IFC has recently carried out a 120-day public comment period on the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) documentation for the BTC pipeline and ACG Phase 1 projects. Commenced on June 11, 2003, this 120-day public comment period also included discussions with local, national and some international NGOs, and interested individuals via the joint IFC and EBRD Multi-stakeholder Forum (MSF) process held in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey in August-September, 2003.
At the end of the 120-day public disclosure period for the ESIA for the BTC oil pipeline project, IFC received nine total submissions from forty-nine civil society organizations. In addition to these substantive comments, IFC also received numerous letters of concern that asked for a delay in the financing or that IFC did not finance the BTC pipeline project at all.
IFC also responded to many of the issues that were raised in various letters to NGOs over the past two years (these letters and responses can be found on our site Correspondence page). We have reviewed the submissions carefully, have collated the concerns, and have prepared a response (attached) that is meant to address common themes that have been raised by various organizations.
The end of the public comment period on BTC pipeline project is by no means the end of dialogue and interaction with civil society. As with any process, there is room for some improvement, but we are confident that very serious and meaningful efforts have been made on consultation and community engagement at the project level and by IFC (and EBRD) via the MSF. We value public opinion as an essential element to the process of accountability for IFC and we will therefore continue to remain open to discussion and dialogue.
