Project, draft EIA for the power plant and EIA for the transmission line, in June and December 2012, respectively, and the RAP (for the transmission line) in November 2013. MIGA coordinated closely with World Bank E&S specialists in undertaking the due diligence review of the Project. 

PS1:  Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts

Environmental and Social Assessment:

The environmental and social management arrangements for the PSGP call for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and, when required, a Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) to be prepared and disclosed for each IPP prior to submission for the World Bank’s PRG package for approval.  Additionally, it is expected that a Sectoral Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (SESIA) will be prepared by the Government of Nigeria with support of the World Bank to examine environmental and social issues as well as impacts associated with the power sector.  The SESIA will evaluate and compare the impacts against those of alternative options, assess legal and institutional aspects relevant to the issues and impacts; and recommends broad measures to strengthen environmental management in the sector.  The SESIA will pay particular attention to potential cumulative impacts of multiple activities in the sector. 

A draft EIA (October 2011) was prepared for the proposed Project.  The EIA was undertaken in accordance with the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (Act No. 86 of 1992) and World Bank OPs: OP 4.01 Environmental Assessment, OP 4.04 Natural Habitats, OP 4.11 Physical Cultural Resources and OP 4.12 Involuntary Resettlement. An EIA (November 2012) and RAP (November 2013) were also prepared for the 330 kV transmission line in accordance with Nigerian law and World Bank OPs.

Cumulative impacts were assessed, which considered the existing QIT facility and other planned energy facilities. The most significant potential impact is air emissions (including greenhouse gas emissions), but by reducing flaring of gas (which currently occurs at QIT), the Project is likely to have only minimal cumulative impact on air emissions.

The EIA provides details of the impact assessment, stakeholder consultation process and outcomes, management plans and reporting and disclosure modalities. In accordance with EIA requirements, the Federal Ministry of Environment (FMEnv) disclosed the EIA report to the public for review and comment, and has since approved (final approval) the report after having scheduled a technical review by appointed experts. 

Management Program and Monitoring:

MPN implements an Operations Integrity Management System (OIMS) to manage the Security, Safety, Health and Environmental (SSHE) risks inherent in its business operations. The OIMS provides a disciplined management framework, which will apply to all phases of the Project. MPN shall require the EPC contractors to have SSHE management systems in place comparable to the OIMS system. Within OIMS, MPN has an Environmental Management System (EMS) and Occupational Health and Safety System (OHS) to methodically identify, assess and manage Project activities that may potentially result in significant OHS and environmental impacts, including monitoring of contractors.

The EIA identified a range of mitigation measures, management actions and monitoring requirements to be implemented during the project.  A framework Environmental Management Plan (EMP) has been developed to be applied by the company during construction and operations phases. A Construction EMP will be developed by the EPC contractor to be implemented during the construction phase. MPN will develop a site-specific EMP for operations. The EMP for operations will be based on MPN’s existing environmental and social systems, policies, procedures and plans, which are implemented at the QIT facility, and the implementation of the EMPs will be guided by the OIMS. Independent monitoring will be undertaken by the Department of Petroleum Resources and the FMEnv.

The EMP contains the recommendation for the development of a number of detailed management plans and procedures that lay out the specifications for compliance with specific environmental and social elements. The JV has committed to developing the following plans:

  • Construction and Operation Environmental Management Plans;
  • Waste Management Plan;
  • Project Safety Plan;
  • Project Health Plan;
  • Spill Prevention and Response Plan;
  • Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan;
  • Construction Community Relations Plan.

The EMP also references a number of existing MPN plans, procedures and policies, which will be implemented at the Project, including:

  • Emergency Response Procedure;
  • Environmental Management Plan
  • Regulatory Compliance Plan
  • Personnel Safety Management Program; and
  • Community and Labor Relations Principles and Guidelines.

The EIA provides a framework for management and mitigation during decommissioning and plant closure. A detailed Decommissioning Plan will be prepared prior to decommissioning.

Organizational Capacity and Training: 

The primary responsibility of ensuring that environmental commitments are met throughout the life cycle of the proposed project shall be retained by MPN. MPN is committed to provide resources essential to the implementation of the OIMS and EMP. Resources include the appropriate human resources and specialized skills. For the Project, MPN will have Environmental and Regulatory Compliance (ERC) and Community Relations Teams, both of which will have dedicated personnel competent on the basis of appropriate education, training, and experience. MPN’s Community Relations Team will be responsible for community engagement throughout the life of the Project. The EPC contractor will have its own environmental management and community relations teams, and MPN’s ERC and community relations teams will monitor the performance of the EPC contractor’s team to ensure that the Construction EMP is properly implemented.

