Environmental Impact Assessment for New Projects: What Developers Should Know

For a new factory, logistics hub, utility or large development in Saudi Arabia, environmental impact assessment (EIA) is one of the earliest regulatory steps and one of the easiest to underestimate. Treated as a late formality, it can delay a project. Planned early, it shapes a better design and a smoother permit. This article explains when an EIA is needed, how the process is structured, and what developers should prepare early.

The legal basis

The Environmental Law (Royal Decree M/165, 1441H) prohibits any activity with an environmental impact from starting without a permit, and Article 47 provides for the regulations to set the conditions and procedures for environmental impact assessment. Those procedures are set out mainly in the Executive Regulations for Environmental Permits to Establish and Operate Activities, administered by the National Center for Environmental Compliance (NCEC).

When is an EIA needed?

The answer depends on the activity's environmental classification. The regulation divides activities into three categories according to their environmental impact, and NCEC classifies each activity, or reviews its classification, using information the applicant provides. According to MEWA's announcement of the regulation, the factors include the type and size of the activity, the energy it uses, its consumption of natural resources, land use, sensitive receptors around the site, and the nature of its environmental effects.

Based on NCEC's service pages for the permit to establish:

• Category 1 (low impact): an EIA study is not required. Instead, the applicant submits an environmental management plan, plus an environmental rehabilitation plan where the regulation requires one.
• Category 2 (medium impact): an EIA study for Category 2 activities is required.
• Category 3 (high impact): a scoping report must be submitted and approved first, followed by a full EIA study for Category 3 activities.

In all cases the plan or study must be prepared by a service provider licensed by NCEC, and the applicant signs an undertaking to implement its findings and recommendations.

The stages of an EIA

The detail varies by project and category, but the work generally moves through these stages:

1. Project description and classification. Define the project clearly: location, layout, processes, capacity, raw materials, energy and water use, expected emissions, effluent and waste, construction programme and lifespan. Complete the environmental classification form and confirm the category.
2. Scoping (Category 3). Identify the issues that matter most for this project and site, the study area, and the methods to be used. The scoping report is submitted to NCEC, and the full study follows only after NCEC approves it.
3. Baseline. Describe current conditions at and around the site, which may include air quality, noise, soil, groundwater, ecology, land use and nearby communities. Some baseline data needs field surveys and measurements that take time to collect.
4. Impact assessment. Assess how construction and operation may affect each aspect, how significant those effects are, and how they interact. Studies such as air dispersion modelling or noise modelling may be needed. The noise regulation, for example, allows NCEC to request noise modelling and a noise reduction plan when permitting a new activity.
5. Mitigation and management. Set out how impacts will be avoided, reduced or managed, and turn this into an environmental management plan with clear responsibilities.
6. Submission and review. The study is submitted through NCEC's Permits and Licenses Platform. NCEC may ask questions or request changes before it decides.

NCEC publishes an expected service duration for each permit service. At the time of writing, its service pages showed 30 working days for a Category 2 permit to establish and 60 working days for Category 3. These durations run from a complete application, so the time needed to prepare the study comes before them.

The rule on splitting projects

One point catches developers out. MEWA has explained that NCEC may refuse an EIA, or cancel an earlier approval, if an applicant fragments an activity and submits studies in phases in a way that prevents NCEC from classifying it correctly or identifying its negative environmental effects. If a project will be built in phases, describe the whole project from the outset.

What developers should prepare early

MEWA has stated that the regulation stresses taking environmental impact into account in feasibility studies and preliminary designs. In practical terms, that means:

• Involve the environmental consultant at concept stage, before the site layout and process design are fixed.
• Check the site for sensitivities: proximity to homes, schools, hospitals, protected areas, coastlines, wadis and groundwater.
• Prepare a clear technical description with realistic capacities, inputs and outputs. Engineering estimates of emissions, effluent and waste are needed early.
• Plan baseline surveys into the programme. Seasonal or field data cannot be produced overnight.
• Consider utilities and waste routes: where water comes from, where wastewater goes, and which licensed providers will handle waste.
• Budget for the full cycle: study preparation, NCEC fees, possible additional studies, and the mitigation measures the study recommends.
• Keep design changes visible. A significant change after submission may need the assessment to be updated.

After the EIA

An approved EIA leads to the permit to establish, with conditions. Those conditions and the environmental management plan then follow the project into construction and operation. When the facility is ready to operate, a separate permit to operate is required. For Categories 2 and 3, NCEC's service pages list an environmental audit study for that stage.

The bottom line

An EIA is not just a document for the regulator. Done early, it reduces surprises, informs design decisions and gives the permit application a solid footing. The best time to start is when the project is still a concept, not when the drawings are final.

Sources: MEWA: Implementation of the Executive Regulations for Environmental Permits to Establish and Operate Activities · NCEC: Construction permit, Category 2 (service page) · NCEC: Construction permit, Category 3 (service page) · Environmental Law, Royal Decree M/165 (official English translation, Bureau of Experts, hosted by MISA)