Features | Economy | East Asia

Inaccessible by Design: AIIB’s Complaint Mechanism 

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has yet to approve a single complaint involving its projects for dispute resolution or compliance review.

On September 28, the first day of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)’s annual meeting in Doha, 108 Indigenous people from Lombok, Indonesia, filed a complaint with the bank’s grievance body, the Project-affected People’s Mechanism (PPM). They said the AIIB-financed Mandalika Urban and Tourism Infrastructure Project forced them from their homes, took their farming land, cost them their livelihoods, and ignored their right to be consulted. Many now struggle to make ends meet and fear future evictions.

Headquartered in Beijing, with China its largest shareholder, the AIIB began operations in 2016. In a decade, it has grown to 111 members and invested almost $70 billion in more than 350 projects across 40 economies. At the Doha meeting, AIIB President Zou Jiayi announced plans to double its annual financing to about $20 billion by 2030. A growing footprint in Asia and beyond demands an accountability and risk management system to match.

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On September 28, the first day of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)’s annual meeting in Doha, 108 Indigenous people from Lombok, Indonesia, filed a complaint with the bank’s grievance body, the Project-affected People’s Mechanism (PPM). They said the AIIB-financed Mandalika Urban and Tourism Infrastructure Project forced them from their homes, took their farming land, cost them their livelihoods, and ignored their right to be consulted. Many now struggle to make ends meet and fear future evictions.

Headquartered in Beijing, with China its largest shareholder, the AIIB began operations in 2016. In a decade, it has grown to 111 members and invested almost $70 billion in more than 350 projects across 40 economies. At the Doha meeting, AIIB President Zou Jiayi announced plans to double its annual financing to about $20 billion by 2030. A growing footprint in Asia and beyond demands an accountability and risk management system to match.

Like its peer multilateral development banks (MDBs), the AIIB has committed to “do no harm” and to offer people a route to seek redress when its projects cause harm. Independent accountability mechanisms, separate from bank management, exist at most MDBs and other development finance institutions.........

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