Urban Transport Support Project in Georgia
Client:
The Urban Transport Development Programme of Georgia aimed to finance approximately 100 modern Euro-5 standard diesel buses in six cities — Kutaisi, Gori, Telavi, Zugdidi, Rustavi, and Poti — with municipal transport companies as the final beneficiaries. Some cities lack municipal transport companies and bus services, while others have municipal companies with low capacity, creating various challenges that the programme sought to address. The project’s objective was to increase the capacity of existing transport companies and establish new ones where necessary, while the Government of Georgia planned to co-finance the project by funding the construction or reconstruction of bus depots in all cities.
Identify and assess potentially significant existing and future adverse environmental and social impacts related to current and future activities.
The assessment aimed to critically evaluate existing Project documentation in accordance with EBRD Environmental and Social Policy (ESP) requirements and Performance Requirements (PR), with the purpose to:
Determine measures needed to prevent, minimize, and mitigate adverse impacts, as well as identify potential environmental and social opportunities, including those that would enhance the environmental and social sustainability of the Project and/or its related ongoing operations.
The work focused on identifying and assessing existing and future adverse environmental and social impacts related to current and future activities, including a critical review of the project documentation in line with EBRD Environmental and Social Policy requirements and Performance Requirements. As a result of the assessment, gaps were identified, associated risks were evaluated, the scope of work to address the gaps was proposed, and an Environmental and Social Action Plan was developed. In addition, measures were defined to prevent, minimize, and mitigate adverse impacts, along with opportunities to enhance the environmental and social sustainability of the Project and its related operations.
