An environmental impact assessment shows how your project will affect the environment before it begins, and how you will reduce that effect. In Saudi Arabia it is tied directly to the construction permit issued by the National Center for Environmental Compliance.
When is the study required?
Your activity's classification decides. After the environmental classification form is submitted, the Center places the project in one of three categories:
- Category 1: an environmental management plan is usually enough.
- Category 2: an environmental impact assessment is required, which the Center reviews within thirty working days; the Center may raise the project to Category 3.
- Category 3: a scoping report comes first, then a full study that the Center reviews within sixty working days.
Projects inside or close to environmentally sensitive areas need a more detailed assessment.
What does the study cover?
- A description of the project, its alternatives and its location.
- The site's current environmental baseline: air, water, soil, biodiversity and the surrounding community.
- Expected impacts during construction and operation.
- Mitigation measures, and a management and monitoring plan.
Who prepares it?
The regulation requires a service provider licensed by the Center. Accuracy matters: submitting incorrect data in a study is a violation under the regulations.
Before you start
- Put the study in your schedule from the start; do not leave it until after final design.
- Prepare an accurate description of the project, its capacity, location and coordinates.
- Treat the study as a tool to improve the project, not just a document for approval.
How we help
We prepare environmental impact assessments and environmental management plans, and follow the Center's comments through to approval.