30323 - CIRA

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Environmental & Social Review Summary

Project Number

30323

Company Name

CAIRO FOR INVESTMENT AND REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT SAE

Date ESRS Disclosed

Sep 27, 2011

Country

Egypt, Arab Republic of

Region

Africa

Last Updated Date

Sep 30, 2022

Environmental Category

B - Limited

Status

Completed

Previous Events

Approved : Mar 19, 2012
Signed : Mar 29, 2012
Invested : Jan 30, 2013

Sector

Elementary and Secondary Schools

Industry

Health, Education and Life Sciences

Department

Regional Industry - MAS ME & Africa

Project Description

CIRA is a leading K-Grade 12 education business based in Cairo and currently operates 16 schools, primarily under the brand name of “Futures Schools”. Futures Schools targets primarily lower to middle income families. CIRA was set up in 1992 and currently has over 13,000 students with a goal to reach 14,000 students for this academic year (2011-2012).

IFC is proposing to fund their expansion program over the next 3-4 years to expand CIRA’s reach in Egypt from greater Cairo to other cities in Egypt. The project aims to set up 8 new schools in Egypt (in Assiut, Menaya, Alexandria, Shorouk and Nasr City) with additional student capacity of 14,980 K-12 students.

CIRA’s goal is to have 170,000 students in Egypt, and to cover 10% of the private sector market in Egypt. CIRA has two types of school models. The first are schools that are directly owned by CIRA, and the second are schools that are owned by subsidiaries where CIRA owns at least a 70% stake. There are two license types for schools in Egypt. The first entails a license for K – Middle, the second is High School related Grade 9 – Grade 12. CIRA currently has five schools in construction in Egypt, and 25 more schools are being scouted. Local Egyptian Schools take an average of 5 years to reach a 60-70% occupancy rate with international schools taking an average of 10 years to reach this rate of occupancy. CIRA has developed a free online resource designed to help students understand and explore key Science and Mathematics concepts using the online Skoool portal (a worldwide project that has been implemented in more than 25 countries). The Skoool portal is an Education Systems International (ESI) initiative to promote e-learning and digital curricula and offers the Egyptian National Curricula exactly as offered by the Ministry of Education in both Arabic and English. CIRA is the first IT based school in Egypt, whereby the students get a CISCO certificate for IT knowledge.

Overview of IFC's Scope of Review

This is a Category B project according to IFC’s Procedure for Environmental and Social Review of Projects as the nature of CIRA’s operations involves the provision of educational services, and as such adverse E&S impacts are minimal. The review of this project consisted of appraising information provided by the Sponsor related to technical, environmental and social issues, as well as visits to all of the Sponsor’s existing school premises in Cairo, Egypt.

E & S Project Categorization and Applicable Standard

While all Performance Standards are applicable to this investment, IFC’s environmental and social due diligence indicates that the investment will have impacts which must be managed in a manner consistent with the following Performance Standards:
PS1: Social and Environmental Assessment and Management Systems
PS2: Labor and Working Conditions
PS3: Pollution Prevention and Abatement
PS4: Community Health and Safety
PS5: Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement
Issues related to the following IFC Performance Standards were not identified during IFC’s review:PS6: Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Natural Resource Management: aside from current and future water and energy consumption from public utilities, CIRA’s proposed school expansion will not have impacts upon biodiversity or natural resources due to sites being located in heavily modified urban neighborhoods.
PS7: Indigenous Peoples: No Indigenous People are impacted by the current locations of the schools; future locations will be chosen so as to avoid any issues associated with Indigenous Peoples.PS8: Cultural Heritage: No sites of cultural heritage are impacted by the current locations of the schools; future locations will be chosen so as to avoid any issues associated with Cultural Heritage.

Based on the site visits to all of CIRA’ premises in Cairo, and discussions with CIRA management, this project will have limited potential adverse environmental and social impacts which are site-specific, reversible and easily addressed through the measures summarized below in addition to the agreed mitigation measures as outlined in the Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) attached to this ESRS.

The main E&S issues include: the criteria for site selection of the future education facilities; the management of human resources; potable and waste water management; Life and Fire Safety; design and operation of existing and to-be built school facilities; and land acquisition procedures to provide land for the expansion program.

Environmental and Social Mitigation Measures

PS 1: Social and Environmental Assessment and Management Systems
Organizational structure
At each CIRA campus there is an operational manager responsible for E&S issues including reporting arrangements for E&S issue and employee training on Fire and Life safety and Health care. An E&S assessment of the schools’ facilities is undertaken bi-annually by the Quality Assurance (QA) Unit at CIRA.

