Disclosure Notice

The Government of Malawi is implementing the Skills for a Vibrant Economy (SAVE) project with support from the World Bank (International Development Association, hereinafter, the Association). SAVE Project is financed through a national resource envelope of US$100 million from the Association for a period of five years. The Project Development Objective is to increase equitable access to market-relevant skills in priority areas of the economy, especially for females and vulnerable youth. The project consists of the following four components:

Therefore, this notice serves to notify interested or affected persons/parties and the general public of the Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), which has been developed to respond to environmental and social risks arising from the construction of the Food Processing Plant at The Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), Bunda College Campus. The construction of the Food Processing Plant aims to improve academic excellence and access to market-relevant skills development programs. Specifically, the project will increase student enrolment, improve the quality of teaching and research, train high-level human resources, provide research and consultancy services, and disseminate knowledge for societal advancement. Construction activities for the project will involve building a single-story Food Processing Plant that complies with the requirements of Malawi Standard 21. It will include features such as changing rooms, receiving areas for dry and wet foods, and the main processing area.
In conformity with both the national and World Bank environmental and social standards, the project has been planned and designed in a manner that enhances potential positive environmental and social impacts and minimises potential negative impacts. This has been achieved through environmental and social assessments that led to the development of the Environmental and Social Management Plan. The environmental and social assessment identified and evaluated the potential environmental and social impacts that the project might generate, proposed measures to enhance the positive impacts and measures to mitigate the negative impacts, and developed a monitoring plan to check the implementation of the enhancement measures for positive impacts and mitigation measures for negative impacts.

Some of the positive impacts that the ESMP identified include increased student enrolment in skills development programs at the University; improved learning facilities; increased employment opportunities for communities around the project site; Increased transfer of new skills to local communities; and increased business opportunities for local business people. Some of the negative impacts identified by the ESMP report include increased disruption of teaching and learning activities at the University; increased water and energy demands; increased noise pollution due to construction works; increased waste products; increased risk of soil and groundwater contamination; increased air pollution due to high dust emission from the construction site; increased risk of soil erosion; increased risk of HIV/AIDS and STIs spread on the campus and surrounding communities; increased risk of communicable diseases; increased accidents and injuries for both workers and the community; increased risk of child labour; increased risk of gender-based violence and sexual exploitation and abuse.

The Environmental and Social Management Plan for the project site has been presented to the Malawi Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) and the World Bank and is now ready to be presented to stakeholders interested in any observations.
The report is now available for reference purposes at any time at the following locations:

To this end, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources proposes to engage stakeholders in the report. Stakeholders and interested persons/parties are invited to participate in the Public Disclosure process by examining the documents available as detailed above and submitting any observations no later than 3 April 2025 to:
Vice Chancellor
Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources,
Post Office Box 219,
Lilongwe
Email: vc@luanar.ac.mw
Copy pco@luanar.ac.mw

Phone Number: +265 1 277 222 / +265 1 277 260

We look forward to your participation in this public disclosure.