Safety, health and environmental training for personnel and contractors are managed through MPN’s OIMS system, which requires the Project to develop a training system to close competency gaps and to identify and provide for periodic refresher training to help maintain competency. The training system includes developing individual training plans based on performance appraisals and the job selection process, as well as identifying/developing and improving training courses that meet MPN’s needs. During project operations, MPN Operations shall liaise with MPN’s Human Resources Department to identify the competency gaps and training needs of personnel based on their performance on-the-job. Training plans and formal classroom personnel training shall be carried out by the ERC team.

During the design and construction period, it is estimated that approximately 400,000 man-hours of training will be provided to staff over a 4 year period. During commissioning and startup of operations, it is anticipated that approximately 10,000 man-hours of training will be provided to employees.

Reporting: 

The framework EMP indicates that the Construction EMP and site specific EMP for operations will have procedures on management of data and reporting. The framework EMP also includes a monitoring program for the Project, which includes location and frequency of monitoring and reporting. The FMEnv will also undertake scheduled site inspections to assess compliance with the measures in the EIA and EMPs. In addition to internal and Government reporting procedures, MPN will provide MIGA with a semi-annual Environmental and Social Monitoring Report during construction and an Annual Environmental and Social Monitoring Report during operations.

PS2:  Labor and Working Conditions

MPN has Community and Labor Relations Principles and Guidelines in place for the QIT facility, which will be applied to QIPP. The EPC contractor will be required to develop and implement a plan for the management of workers that complies with these Principles and Guidelines, Nigerian law and MIGA’s Performance Standard 2.

During the design, fabrication and construction periods of the Project, the JV expects to hire (directly or indirectly) approximately 600 employees. The actual number of employees will depend on the selected EPC contractors as they will choose their employees. During operations, it is anticipated that the JV will employ approximately 100 employees, the majority of which (90%) will be national employees.

Working conditions, payment of wages and benefits will comply with applicable law. All workers to be hired for the project will be remunerated in line with the existing conditions of service of the contractor negotiated with the relevant trade union to which workers of the contractor are organized by law. Remuneration package includes, but is not limited to basic salaries, housing allowance, meal subsidy, etc. Employee grievances are managed with the assistance of community liaison officers.

Within the SSHE management system, the EPC contractor will develop an Occupational Health and Safety Plan for construction. Safety performance will be monitored by the EPC contractor and by MPN’s Loss Prevention and Control department throughout the construction phase. 

During operations, the JV will manage their worker health and safety program through the OIMS system – Occupational Health Management. This management system addresses the identification of workplace health hazards, evaluation, control and communication of health risks, management of medical fitness and health assessments, and maintaining programs for exposure monitoring. To ensure the safe start-up and operation of the plant, a comprehensive Operational Safety Management Program will be implemented to ensure overall effectiveness of hazard control through all stages of activity.

The primary elements of this program will include the following:

  • Site operating procedures;
  • Personnel training;
  • Emergency procedures;
  • Pre-start-up safety review; and
  • Regular audits and reporting.

Safety performance during operations will be monitored jointly by MPN’s Loss Prevention & Control department.

A construction workers camp will be developed to house approximately 350 people during the construction phase, mainly professional staff consisting of EPC –contractor’s management personnel, expatriate construction supervisors, project team representatives and owner representatives. It is expected that a significant portion of national labor employed for the Project will be from the host communities and therefore will not require to be accommodated. The camp will include the necessary amenities such as a dining hall and kitchen and a primary health care facility. Other services and infrastructure will likely include a water treatment plant, sewage treatment plant, power generation, fuel storage, miscellaneous storage and fire-fighting equipment. The preferred location is in the immediate vicinity of the Project site.

The EPC contractor will provide transportation for workers to and from site, both from the camp and from neighboring villages.

PS3:  Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention

Air emissions – Construction related impacts to air quality resulting from site traffic and site vehicle emissions were considered minor. The construction EMP will be developed to minimize and control PM10 and NO2/NOx and dust emissions. 

During operations, the key point sources of emissions from the power plant will originate from the gas turbine stacks. Atmospheric emissions from the GTGs will predominately consist of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2). To minimize the release of NOx, the GTGs will come equipped with low NOx burners designed not to exceed 25ppmv at the stack based on a dry O2 content of 15% at the stack. The JV also plans to include Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (CEMS) in the GTGs. Stack height has not been determined yet, but the Project has committed to undertaking a stack height assessment to ensure that stacks are of sufficient height to prevent low level accumulation of NOx. The assessment in the EIA indicates that the emissions from the project will result in minor adverse impact on air quality as a result of emissions from NO2 and CO.

Approximately 1,711,120 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) is expected to be released per annum as a result of the operation of the power station. The Project plans to utilize natural gas from the Oso field. The plant will be fitted with continuous emission monitoring devices, and QIPP will provide MIGA with annual quantification of direct emissions as well as indirect emissions associated with the off-site production of energy used by the project in accordance with the methodologies provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other relevant and internationally recognized organizations.  