ESI is responsible for the environmental and safety issues at the national schools and for the school’s accreditation. International schools are accredited by Northwest Commission, a US based accreditation for environment and safety. ESI needs to develop environmental, health and safety (EHS) procedures, facility guidelines and maintenance procedures that complies with IFC’s PS and host country regulations and incorporate them into a Social and Environmental Management System (SEMS). SEMS should encompass social, occupational health and safety, human resources, and environmental affairs management associated with the full life cycle of operations from the selection of sites for expansion, the construction of new schools as well as the operation of existing schools and associated facilities. CIRA needs to provide a copy of the Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) study and Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) approval for all existing and new facilities

Management System
CIRA has a School Enterprise Management System (SEMS), which is an online portal for each school to properly manage their educational institutions effectively and allows access into HR policies, payroll, transportation, and parent interface for staff and parents. Written environmental and social policies and procedures are incorporated into the management system. The new Social and Environmental Management System (SEMS) will incorporate CIRA’s existing system while incorporating procedures and guidelines that will ensure compliance with IFC Performance Standards.

PS2: Labor and Working Conditions

Human Resources Policy
CIRA has an HR policy in place that incorporates employment, salary structure, working hours, vacation and sick days, and an employee grievance mechanism. There are a total of 731 full-time staff with 504 of these employees being women, 29 are managers and 34 in part-time positions. CIRA also has 1,145 contractors as service providers. There are no unions at CIRA, however CIRA follows the Egyptian labor law that allows membership of a trade union.

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)
During construction, workers are required to adhere to Occupational Health and Safety measures that are enforced by the contracting firm. Regulations of industrial security are enforced this includes a requirement for all workers to use safety helmets, boots and shoes and other protective equipment. Sub-contractors are also required to follow all site safety rules and regulations. There have been no fatalities or accidents recorded on any of CIRA’s construction related activities to date.

Life, Fire and Safety
Fire and safety regulations in the schools are in accordance with national laws for the national schools, and International codes for the International schools. The French and German schools are using French and German fire safety codes. Fire water is stored at all locations to be used in the event of a fire. Fire extinguishers are located at strategic points and practice drills are conducted at least twice per year at each location under the supervision of the local fire service. Adequate fire exits are in place as is signage to direct students and staff in case of an emergency. There have been no fires at any of the schools in the last 5 years. In keeping with IFC’s requirements in relation to Life & Fire Safety, CIRA will engage a qualified third party to audit the life and fire safety systems as currently installed and operated in existing buildings against a recognized international standard (such as that of France, Germany or the US). Subsequent to the audit, CIRA will complete corrective actions to address the identified deficiencies and implement recommended actions, as appropriate. CIRA will report on the responses taken and provide a declaration to IFC on their effective completion.
As noted in the attached ESAP, CIRA will also develop and implement a procedure within its management system to ensure that the design, construction and operation of all new school buildings complies with Egyptian and at least one international life and fire safety standard, and that this is confirmed by independent review upon physical completion.

CIRA has an emergency preparedness plan known as the “Crisis Management Policy” to be followed in the event of fire and other potential emergency incidents. The plan contains comprehensive crisis management procedures covering evacuation, sheltering in place, facility diagrams, site plans, emergency telephone numbers, warning systems, and training requirements. Each school has an emergency response team in place that is responsible for all emergency response and who will receive on-going training to carry out the building’s crisis management plans.

There are no disability ramps or other conveniences for disabled persons at any of the schools facilities. CIRA Schools do not have disabled students at present. All future schools must provide for the mobility of disabled persons so that disabled people may attend. This is reflected in the attached ESAP.

PS3: Pollution Prevention and Abatement

Power is provided from the national grid with CIRA’s maintenance department at each school campus responsible for monitoring and reporting electricity demand. The schools have measures in place to maximize energy savings such as switching off lights and the use of equipment following the school day. Whenever possible energy saving bulbs are used in the schools.

Water is supplied from the local municipalities. The schools located in the New Cairo district have the advantage of being provided two networks from the municipality. One for potable fresh water and the other for treated wastewater for irrigation. The New Cairo school’s utilize the treated waste water network to irrigate their green areas as it costs one third of the price of freshwater, other schools without access to the treated wastewaters utilize drip irrigation systems to conserve their fresh water consumption. The quality of potable water is currently monitored by the municipality. CIRA needs to be monitoring potable water and wastewater regularly. This is reflected in the ESAP.

Domestic non-hazardous waste is collected from the schools and transported to the local municipality of each school district. Hazardous materials are only generated in small quantities but are stored in sand boxes, in cabinet designed for such purpose. Handling and disposal of hazardous material is carried out by experienced Laboratory Technicians and trained personnel, whereby it is deposited according to the Egyptian regulations. CIRA currently has no mechanism in place to report on quantities or types of waste generated and disposed of or the mechanism of disposal once it is collected for disposal. CIRA needs to be monitoring the waste generated as reflected in the attached ESAP.

PS4: Community Health, Safety and Security
CIRA has a informal policy of engagement with the local community. Those wishing to complain are reported to have access to school management and community grievances are raised through a Quality Assurance Unit. Members of the community represent the school Board, and go straight to the director to voice their community concerns. CIRA will formalize their existing arrangements in a community grievance mechanism.

