EIA for construction of K. Villingili west harbour & slipway project

Abstract

1. The Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure requested the services of Maldives Energy and Environmental Company (MEECO) to provide an Environmental Impact Study (EIA) for the for the construction of a harbour and a slipway on the western side of Villingili Island, K. Atoll. 2. The assessment addresses specific key issues stated in the Terms of Reference (TOR) as agreed between EPA and the Proponent following the Scoping Meeting held on the matter. 3. This EIA report was prepared for the fulfilment of the requirements of the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, 2012 with the purpose of conducting an assessment of possible impacts on biophysical and human environment arising from proposed development project. 4. The project is proposed by Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure, Maldives. 5. The main construction activities of the proposed project involve construction dredging of the existing harbour basin to a depth of 3m at mean sea level. The dimensions are 73m by 21m. A 73m long seawall made from rock boulders will be laid on the reef-flat on the western side of the island. The beach on the northern side of the harbour area will be filled and nourished. The construction activities will be completed within 150 days from the start of the construction phase. The project cost is estimated as MVR 09 million. 6. This development aims to improve the degraded western harbour with additional facilities with the objective of improving country’s critical infrastructures. With the development of the western harbour at Villingili it is expected it would contribute alleviate the issues of the congestion at the Villingilli main harbour and make available critical facilities to the people living in Villingili to enhance their socio-economic development. Villingili with a sizeable population currently lacks a proper waste transfer arrangement. With the development of the slipway, it is expected a critical aspect of the waste management will be resolved thereby bringing environmental as well as health benefits to the community. 7. The consultants assessed the potential environmental impacts using sound scientific methodology, literature review and experiences from the past projects of similar nature. In addition views and opinions of the key stakeholders have been reflected in the report. The main findings have been summarised in the following sub-paragraphs. a. Improving the harbour facility in Villingili will benefit boat owners, fishermen of Villingili in particular and those requiring boat maintenance service in general. b. Environmental impacts assessment carried out for the project indicates that the project can be successfully implemented without an irreversible significant damages to the environment. c. The project, however, has inevitable low magnitude negative impacts, including, sedimentation over parts of the reef, noise and vibration from construction activities, pollution from solid and hazardous waste. In addition, construction activities may result in temporary closure of the beach area with resulting loss of income to small businesses which depend commercial activities centered on the area. Additionally, boat owner who use western harbour may also face difficulties when its closed off for reconstruction. During the operational phase of the project, it is predicted with the proposed design of the harbour water stagnation within the harbour basin is likely to occur and that during southwestern monsoon floating litter could accumulate near the shoreline of the harbour. d. All environmental and socio-economic impacts identified in the report are temporary, localised and can be mitigated with the actions proposed. e. The project is in line with the government’s policies of developing access facilities, improve transport infrastructure and can be implemented in fully compliance with the relevant laws and regulations. 8. The Proponent has given full commitment to undertake mitigation measures and carryout the monitoring to ensure negative effects are effectively mitigated and corrective measures are taken in a timely manner. 9. It is thus concluded that the project’s benefits outweighs its imposition on the environment and it can be implemented while giving due consideration to concerns related to the environment.