Environmental Social and Traffic Impact Assessment for the Fouad Boutros Avenue

Client: Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR)

Project Description
Earth Link and Advanced Resources Development s.a.l. (ELARD) in association with Transport & Mobility Solutions, s.a.r.l. (TMS) has entered into an agreement with the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) to prepare an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) supported by a Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) for the construction and operation of Fouad Boutros Avenue (FBA) project. The planned project links Alfred Naccache road (in Mar Mitr – Achrafieh District), which runs in front of Spinneys Achrafieh, from Mar Dimitrios at one extremity to the Charles Helou expressway (in Medawar District) near the Port of Beirut at the other extremity. The Avenue stretches through the urban districts of Achrafieh, Rmeil and Medawar and runs above ground except for the tunnel portions.
The Project passes through a residential and busy area and involves demolition of residential structures and displacement of a number of residents. It is to be noted that the majority of the homes stated for demolition have been abandoned and already expropriated by the Government in the 1970s. Potential impacts assessed are those relating to traffic, air quality, noise, archeology and cultural heritage, socio-economy, landscape and visual amenity, geology and hydrogeology, and human health and safety. The project involves two public consultation meetings and an analysis of alternatives to the Project.

Scope of Work
• Preparation of scoping report;
• Analysis of the legal and institutional framework;
• Assessment of the environmental, social, and economic baseline conditions; including site investigations (traffic counts, noise measurements, and ecological assessments) and socio-economic/cultural heritage/visual impacts questionnaires;
• Modeling (traffic, noise, air quality);
• Stakeholder consultations including the organization of public participation sessions, workshops and focus groups;
• Analysis of alternatives;
• Impacts assessment to identify any positive or negative environmental and social impacts on traffic, air quality, noise, archeology and cultural heritage, socio-economy, landscape and visual amenity, geology and hydrogeology, and human health and safety;
• Development of the Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP); listing mitigation and management measures and monitoring activities for the different phases of the Project to avoid, reduce, mitigate or compensate for adverse social impacts.

Dates: Jan. 2014 - ongoing