The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

Which investments are being prioritized by the newly-minted Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank? Which development banks are co-financing with the AIIB?  Learn more about the AIIB in this interactive map, created by the Early Warning System and the NGO Forum on ADB.

This map will be updated periodically. Check back for updates.

By International Accountability Project and NGO Forum on ADB

Updated June 25, 2018

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) just concluded its 3rd Annual Meeting in Mumbai, India.  Entering its third year of operation, the AIIB is a multilateral development bank with a mission to “improve social and economic outcomes in Asia and beyond.”  Self proclaimed as “lean, clean and green”, the AIIB claims it will invest in “sustainable infrastructure and other productive sectors.”

What is the AIIB investing in and with whom?  Learn more about the AIIB’s proposed and approved investments in our interactive map.

As of June 2018, AIIB has approved 40 projects in 16 countries and proposed an additional 16 projects for funding — all in countries along China’s Belt and Road Initiative. In addition, project information was initially disclosed for 3 proposed projects (2 in Kazakhstan and 1 in Sri Lanka), but was since dropped from the AIIB website.   Click on a project name for additional information, including project links and available documents.  Or, choose a country on the map to learn about approved and proposed AIIB projects.

Measured in dollars invested (approved and proposed projects), the predominant sectors for investment are energy, transport, water, and infrastructure.  For example, the AIIB is co-financing both the development, construction, and operation of a 225MW Combined Cycle Gas Turbine power plant in Myanmar and a 280MW hydropower plant in Georgia.  Click on a sector to learn more. 

Civil society groups have raised concerns about the restrictions that co-financing may impose on communities’ access to accountability and effective remedy.  Most AIIB projects are co-financed with other development finance institutions, though increasingly the AIIB appears to propose standalone projects. The World Bank Group — World Bank and its private-sector arm, the International Finance Corporation– make up the bulk of development institution co-financing with the AIIB, which means that those institutions’ environment and social safeguard policies, and accountability mechanisms, may apply to the project.  Click on a development finance institution to see what projects it is co-financing with the AIIB.

Finally, most approved projects have been designated with a risk categorization of Category B, with communities receiving an average of 25 days’ disclosure before a project is approved by the AIIB’s non-resident board.  Choose a risk category to learn more.

 

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About the Initiative

The Early Warning System ensures local communities, and the organizations that support them, have verified information about proposed bank-funded projects likely to cause human and environmental rights abuses and clear strategies for advocacy. The project exchanges advice, tools and resources with communities and the local organizations supporting them.  

The Early Warning System includes the first web-based tool to automate and centralize information on development projects proposed and financed by 13 development institutions.  The Early Warning System was co-founded by International Accountability Project and the Center for International Environmental Law.

Scope and Methodology of Data

The interactive Tableau was created from publicly disclosed data aggregated by the Early Warning System at the time of project disclosure by the AIIB.  The Early Warning System team strives to ensure the accuracy of the data. The data was reviewed and verified at the time of project disclosure.   Please refer to the project website for updated project information and documents. 

While the Early Warning System team has made every attempt to research and present data accurately, it is often difficult to guarantee the complete accuracy of certain projects due to the lack of regularity and transparency in how various development institutions record and publish information.  Where there is a lack of clarity in the information (for example, when proposed project financing involves a range and is not subsequently confirmed by bank documents) the team has represented the information cautiously, resulting in a probable underestimation of the true amounts of finance. The Early Warning System team is committed to correcting any identified errors at the earliest opportunity.

The International Accountability Project is a human rights organization that works to ensure all people can shape the decisions that affect their homes, environment and communities.

The NGO Forum on ADB is an Asian-led network of civil society organizations, based in Asia and the Pacific region.