Oct 18, 2025
| Daily Sun Report
A powerful new documentary titled “Bhola IPP: People & Ecology in Peril” has shed light on the devastating social and environmental toll of the 220 MW gas-fired power plant in Bhola.
Released online on Friday, the film was produced by the Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network (CLEAN) in collaboration with Recourse (UK), NGO Forum on ADB (Manila), and Urgewald (Germany).
It reveals how global financiers – including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) – are backing a project accused of destroying livelihoods and ecosystems in one of Bangladesh’s most climate-vulnerable regions. The documentary discloses that MIGA issued guarantees worth up to $407 million, while AIIB also invested heavily in the project, despite mounting evidence of environmental degradation and community displacement.
Communities pay the price
Residents of Bhola describe being forced to surrender their land “in the dead of night” without prior consent, compensation clarity, or meaningful consultation. The film features testimonies from local farmers and fishers who report declining soil fertility, reduced fish stocks, and health problems linked to emissions and thermal pollution.
One of the most alarming revelations concerns the discharge of hot water from the power plant into the Dehula Khal, a nearby waterway that supports local fisheries. “This project promised prosperity but delivered pollution, displacement, and debt,” said Hasan Mehedi, chief executive of CLEAN. “Hot water from the plant is already killing microorganisms in the Dehula Khal, which threatens the entire aquatic ecosystem. Communities are paying the real cost while financiers profit from it.”
Global accountability urged
Petra Kjell Wright, programme director at Recourse, said the Bhola project was not an isolated case but a global warning. She said, “Institutions like AIIB and MIGA must be held accountable for funding destructive fossil gas projects. Instead of fueling ecological destruction, they should be investing in clean, renewable energy that benefits people and the planet.”
Rayyan Hasan, of NGO Forum on ADB, criticised AIIB for failing to mitigate the project’s harmful impacts. “Local communities are living with the consequences of environmental degradation and health risks. The fight for justice and accountability must continue.”
The documentary highlights systemic failures among international financial institutions (IFIs) to enforce environmental and social safeguards. CLEAN and its partners have initiated monitoring of Bhola IPP’s impacts, engaged with MIGA officials during the World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington, D.C., and are sharing the documentary globally to push for transparency and justice.
News Link: Bhola IPP documentary exposes ecological and human crisis