Dam Safety:

According to the Feasibility Studies, CSAIL?s hydroelectric power plant projects currently planned for development will have a dam height of between 91 and 98.5m for Karot HPP, and about 50m for Kohala HPP.  As such these dams are classified as large dams and good international practice (i.e., the recommendations of the International Commission on Large Dams, ICOLD) requires dam safety assessments and associated emergency response plans. Experienced design institutes have been contracted by CWEI (which is conducting preparatory works for CSAIL) to review the initial designs that were prepared prior to CSAIL?s involvement and to prepare detailed tender documents for EPC contracts.  The awarded EPC contractors will conduct a detailed design of the dam structure.  In accordance with IFC?s Performance Standard, CSAIL will establish a procedure to engage one or more external experts, separate from those responsible for the design and construction, to conduct a dam safety review for each large dam to be constructed (ESAP Action 6). 

As mentioned in the project description section, IFC anticipates being involved in the financing of each of the proposed power projects being developed by CSAIL in Pakistan, and dam safety and other arrangements will be subject to a detailed and separate due diligence process at that time. 

Other Community Health and Safety Aspects:

Other community safety mitigation measures, e.g. traffic safety management in the case of large hydro construction projects and potential health impacts from labor influx, ensuring sufficient distance from wind turbines to communities, will be developed in a manner consistent with IFC PS 4 and incorporated into project-specific ESMMPs. Similar to the dam safety review mentioned above, such impacts are expected to be subject to separate and detailed IFC due diligence during the process of financing each CSAIL investment project.

Security Personnel:

In response to the security circumstances for infrastructure facilities such as power plants in Pakistan, CSAIL?s facilities will need to have multiple layers of security arrangements including (i) Provincial police force, (ii) Frontier Constabulary Force (Federal Paramilitary Force of Pakistan, which is largely drawn from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, but operates in other provinces of Pakistan), and (iii) private companies? security forces.  All the security personnel will be equipped with firearms.  CSAIL will prepare specific security personnel management procedures to minimize risks of potential conflicts between armed security forces and affected communities at its project sites, in accordance with PS 4 requirements (ESAP Action No. 7).