10808 - Filinvest Alabang Inc.

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Environmental Review Summary

Project Number

10808

Company Name

FILINVEST ALABANG, INC.

Date ERS Disclosed

May 17, 2001

Country

Philippines

Region

East Asia and the Pacific

Environmental Category

B - Limited

Status

Completed

Previous Events

Approved : Jun 26, 2001
Signed : Oct 2, 2001
Invested : Oct 31, 2001

Sector

Construction and Real Estate

Industry

other

Department

Regional Industry - MAS Asia & Pac

Project Description

The project is Phase 1 of the Northgate Cyberzone Information Technology (IT) Park (Northgate or the project), an expansion of Filinvest Alabang, Inc.''s (FAI or the company) existing operations. FAI was established to develop Filinvest Corporate City (FCC) in Alabang, Muntinlupa City which is a 244 hectare (ha) fully integrated, self-contained urban development, well situated at the gateway to the Calabarzon area (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon provinces) 16km south of Metro Manila, which has experienced significant economic growth in recent years.

Northgate is located in a 18.7ha area in FCC and is master-planned to provide a high tech working environment complemented by comprehensive infrastructure. Phase I of the development, covering 2.7ha, includes (i) 5 IT buildings; (ii) IT infrastructure; and (iii) the Convergence Hall providing a venue for interaction between IT professionals. Total leasable area of the 5 buildings is about 45,000sqm available for 35 - 50 locators. FAI is targeting software companies, multinational companies, IT solution companies, Internet Service Providers and IT support companies with a target mix of 80% multinational and 20% local companies.

Environmental and Social

The sponsor has presented plans to address these impacts to ensure that the proposed project will, upon implementation of the specific measures agreed, comply with applicable host country laws and regulations and World Bank/IFC requirements. How these potential impacts will be addressed by the sponsor/project is summarized in the paragraphs that follow.

In 1993, Filinvest Development Corporation, the parent company of FAI, entered into a Joint Venture Agreement with the Public Estate Authority (PEA) for the development of a 244ha area known as the Alabang Stock Farm (ASF) which had several government agencies as well as several communities located on the site. Filinvest agreed to finance the relocation of the government agencies and to provide 2000 units of subsidised housing for affected people. The PEA was responsible for overseeing the implementation of the resettlement with the aid of Filinvest.

At the time, a census found 2,194 residential units on the site. Grass roots consultation began with the affected people and several options were presented to the various communities. Through negotiation, the affected people chose one of the following options which best suited their needs:
1) Cash assistance and relocation to home province (Balik-Probinsiya);
2) Off-site housing in San Pedro, Laguna, approximately 20 km from the Alabang Stock Farm, where project affected people were offered a choice between land plots or row housing (Lupang Handog 2000 Program) ; or
3) On-site apartments adjacent to the Project site (Pabahay sa Loob ng ASF Program).

All affected people were given relocation assistance and provided with transportation for moving their household and building materials, which they were allowed to dismantle and take from the site. Affected people will pay a monthly mortgage fee, at reduced interest rates under the Unified Home Lending Program, to ultimately obtain the title to their land, rowhouse or apartment.

The majority of people (1,405 units) moved their families to the provinces and continued working for the various government agencies that were relocated. Two hundred and twenty households (220) have moved to the Filinvest property in San Pedro, Laguna and 525 families have chosen to relocate in the apartments adjacent to the original site.

Currently there are 44 structures and 45 families remaining to be relocated from the neighborhood known as ''the 225th''. A baseline socioeconomic survey of all of the remaining affected people has been completed and a report documenting the resettlement activities of the past 8 years has been compiled. The sponsor will complete a Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for these remaining households. The RAP will address in particular institutional responsibilities and capacity building necessary to finalize the resettlement activities and ensure completion of the title ownership process, job enhancing educational opportunities for women, physical space for additional small business activities, continued community consultation, and monitoring and evaluation of the resettlement implementation process. Additionally the sponsor will complete an Audit of the past resettlement activities and carry out a sample survey of the resettled project affected people, to compare with the baseline study done in 1993.

Potential construction impacts will be managed in accordance with national standards for erosion and sediment control, noise emissions, worker health and safety, and related construction impacts. Construction management will be audited by the sponsor to assure compliance with local requirements.

The water supply is provided through a municipal system that draws water from deep wells. The industrial site has a pretreatment wastewater treatment, with a capacity of approximately 11,600m3/day. At present, the plant receives 572m3/day, or 5% of capacity. This capacity will be adequate for developments up to 2003, after which additional capacity will be needed. The cost of additional capacity is included in the project funding. The company monitors discharges from this plant at least weekly, and a government agency, Laguna Lake Development Authority, monitors them quarterly. Both monitoring data show that the discharge from the treatment meets World Bank Group standards. Sewage from resettlement houses receives primary treatment in septic tanks before being discharged into public wastewater systems. Pretreatment meets national government standards.

The site has two diesel generators, one for each existing building, that are used for emergency electric power supply when the grid supply fails or is interrupted. Each generator has a 10,000 liter below ground fuel tank. The tanks are single-walled steel, but each is set in a concrete containment structure. The interiors of the tanks are epoxy coated and the exteriors have double coats of coal tar to prevent corrosion. Electronic fuel level monitors are linked with the Building Management System (BMS) with a constant fuel level read out. The tanks also have a mechanical guage installed at the genset area as a double check for the actual fuel level. Maintenance personnel are on site 24 hours per day. The company periodically monitors the soil and groundwater around the tanks.

In terms of fire and life safety and emergency response, all buildings will be constructed in accordance with national laws and codes (e.g., the National Building Code, Structural Code, Fire Code, Electrical Code, and Plumbing Code). Buildings are equipped with fire and smoke sensors, sprinklers and fire extinguishers. Fire hydrants are also installed within the project site. These aspects meet International Fire Protection Association (IFPA) standards. The fire and life safety systems will be audited on a regular basis to assure systems are fully operational.

To alleviate traffic problems with the Filinvest Tollway Plaza, the tollway operator is currently undertaking a major expansion to accommodate a larger traffic volume. Filinvest is widening the Alabang-Zapote Road to ease traffic congestion on the eastern end and in anticipation of future growth in traffic.

Conclusion & Monitoring

IFC will evaluate the project''s compliance with the applicable environmental and social requirements during the lifetime of the project by reviewing the annual monitoring reports (AMRs) prepared for the project covering: (i) the status of implementation of any measures contained in the Social Action Plan and (ii) ongoing performance of project-specific environmental, health and safety and social activities as reflected in the results of periodic and quantitative sampling and measuring programs. Periodic site supervision visits will also be conducted.

This Environmental Review Summary (ERS) is prepared and distributed in advance of the IFC Board of Directors' consideration of the proposed transaction. Its purpose is to enhance the transparency of IFC’s activities, and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board of Director’s decision. Any documentation that is attached to this ERS has been prepared by the project sponsor or in conjunction with the project sponsor and authorization has been given for public release. IFC has reviewed this documentation and considers that it is of adequate quality to be released to the public but does not endorse the content. The following ERS is disclosed in accordance with IFC's Disclosure of Information Policy that went into effect September 1998.

The map is for illustrative purposes and does not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the World Bank, concerning the legal status of any country or territory or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries. Country borders or names do not necessarily reflect the World Bank Group's official position. In some cases, available project location information is limited to the country of the project's activities. Locations are approximate.

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