Environmental impact assessment report development of 100 bed hospital at Addu City

Abstract

1.1 Background The non-technical summary outlines the findings of the Environmental Impact Assessment of the construction and development of a 100 bed tertiary level hospital at Hithadhoo, Addu City. The proponent of this project is the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure and total estimated cost of the project is approximately MVR 162 million. The proposed project will be developed through redevelopment of the Equatorial Convention Centre which was developed in Addu City to host the SAARC Summit in 2011. Parts of some ponds introduced for aesthetic and flood control purposes within landscaping of ECC development would be backfilled for the construction of the Services and Utilities buildings on the south western and south eastern side of the main building. Once completed, the hospital will be handed over to the Ministry of Health, as the main operator and regulator of the Health sector in the Maldives. The facility will be constructed and developed to provide care in a number of departments and areas, details of which are provided in Section 5.2.1. 1.2 Key impacts, mitigation measures and alternatives Impacts on the environment from various activities of the project development work (constructional impacts) and operational impacts have been identified through interviews with the project management team, field data collection and surveys and are also based on past experience of consultant in similar projects. Impacts were analysed for their significance with the aid of a Leopold Matrix. In any development project, major direct impacts to the environment occur mainly during the construction phase. Potential direct or indirect impacts on the environment from the proposed project include:  Moderate impacts on pond water and groundwater resource due to backfilling works;  Minor impact on vegetation due to the need to cut down vegetation located at the plots allocated for construction of infrastructure;  Impact due to air and noise pollution during construction work;  Impact due to flooding within vicinity  Impact due to waste generation, especially during operational phase  Risk of accidents on hospital staff and patients  Positive impact on social wellbeing and health due to provision of good quality care Mitigation measures are discussed for the activities which would have potential impacts during the construction and operational phase of the project. In general, during the construction stage it is important to use a method of construction which has the least impact on the environment. Specific measures highlighted include: • Preplanning ways so as to expose backfill material sourced from MRDC, Addu City to rainfall, to decrease its salinity • Proper waste management and disposal to mitigate issues due to domestic waste and hospital related biohazardous waste • Establish Standard Operating Procedures for all departments and facilities at the hospital, so as to avoid accidents which pose risks to the staff and patients Detailed mitigation measures are discussed in Section 11 of the report. Alternatives has been considered with respect to project location, as there is disagreement from the Council regarding proposed location. While proposed location is an existing structure and thus project development would have minor impact on environment, it is also considered by the island community as a site of significance and hence do not want to turn the facility into a hospital. The no-project scenario is also considered, which would mean that all environmental impacts due to the project and disagreements regarding use of ECC for the project would no longer be an issue. However, this means that health care for the population of Addu City will be provided as is now, through the Regional Hospital, which does not offer all of the facilities as proposed in the project. Hence, the community would not benefit from many benefits offered through better health care facilities and services offered through the project. The environmental impacts predicted for the project are minor to moderate, given that the project development is mainly at an existing structure. Hence the benefits of developing the hospital and better health care facilities outweigh the cost to the environment and are seen to be far more beneficial than the cancellation of the project. Therefore the “no-project” scenario is not an ideal solution and it is recommended that the project be continued, but with the proper implementation of all mitigation measures proposed in the report. One key recommendation of the consultant is the formulation and implementation of regulations which regulate the healthcare sector, especially those related to development of healthcare facilities (and criteria) and waste disposal from healthcare facilities. This is crucial for the improvement of the sector through both proper service provision and mitigating environmental impacts.