Clean air group calls out China-backed coal plant in Bangladesh

The Chinese-backed coal-fired power plant in Chattogram, Bangladesh has been the site of deadly crackdowns on protests.

A Chinese-backed coal-fired power plant in Bangladesh that’s been the site of deadly crackdowns on protests has now been accused of failing to ensure proper environmental inspections. The Environmental Impact Assessment on S. Alam Group’s coal plant in Chattogram omitted the potential impacts of mercury and some air pollutants and made misleading claims about the baseline air quality in the area, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. The Helsinki-based group said in a press release that it obtained the information from a publicly unavailable document provided by an unnamed government source. The accusations are the latest in a string of controversies over the plant that demonstrate the increasing opposition to new coal generators, even in developing nations with a power deficit. Environmental demonstrations at the outset of construction left several people dead in 2016, and police killed at least five in April during protests by workers over wages.