PS5: Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement

The school has recently acquired land in Nasr City and El Shorouk in Cairo. The land was acquired from the government and all acquisition has received the designated licenses. To date all land acquired was not previously used before as it is located in the new Cairo expansion area. As noted in the attached ESAP, CIRA will develop a land acquisition and compensation procedure to be followed for all land acquisition activities in which people will be economically or physically displaced, in accordance with IFC Performance Standard 5.

Stakeholder Engagement

CIRA is active in its local communities through community assistance initiatives. CIRA students created the “Futures Community Development Centre” in 2000 that is responsible for these initiatives on behalf of CIRA. The centre has been involved with a number of initiatives and charitable campaigns, examples include:

Working with the Ministry of Education in Egypt to provide PCs and Mobile Labs to government schools.
Participation of high school students and teachers in the National Literacy Campaign for illiterate women.
Helping the SOS Orphan Village children with their homework.
Participation in Women’s awareness seminars covering, Health, Women’s Rights and Child development.
Distributing blankets and purchase of a fridge for the Lepers colony in Abu Zaabal and providing bed sheets to the Kasr El Eini Hospital
Distribution of food bags during Ramadan to those in need.

CIRA has an active program to develop public access to free and quality based educational channels. This is evident through the initiation and support of:
SKOOOL.com.eg the leading free student portal for digital curricula with 1.2 million unique users in Egypt
A Number of free portable digital classrooms at public schools
Constant engagement with Ministry of Education in support of policy reform

CIRA will develop a formalized Community Grievance Mechanism to record, review and respond to community grievances. CIRA will publicize the Community GM on the Company’s website and at school locations for the general public to see.

Client Documentation

File Name	Actions
CIRA Final ESAP.pdf

**Information on IFC's Policy and Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability can be found at www.ifc.org/sustainability

IFC supports its clients in addressing environmental and social issues arising from their business activities by requiring its real sector clients to set up and administer appropriate grievance mechanisms and/or procedures to address complaints from Affected Communities in relation to environmental and social issues arising from IFC's clients' business activities. Since 2012, IFC's Financial Intermediary clients applying the Performance Standards are required to develop External Communications Mechanisms to receive and review inquiries or complaints from any interested party regarding the E&S risks and impacts of their operations.

For IFC projects that are active or under consideration, individual(s), or their authorized representative(s), who allege they have been or will be adversely affected by E&S risks or impacts arising from IFC's clients' business activities, may submit a complaint to IFC directly for consideration. When receiving an E&S complaint, IFC engages with complainants and works with its clients to find solutions to E&S concerns as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Complaints can be submitted to IFC online at www.ifc.org/escomplaints or by email to EScomplaints@ifc.org.

IFC complaint response is separate from and complementary to IFC’s clients’ project level grievance mechanisms and IFC’s Independent Accountability Mechanism (CAO). Lodging a complaint directly with IFC does not, at any time, restrict access to CAO.

Affected communities have unrestricted access to the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the independent accountability mechanism for IFC and MIGA. CAO facilitates the resolution of complaints related to IFC and MIGA projects and sub-projects, undertakes reviews of IFC’s and MIGA’s environmental and social compliance, fosters public accountability for their commitments, and enhances the environmental and social performance of IFC and MIGA.

Independent of IFC and MIGA management and reporting directly to the IFC and MIGA Boards of Executive Directors, CAO helps resolve issues raised about the environmental and social impacts of projects through a neutral, collaborative, problem-solving approach via its Dispute Resolution function. It also reviews IFC’s and MIGA’s compliance with environmental and social policies, assesses related harm, and recommends remedial actions through its Compliance function. Additionally, CAO provides advice to IFC, MIGA, and their Boards to enhance environmental and social sustainability performance and minimize the risk of harm.

Complaints may relate to environmental and social harm regarding any aspect of the planning, implementation, or impact of a project or sub-project, and can be made by any individual, group, community, entity, or other party affected or likely to be affected by the environmental or social impacts of an IFC- or MIGA-financed business activity.

Complaints can be submitted by any of the following methods:

Online form: available at https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/
Mail/Hand Delivery to: 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA
Voice mail: +1 202 458 1973
Email: cao@worldbankgroup.org
SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal: +1 202 650 2627

CAO receives and addresses complaints in accordance with the CAO Policy, which can be accessed at: https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/policies-guidelines.

This Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS) is prepared by IFC to disclose its findings and recommendations related to environmental and social considerations regarding potential investments. Its purpose is to enhance the transparency of IFC's activities. For any project documentation or data included or attached herein, whether prepared by the project sponsor or otherwise, authorization has been given for public release by the project sponsor. IFC considers that this ESRS is of adequate quality for release to the public, but has not necessarily independently verified all of the project information therein.
It is distributed in advance of IFC Board of Directors' consideration and may be periodically updated thereafter. Board dates are estimates only and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board Directors’ decision. The following ESRS is disclosed in accordance with IFC's Access to Information Policy (AIP).

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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Environmental & Social Review Summary

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Environmental and Social Mitigation Measures

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