Japanese ODA Loan

Ex-Ante Evaluation
1. Name of the ProjectCountry: People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Project: Western Bangladesh Bridge Improvement Project
Loan Agreement: December 13, 2015
Loan Amount: 29,340 million Yen
Borrower: The Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
2. Background and Necessity of the Project(1) Current State and Issues of the Road and Bridge Sector in Bangladesh
In the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, with its steady economic development in recentyears, the cargo and passenger transport increased by 8 times and 6.5 times, respectively,
during the past 30 years from 1975 to 2005. The transport volume is expected to continue togrow at about 6% per year. Bangladesh is highly dependent on road transport, which accounts
for 80% of all transport volume. Bangladesh’s road networks, especially national and regional
trunk roads leading to India, export processing zones and special economic zones, play anextremely important role in the domestic and international economic activities. Nevertheless,among some 3,800 bridges on national, regional, and district trunk roads throughout thecountry, approximately 40% are said to be too dangerous to pass through due to the structuraldefects or serious damage caused by aging, inadequate maintenance, initial defects, and otherfactors. In fact, some bridges are impassable during the rainy season (over two months), andsome are too fragile for large vehicles with heavy loads to pass through. These bridges havebecome bottlenecks for traffic. Moreover, there are missing links (because of rivers crossingroads) on some routes to export processing and special economic zones.
(2) Development Policies for the Road and Bridge Sector in Bangladesh and the Priority ofthe Project
The policies of the Government of Bangladesh for the road sector, including the Sixth Five
Year Plan (from FY2011-2012 to FY2015-2016), the National Land Transport Policy 2004,
and the Road Master Plan 2009, place an emphasis on the development of road networks(including bridges) to provide better access to rural areas and neighboring countries, thereplacement of bridges deteriorated over time or damaged in the structure, the strengtheningof maintenance capacity, and the securing of financial resources. This Project is in line withthese policies and objectives of Bangladesh as it is designed to construct or replace medium
and small bridges constituting the western Bangladesh road networks by using the design andconstruction method that can make maintenance easier. The medium and small bridges ineastern Bangladesh have been repaired in the existing project: Eastern Bangladesh Bridge
Improvement Project (approved in 2008).

(3) Japan and JICA’s Policy and Operations in the Road and Bridge Sector
The Country Assistance Program for Bangladesh (issued in June 2012) sets theacceleration of economic growth as a priority area and aims to contribute to the developmentof transport and traffic infrastructure, the promotion of efficient transport of passengers andgoods, and the mitigation of regional disparities. Meanwhile, the JICA Country Analysis
Paper for Bangladesh (issued in April 2013) identifies that development of transport
infrastructure as a priority issue. Thus, this Project is consistent with the policy and analysisof the Japanese Government and JICA. JICA has implemented 12 loan and grant projects todevelop bridges and other infrastructure facilities, along with technical cooperation for bridge
maintenance.
(4) Other Donor’s Activity
JICA, the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are serving as major
development partners in the transport sector in Bangladesh, including the road and bridge
sector. The WB assisted the Roads and Highways Department of the Ministry of Road
Transport and Bridges (RHD) with the restoration and management of roads from the 1990sto 2006. The ADB supported the transport sector reform (including developing theinstitutional capacity of the RHD) and the Dhaka-Chittagong Expressway Project (feasibilitystudy), among others.
(5) Necessity of the Project
Aiming to improve the safety of river-crossing traffic and the efficiency of road networks,
mainly in western Bangladesh, this Project is in line with the development policies of theGovernment of Bangladesh, the assistance policies of the Government of Japan and JICA, andthe above-mentioned development issues; therefore, it is highly necessary and relevant toimplement this Project.
3. Project Description(1) Project Objective
The objective of the Project is to promote reliable and efficient road transport network by
replacing and constructing small and medium sized bridges mainly in Western Bangladesh,
thereby contributing to socioeconomic development of the region.
(2) Project Site/Target Area
Throughout Bangladesh (mainly in Western Part)(3) Project Components
1) Construction and replacement of bridges (approx. 60 bridges), and the construction ofapproach roads2) Consulting services (detailed design, tender assistance, construction supervision, etc.)

(4) Estimated Project Cost (Loan Amount)
44,841 million Yen (Loan Amount: 29,340 million Yen)
(5) ScheduleThis Project is planned to run from December 2015 to April 2022 (77 months in total).
Project completion is defined as when the facilities start to operate (in May 2021).
(6) Project Implementation Structure1) Borrower: The Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
2) Guarantor: N/A
3) Executing Agency: Roads and Highways Department, Ministry of Road Transport andBridges (hereinafter referred to as “RHD”)
4) Operation and Maintenance System: RHD(7) Environmental and Social Consideration/Poverty Reduction/Social Development
1) Environmental and Social Consideration:① Category: B② Reason for Categorization:
It is because this Project does not fall under the category of large-scale projects in theroad and bridge sector specified in the JICA Guidelines for Environmental and Social
Considerations (published in April 2010; hereinafter referred to as the “JICAGuidelines”) nor is likely to have any significant adverse impact on the environmentand because it does not have characteristics that are liable to cause adverse impacts or
not located in or near sensitive areas as specified in the JICA Guidelines.
③ Environmental Permit:
This Project is required by the laws and regulations of Bangladesh to prepare an
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, have it approved, and obtain an
Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) for each of the bridges to be constructed orreplaced. The Project obtained ECCs for all of the 61 bridges from the Department ofEnvironment in June 2015.
④ Anti-Pollution Measures:
In order to mitigate the effects of construction works, such as air (gas and dustemissions), water, and noise pollution, the contractor will take necessary measures,
including the sprinkling of water, the treatment of seepage water, the restriction ofconstruction hours, the covering of materials to prevent dust emissions, and the proper
management of construction heavy equipment. Moreover, the waste earth from theconstruction sites is to be transported to the specified final disposal site. After thecommencement of the service, the noise level is expected to satisfy the legal
requirements of Bangladesh.