Noise –Noise emissions will result from a variety of sources including the gas turbines during operation and mobile machinery and plant during construction and decommissioning. During construction, noise emissions will be short-term, and limited to the immediate vicinity of the Project. The closest sensitive receptor will be the construction camp. The EIA estimates that during construction, noise levels at the construction camp will not exceed World Bank Group EHS Guideline values – 45 dBA at night and 55 dBA during the day. During operations, the closest sensitive receptors are residents of Ibeno Town, located approximately 2 km from the site. Gas turbines will be built in a noise reducing enclosure, with the outside target noise reaching a maximum of 60 dBA at 400 feet from each enclosed turbine. The EIA indicates that operational noise levels from the proposed plant will remain below the World Bank Group General EHS Guideline Noise levels, both during the day and night at all receptors.  The Project will regularly monitor noise levels to ensure that it is in compliance with guideline values.

Water Quantity and Quality – Fresh water for both construction and operation will be sourced from groundwater wells drilled on site. The ability of the aquifer to meet the demands of the Project has been confirmed. Potentially significant impacts on surface water due to storm water runoff and sedimentation during construction will be controlled by construction of storm water retention pond and implementation of Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan. Both oily water and chemical waste water effluents will be generated by the power plant operations, from pressure filters, regeneration effluent from the demineralization plant as well as other chemical laboratory wastes and gas turbine compressor wash water. Effluent wastewater will be treated using either a traditional treatment approach or an alternate technology such as bioreactors whose effluent will contain little to no sludge. If a traditional treatment approach is used, the process will employ forced aeration to reduce the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and hydrocarbon content. The final discharge of effluent, after passing through the oil/water separator, will be to Douglas Creek after initially passing through the storm water retention pond. All effluents regardless of which treatment method is employed, traditional or bioreactor, will meet all applicable Nigerian or World Bank EHS Guidelines requirements, whichever is more stringent.

Non-contaminated water will be routed into a storm water system and discharged to the surrounding area as per Nigerian and World Bank EHS Guidelines requirements. Domestic sanitary waste will be treated in a small package sewerage treatment plant. A Spill Prevention and Response Plan will be prepared to prevent and mitigate inadvertent spills and / or uncontrolled release of effluent.

Solid Waste – All solid wastes generated during construction (surplus spoil) and operation (waste chemicals, office waste and small amounts of hazardous waste) will be disposed of appropriately in accordance with MPN’s approved Waste Management Plan, which is part of MPN’s Environmental Management OIMS.

PS4:  Community Health, Safety & Security

The Project is located in Ibeno, Akwa Ibom State, immediately adjacent to the existing QIT facility. There are no communities located in the immediate vicinity of the Project. The closest community is Ibeno Town, located approximately 2 km from the site. There are also settlements approximately 5 km north of the site. The primary off-site health and safety issue associated with the Project is the movement of equipment, aggregate materials (which will be sourced from independently operating existing quarries) or spoils material to and from the Project site during construction. As mentioned above, in accordance with MPN's management system, a comprehensive Project Safety Plan will be developed to address safety issues, including traffic safety, associated with construction and operation activities. The Project is not anticipated to have any significant negative impact on health and safety in local communities.

In addition to consideration of safety risks, MPN's management system requires that a process be put into place to identify and evaluate health risks from its facilities that could potentially affect employees, contractors and the public. As such, the Project will conduct a Health Risk Assessment, and develop and implement a Health Plan. The Health Plan will include a Malaria Control Program and an HIV/AIDS Program, which, while targeted primarily at employees, will likely also improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment of malaria and HIV /AIDS in local communities.

Security Arrangements: 

The EIA recognizes the potential for conflict between Project personnel and local communities. During construction, the EPC contractors will coordinate security with MPN Security, and all security activities will be consistent with MPN’s security guidelines. The induction trainings will also be structured to educate workers on conflicts avoidance, reporting and management procedures. A construction fence topped with razor wire will be installed around the entire construction site including the laydown areas to provide a secured construction area. The EPC contractor will provide security within the power plant facility and within the construction camp. Outside the fence line, security will be provided by Government security forces.

Management of security is integrated into the overall OIMS. In line with the requirements of PS4, MPN’s project security processes include the assessment of risks for project personnel working within and outside of its facilities. It ensures that those providing security services have not been implicated in past abuses, that they are trained on the appropriate use of force, and that their conduct towards workers and communities are in line with established regulations. MPN provides security induction and awareness trainings, communicates security expectations that are in line with human rights principles, and also ensures appropriate reporting and withdrawal of personnel whose acts are not in accordance with its guidelines.

