AIIB's Controversial Move: Exit Bhola IPP Gas Plant, Yet Continue Indirect Funding Through Intermediary Financing

In February 2018, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) approved a $60 million loan for the construction of the 220 MW Bhola IPP gas-fired power plant in Bangladesh. The project came under scrutiny for its lack of transparency and meaningful consultation, coercive and fraudulent land acquisition practices that targeted vulnerable communities, and severe environmental impacts that have devastated local agriculture and livelihoods.