AIIB approves loans to finance infrastructure in Indonesia, Bangladesh

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) said Tuesday that it had approved three new loans totaling 285 million U.S. dollars to finance infrastructure in Indonesia and Bangladesh.

This announcement brought the multilateral development bank's total lending to over 2 billion dollars so far, according to a press release from the AIIB.

The new loans included 125 million dollars for a dam project in Indonesia, and 100 million dollars for the Indonesian Regional Infrastructure Development Fund, both projects co-financed with the World Bank.

Another 60-million-dollar loan was granted to improve a gas transmission network in Bangladesh, which was co-financed with the Asian Development Bank.

The loans were "different in their focus, but united in their efforts to leverage infrastructure spending to stimulate growth and improve the quality of life for local communities", said D.J. Pandian, vice president and chief investment officer of AIIB.

The bank values the ongoing collaboration with its multilateral development bank partners, Pandian said.

The AIIB was established in 2015 and started operation in January 2016 to provide financing for infrastructure improvement in Asia. Its membership has increased to 70, with 13 new members approved last week. Endi