Security personnel are expected to consist of a combination of expatriate security managers and local national guards some of whom will be recruited from the host communities.

PS5:  Land Acquisition & Involuntary Resettlement

The plant site is already owned by MPN, and the site currently consists of degraded forest. No physical or economic resettlement is required for the plant site.

Land acquisition and involuntary resettlement, however is required to obtain the 50 m right of way (ROW) for the 58 km transmission line (a total of 290 ha). Affected assets included a small number of residential structures, farm buildings / huts, fish ponds, plantations, crops, tombs and shrines belonging to 2,546 households in 69 communities.

A Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) has been prepared that is consistent with the requirements of PS5 and World Bank Operation Policy 4.12. The RAP, which has been disclosed on the IBRD website and is also attached to this ESRS, describes the resettlement and compensation processes in detail, as well as the consultation carried out for the RAP. During consultations for the RAP, agricultural land users expressed a strong preference for cash compensation as opposed to in-kind compensation. Therefore the focus will be on providing sufficient amounts of compensation to enable purchase of agricultural land at least equivalent to the land lost, including the costs of preparing the new land for agricultural use. The institutional arrangements for the resettlement are provided in the RAP and include a grievance mechanism and an independent monitoring mechanism. The RAP will be implemented by the Transmission Company of Nigeria in collaboration with MPN and the Akwa Ibom State Government with funding from MPN.

PS6:  Biodiversity Conservation & Sustainable Natural Resource Management

The plant site is located within the boundaries of the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve. A ‘Forest Reserve,’ in the Nigerian context, is an area designated for timber production. The forests within and around the proposed plant site are significantly degraded, and most of the area in the vicinity of the plant site can be described as a regenerating secondary forest.

Three species of conservation significance, the West African dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis), red-capped mangabey (Cercocebus torquatus), and Sclater's guenon (Cercopithecus sclateri), have been identified to occur in the vicinity of the Project site. These species are all known to have habitat ranges beyond the Project site. The EIA recommends a number of mitigation measures to prevent impact on these species, including measures to protect floral species from accidental damage during construction, minimization of vegetation clearing, provision of training to staff, anti-poaching policy, etc. The impacts on biodiversity will be negative and restricted to the site and the immediate local surroundings. Although some of the impacts will be reversible over the long term, the loss of habitat will be permanent. The magnitude of the impact will therefore be moderate. A biodiversity management plan will be included in the construction and operations EMPs. 

Marine environment impacts associated with the Project include changes to existing coastline due to the new Material Off-loading Facility (MOF). These impacts will be short term. The JV has committed to including a Beach Monitoring and Mitigation Action Plan in the construction EMP.

PS8:  Cultural Heritage 

No cultural heritage resources were identified within the proposed plant site, though, as mentioned above, a number of tombs and shrines are affected by the ROW for the proposed transmission line. Impact on cultural sites along the transmission line will be managed as per the measures in the RAP, including compensation and payment and support for the relocation ceremonies.

Consistent with the requirements of PS8, a Chance Find Procedure will be developed and implemented during the construction phase.

The EIA was approved by FMEnv in March 2013. The EIA approval was amended in December 2013 to capture the updated EIA reflecting change in power plant capacity from 500 MW to the maximum capacity of 575 MW. The Project has also received a power generation license from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). 

The EIA includes a detailed socio-economic assessment and stakeholder engagement and disclosure process. As described above, MPN has community relations principles and guidelines, which will be the basis of developing a project-specific Community Engagement Plan. The MPN guideline outlines a standard engagement procedure that is designed to provide transparent, two-way engagement with stakeholders. A Grievance Redress Mechanism is included as part of the RAP and the Community Engagement Plan will include a grievance redress procedure.

Key issues identified by stakeholders included impacts on human health from air emissions and degradation of land and water resources. Communities along the transmission line were primarily concerned about impacts on land use and compensation. In addition, communities requested infrastructure improvements and other economic benefits, including local employment opportunities, and provision of electricity. Details of all the issues raised and interactions with the various stakeholders are included in the EIA. The extent of the information provided about the project was considered to be adequate and the stakeholder comments were considered to be free in their expression. At the time the EIA was undertaken (2011), there was general community support for the Project because local residents felt that boosting power supply, the Project will increase business and employment opportunities. Since 2011, however, there have been protests against MPN at the adjacent QIT facility. These protests, which were regarding community concerns over compensation for an oil spill that occurred in 2012, were not related to the Project. The protest has been called off, and MPN is working closely with the communities to resolve issues. Community support for the QIPP Project remains high.

The following documentation is available electronically as PDF attachments to this ESRS at www.miga.org:

 

The EIAs and RAP are also available on the World Bank’s Information Shop website.

twitteremail