11 March 2025
President Jin Liqun
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
No. 1 Tianchen East Road, Chaoyang District
Beijing, China 100033
Subject: Concerns Regarding AIIB’s Digital Sector Investments under Pillar 1 of the Corporate Strategy Framework
Dear President Jin,
NGO Forum on ADB is sending you this letter to express our deep concerns regarding the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) digital sector investments under Pillar 1 of the Corporate Strategy Framework. While digital infrastructure is essential for development, we urge AIIB to adopt a more inclusive, climate-conscious, and rights-based approach to its investments.
Our key concerns include the following:
Reinforcing the Digital Divide – AIIB’s focus on high-return urban digital projects risks leaving rural and marginalized communities behind, worsening economic and educational inequalities.
Environmental Impact – Digital infrastructure, such as data centers and 5G networks, consumes vast amounts of energy, often relying on fossil fuels. Without strict renewable energy requirements, these projects risk locking in high carbon emissions for decades. Additionally, the rapid turnover of digital technology generates significant e-waste, straining waste management systems and harming ecosystems.
Surveillance & Privacy Risks – AIIB-funded biometric systems and smart city projects could facilitate mass surveillance, posing serious threats to privacy, civil liberties, and democratic participation. Without strong safeguards, these technologies may be misused for state or corporate monitoring, disproportionately targeting marginalized communities and restricting freedoms.
Land Displacement & Resource Grabbing – Large-scale fiber optic and data center projects risk displacing Indigenous and rural communities without free, prior, and informed consent.
Dependency on Foreign Technology – Over-reliance on global tech giants may undermine local economies, fostering digital neocolonialism and limiting self-determination in governance.
Precarious Labor Conditions – Digital infrastructure projects may exploit low-wage and informal workers, failing to provide labor protections and fair wages.
Lack of Community Participation – Exclusionary, top-down decision-making marginalizes local voices, leading to misaligned and ineffective solutions.
Weak Climate Resilience Planning – Without climate adaptation strategies, investments in flood-prone or climate-vulnerable areas could cause disruptions and losses.
Harmful Extractivist Supply Chains – Mining for cobalt and rare earth materials used in digital infrastructure has led to environmental destruction, labor exploitation, and human rights abuses in the Global South.
Greenwashing of Digital Projects – Some AIIB digital investments are labeled "green" but still drive high emissions and unsustainable resource extraction, undermining true climate justice.
Given these concerns, we strongly urge AIIB to:
Implement binding environmental and social safeguards that ensure investments do not worsen inequalities, harm communities, or accelerate climate breakdown.
Commit to genuine participatory decision-making, ensuring communities affected by digital projects have a meaningful voice in planning and implementation.
Shift from profit-driven models to equitable, sustainable, and climate-resilient digital development that prioritizes human rights and social justice.
We demand that AIIB take immediate and decisive action to address these urgent issues. The bank must uphold its responsibility to prioritize people over profit, protect human rights, and prevent digital colonization. Empty promises are not enough—AIIB must commit to bold, transparent, and accountable measures that ensure a truly inclusive, just, and sustainable digital future. We await your response and concrete steps toward real change.
Sincerely,
Rayya Hassan
Executive Director
NGO Forum on ADB
Endorsed by the following organizations:
350 Pilipinas, Philippines
350.org Asia, Asia
AbibiNsroma Foundation, Ghana
Aksi! for Gender, Social and Ecological Justice, Indonesia
Alternative Law Collective (ALC)
Alliance for Climate Justice and Clean Energy (ACJCE), Pakistan
Bangladesh Working Group on Ecology and Development (BWGED), Bangladesh
Bantay Kita, Philippines
BRICS Feminist Watch, Global
Centre for community mobilization and support NGO, Armenia
Centre for Environmental Justice, Sri Lanka
Centre for Human Rights and Development, Mongolia
CLEAN (Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network), Bangladesh
Environmental public society, Armenia
Forum on Ecology and Development (FED), Bangladesh
Gender Action, USA
Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Asia-Pacific
Growthwatch, India
Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF), India
Indigenous Women Legal Awareness Group ( INWOLAG), Nepal
Indus Consortium, Pakistan
Jamaa Resource Initiatives, Kenya
Jubilee Australia Research Centre, Australia
LBH ANGSANA, Indonesia
Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-FoE Philippines, Philippines
Lembaga Bentang Alam Hijau (LemBAH), Indonesia
Nash Vek, Kyrgyzstan
Oyu Tolgoi Watch, Mongolia
Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, Pakistan
Participatory Research & Action Network- PRAAN, Bangladesh
Phenix Center for Economic Studies, Jordan
Programme on Women's Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (PWESCR), India
Rivers Without Boundaries, Mongolia
Rural Reconstruction Nepal, Nepal
Society for Peace and Sustainable Development, Pakistan
South Asia Just Transition Alliance (SAJTA), Regional
Trend Asia, Indonesia
Urgewald, Germany
Uzbek Forum for Human Rights, Germany/Uzbekistan