Environmental and Social Due Diligence Assessment for 50 MW PV Plant in Benban

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  • Environics was commissioned by Catalyst Investment Management to carry out an Environmental and Social Due Diligence (ESDD) for a 50 MW PV Power Plant located in Benban, Aswan to assess its Environmental and Social (E&S) performance.  The plant’s construction was completed and commissioning started.
  • The objective of the ESDD was to assess any potential environmental or social areas of concern associated with E&S compliance status of the PV project site against the applicable regulatory frameworks, standards and IFI requirements, including:
    • Applicable national environmental and social (including occupational health and safety) legislation including:
      • Environmental Law 4/1994;
      • Labor Law 12/2003; and
      • Law 63/ 1964 regarding social insurance.
    • Project’s ESAP included in the Environmental and Social Review Summary prepared by IFC, 2017;
    • The World Bank Group General Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines, 2007; and
    • IFC Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability, 2012.
  • This was carried out through identifying areas of non-compliance/areas of concern, if any, proposing possible mitigation measures and providing an Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) for addressing the identified gaps.
  • Regarding investigating previous construction activities, the ESDD addressed historical E&S performance with reference to IFC’s ESAP and those related to potentially unresolved aspects of non-compliance and/or grievances and other findings identified during site observations as well as issues raised by the lender(s) audits.
  • The ESDD comprised the following activities:
    • Document Review including documents and information provided before, during and after the site visit,
    • Site Visit to evaluate current conditions, identify areas of potential concern, as well as meeting with relevant individuals/stakeholders to discuss the environmental and social issues;
    • Assessment of E&S practices implemented and evaluation of any potential gaps/weaknesses;
    • Reporting including: project description, results of the E&S due diligence assessment, as well as the Environmental and Social Action Plan (“ESAP”) with recommended actions to achieve compliance with the Reference Framework.

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