AIIB Watch Cases

Status: Approved
Timeframe: 2017-2019
Area: State of Gujarat, Republic of India
AIIB Investment Amount: 329 million USD
Total Project Cost: 658 million USD
Co-financier: Government of Gujarat

E&S Category: B

Project Details: The project aims to improve all-weather rural road connectivity for 1,060 villages across all 33 districts of Gujarat, potentially benefiting around 8 million people. It involves the construction and upgrading of non-plan roads and planned rural roads, including missing links, culverts, and bridges.

Project concerns: Field research by Gender Action revealed severe social impacts related to labor and gender-related violations at the project's construction sites. Working conditions resembled forced labor: many workers, mostly from tribal and lower caste backgrounds, lacked contracts, were paid late, and worked long hours in unsafe environments without protective gear. Women received lower wages than men and faced sexual harassment, with no safety or sanitation measures in place. Entire families lived in unsafe, unsanitary conditions at work sites. Promised gender-sensitive consultations were largely absent, and grievance mechanisms were unknown to affected communities.

CSO reports: Gender Action (2019): Unmet Gender Promises in AIIB’s Gujarat Project; PWESCR (2019): Gender Case Study from Gujarat
 

Organization monitoring: Gender Action, PWESCR

 

Further information: 
AIIB Page
Gender Action Scorecard

Last update: 12.05.2025