As part of the project: “Central Asia Regional Electricity Market
Interconnectivity and Trade Multiphase Programmatic (REMIT)»

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The implementation of the proposed project "Regional Electricity Market Interconnectivity and Trade" (REMIT) project aims to gradually develop from limited bilateral trade to a full-fledged regional electricity market in Central Asia, organized into three phases. The current phase focuses on the construction, expansion, modernization and digital transformation of the existing transmission network, including national grids, for which feasibility studies are underway. The World Bank has expressed its readiness to provide financing for the major infrastructure investments needed to improve the technical and operational performance of the regional power network.

The implementation of the proposed project "Regional Electricity Market Interconnectivity and Trade" (REMIT) requires not only compliance with the existing national legislation/regulatory framework on environmental and social issues, but also due diligence on these issues in accordance with the provisions of the World Bank's Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) to meet the overall requirement of sustainable development. A detailed Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) has been prepared to fulfil these requirements.

This ESMF establishes a mechanism for integrating environmental and social aspects into the planning and implementation processes of the proposed project. It defines procedures and protocols for the management of environmental and social safeguards, providing an approach to identify, assess and control environmental and social issues at the level of the organization and specific projects/subprojects. This prevents, reduces and/or mitigates the environmental and social risks and impacts of the project. The ESMF provides guidance on the assessment of environmental and social risks and impacts and provides triggers for specialized studies such as ESIA/SIA/RAP and biodiversity assessment if a subproject requires additional measures. In addition, the ESMF for the Uzbekistan project includes guidelines and plans to address gender, labor and stakeholder engagement, and develops an institutional mechanism to implement and monitor the management of environmental and social aspects during the implementation, operation and maintenance phases of the project.

The purpose of the ESMF is to describe the expected environmental and social risks and impacts of the project and to provide a system for monitoring and managing such impacts during project implementation. In addition, this framework describes the institutional roles and responsibilities for environmental and social risk management under the project, as well as the feedback and grievance mechanisms through which citizens and other stakeholders can interact with the project implementation agency.The ESMF ensures that residual and unavoidable impacts (if any) are adequately mitigated and provides the basis for sustainable and environmentally sound implementation of all project activities. 

Information service of JSC «NEG of Uzbekistan» 

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