⑤ Natural Environment:
The bridges to be constructed or replaced in this Project are not located in or aroundsensitive areas such as national parks; therefore, the Project is considered to have aminimum negative impact on the natural environment.
⑥ Social Environment:This Project will entail land acquisition of approximately 125 hectares andresettlement of 385 households (1,818 people) for the total of 61 bridges. Both the landacquisition and resettlement will be carried out based on the resettlement action
program formulated in accordance with the laws and regulations of Bangladesh and theJICA Guidelines. The executing agency held meetings to explain the land acquisition
and resettlement to the residents to be affected according to the latest development planof bridges and approach roads and reached agreement with the residents about theresettlement action program for each of the project bridges.
⑦ Other/Monitoring:
In this Project, the construction contractor is responsible for monitoring the air, noise,water, and other pollution during construction, and the executing agency is responsible
for monitoring the noise and other pollution after the commencement of the service. The
executing agency will also monitor the processes of the land acquirement andresettlement as well as the recovery of livelihoods while receiving support fromconsultants and local NGOs. Moreover, external monitoring will be carried out by athird-party organization under contract.
2) Promotion of Social Development:This Project is expected to contribute to improving the quality of life of residents
since the construction and replacement of bridges in rural areas can activate the local
economy.
3) Promotion of Social Development (e.g. Gender Perspective, Measure for Infectious
Diseases Including HIV/AIDS, Participatory Development, Consideration for theHandicapped etc.):
This Project is classified as a gender integrated project for the following reasons.
When an abridged resettlement action program was formulated, group discussions were
held with widows and other women. In the implementation stage of the program, whichis to be outsourced to a NGO, the Project is planned to conduct individual interviews
with widows and other women and reflect the results in the relocation/resettlement
program. Moreover, the Project is to provide opportunities for women who will beresettled to participate in easy construction works.
(8) Collaboration with Other Schemes and Donors
The anti-overloading regulations and anti-corruption action plan prepared in the technicalcooperation performed by the ADB to enhance the institutional capacity of the RHD will also
be applied to this Project.
(9) Other Important issues
None in particular.
4. Targeted Outcomes(1) Quantitative Effects
1) Performance Indicators (Operation and Effect Indicator)
Indicator

Baseline(Actual value in FY2014)

Target (in 2023)[Expected value two years after
project completion]
19,989(Same as the left)
114,428,000(Mongle Bari Kuthibari Bridge) *1

Annual average traffic (Passenger13,074
car unit per day)(Karimpur Bridge)*1
Reduction in transportation costs(Taka per year)
Incidence of traffic obstructions
240on the project bridges (%) *3(Buri Bhairab Bridge) *1
Reduction in the number of days
during which bridges areApprox. 60 *20
impassable due to flooding (daysper year)*1. It is presented as a sample bridge which is the closest to the average value of all bridges. The target
figures are set for each bridge.

*2. It is calculated from the data on the 25 bridges that are impassable during the rainy season (whichlasts approx. 60 days).
*3. The possibility of bridge collapse and impassability is calculated from the age of the bridge.

(2) Qualitative Effects
Promotion of local economic development and enhancement of the safety and efficiency ofroad networks in the Project sites(3) Internal Rate of Return
Based on the conditions indicated below, the Economic Internal Rate of Return (EIRR) of
this Project was calculated to be 25.48%. The Financial Internal Rate of Return (FIRR) was
not calculated because the project bridges will be toll-free.
【EIRR】
Cost: Project costs (excluding taxes), operation and maintenance costs
Benefit: Reduction in transportation time and costs
Project Life: 25 years
5. External Factors and Risk Control(1) Preconditions: None in particular.

(2) External Factors: None in particular.
6. Evaluation Results and Lessons Learned from Past Projects(1) Results of Evaluation of Similar Past Projects
The ex-post evaluation of the Rehabilitation of Bridges for Java North Line (1) and (2) inIndonesia identified the following lessons: in order to ensure that the executing agency canperform proper maintenance, it should be authorized to make necessary decisions andcontinuously train professional field personnel based on a long-term perspective. Moreover, aproject consisting of multiple rehabilitation works in different locations over a wide area
requires close supervision of these sub-projects.
(2) Lessons for the Project
Based on the above-mentioned lessons learned, this Project is designed to develop andmaintain professional skills to manage bridges. The staff of the executing agency of thisProject is being trained to perform maintenance through the existing ODA loan project known
as the Eastern Bangladesh Bridge Improvement Project (underway since 2008) and thetechnical cooperation project known as the Bridge Management Capacity Development
Project (underway since 2015). Moreover, because construction works will be located indifferent places over a wide area, this Project will use consulting services to provide
recommendations and suggestions regarding how to manage sub-projects located in different
sites over a wide area.
7. Plan for Future Evaluation(1) Indicators to be Used
1) Annual average traffic (Passenger car unit per day)2) Reduction in transportation costs (Taka per year)
3) Incidence of traffic obstructions on the project bridges (%)4) Reduction in the number of days during which bridges are impassable due to flooding(days per year)5) Economic Internal Rate of Return (EIRR)(2) Timing of Next Evaluation
Two years after the completion of the Project (ex-post evaluation)