The assignment sponsored by the IFC and the EBRD aimed at supporting the implementation of Egypt’s “Sea Water Desalination National Plan” through a Public Private Partnership arrangement. Its focus is on six sites on the costs which desalination plants would be constructed by private entities. On of the sites was an expansion of an existing plant.
Environics has contributed to the project in the capacity of Environmental and Social (E&S) Consultants In this respect, it was closely interacting throughout the assignment with Legal, Financial and Technical expertise mobilized by the sponsors for this undertaking. The assignment was divided into two consecutives phases: screening and scoping.
The scope of the screening phase included six Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) plants, distributed along the Egyptian Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts. Based on the delineation of project activities, E&S aspects were identified and potential E&S constraints and risks, based on the physical, biological and socio-economic settings within the Area of Influence. Accordingly, and considering governing regulations and standards, it concluded with an overview of red flags which, in conjunction with inputs form other expertise, resulted in a sharper focus on selected plants in the subsequent scoping phase.
The on-going scoping phase elaborated on the selected plants, and included field and marine surveys, as well as targeted stakeholder engagement. The scoping report has gone further than its typical aim of scoping in and out specific impacts. The preliminary assessment of the scoped in impacts and their proposed mitigation measures as well as specifying further investigations to be undertaken during the ESIA preparation, aimed at derisking private investments. Its scope also included an environmental and social due diligence (ESDD) of the existing plant in one of the sites, which is to be transferred to the private party.