Azura-Edo Independent Power Plant Environmental Impact ... - IFC

Table 7.25
Summary of Impact Significance Pre-mitigation
Phase Impact Significance (premitigation)
Construction Employment, increased income, increased
secondary economic activity and skills
development.
Minor Positive
Operation
Employment, increased income, increased
secondary economic activity and skills
development.
Major Positive
Decommissioning Loss of employment, indirect business
opportunities and economic activity and
decreased income.
Minor Negative
7.14 IMPACTS TO INFRASTRUCTURE
Existing social infrastructure in the Project area is poor. Access to piped water
is extremely limited, as are toilet sanitation facilities and solid waste disposal.
Residents rely on river water; boreholes and wells for their water supply, and
either dump household waste in improvised landfills or burn it.
Access to electricity in the three communities varies: in Orior-Osemwende,
there is no electricity supply, while the communities of Ihovbor-Evboeka and
Idunmwowina-Urho-Nisen are connected to the public electricity supply,
though service is reported to be unreliable and irregular, due to the
inadequate capacity of the local electricity transformers. During the field
survey it was noted that community members expressed a hope that there
would be improvements in the local electricity supply.
There is a mix of paved and unpaved roads that link the communities to the
Lagos and Benin highway Roads. In general, transport routes between the
communities and linking to the rest of the state are considered to be in poor
condition, and local roads often become impassable during the rainy season.
Access to education is limited in the three communities, and the quality of
education provided is considered to be inadequate. Current information
suggests that the neighbouring NIPP project has recently built a school in the
community of Ihovbor-Evboeka. There is also a primary school in Orior-
Osemwende and a nursery school in Idunmwowina-Urho-Nisen. However
stakeholders reported that many young people are forced to leave the area in
pursuit of higher education or vocational training.
In order to use the roads for Project traffic, some improvements to local roads
will have to be made. Moreover, the developers of the Azura-Edo IPP have
budgeted in excess of a million dollars per annum (during both the
construction and operation phases of the Project) for programmes that will
AZURA EDO IPP
7-69
DRAFT EIA REPORT