Matarbari 1: Japan’s US$6 Billion Coal Disaster
Matarbari 1 coal plant: Japan’s role, community harm, corruption allegations and the case for renewables
Matarbari 1 is a US$6 billion Japan-backed coal project linked to displacement, river damage, pollution and debt. Japan must fund renewables instead.
Don’t want any new coal or LNG?
Matarbari 1: Coal import dependance
- The Matarbari 1 coal power plant is a 1,200 MW coal project in Chattogram, Bangladesh, financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
- The project’s construction was conducted by Japanese companies including Sumitomo Corporation, Toshiba and IHI.
- Promoted as “development”, the project’s construction has instead delivered displacement for families, destroyed livelihoods, polluted local riverways and locked-in decades of dependence on imported coal and millions of tonnes of emissions.
- Japan funded this problem. It must now help fix it.
The true cost of Matarbari 1
US$6 billion
Reported cost of the plant and associated infrastructure. One of the most expensive coal power projects in the world.
1,200 MW
Coal capacity across two units, that will result in millions of tonnes of carbon emissions throughout its operating lifetime.
2,000+ fisherfolk
Reportedly lost access to livelihoods after damage to the Kohelia River. Many other salt, shrimp and crop farmers report livelihood losses and little or no compensation received for these losses.
Decades of coal imports
Leaving Bangladesh exposed to volatile fuel prices and foreign-currency pressure.
Local communities paying the price
Families in Matarbari and Dhalghata depended on salt farming, agriculture and fishing.
The Matarbari 1 coal plant construction took land, displaced families from their homes and farmlands, and damaged the Kohelia River.
Many affected families say compensation and livelihood restoration have been inadequate. Local community members report not having delivered the promises of jobs and compensation for losses they were given.
In June 2026, local community members raised grave concerns over the environmental and public health risks of the Matarbari coal-fired power plant, which reportedly emitted black smoke with a foul smell. They also demanded investigation, accountability and effective action around the emission incident.
Bangladesh already faces a severe air-pollution crisis. Matarbari 1 makes it worse.
Corruption allegations raise governance concerns
The Matarbari 1 coal project has been linked to corruption investigations in Bangladesh. In 2025, the Anti-Corruption Commission investigated a senior project official with alleged illegal wealth and suspicious transactions worth millions of dollars. This prompted JICA to warn that it could suspend project funding pending satisfactory explanations from the Bangladesh government.
Earlier reports also highlight procurement irregularities and overspending on equipment linked to Matarbari 1.
These corruption allegations highlight the governance risks of large fossil fuel infrastructure projects and the need for greater transparency and accountability.
Matarbari 2 was stopped. The fossil fuel expansion must stop too.
The billions spent on Matarbari 1 should never be repeated with new fossil gas and LNG.
After funding Matarbari 1 with the largest ever overseas development assistance in Japan’s history, Japan withdrew support for the proposed Matarbari 2 coal plant in 2022 after sustained public pressure and climate concerns.
But plans for LNG terminals and gas power plants in the wider Matarbari-Moheshkhali region risk replacing one fossil fuel with another through the Japan-backed MIDI megaproject.
Bangladesh needs more affordable and reliable renewables, battery and modern grid technology which Japan has the capabilities to support.
Call on JICA and the Japanese companies to invest in renewables!
View sources
- Market Forces, Expensive LNG Expansion: How foreign gas interests are a climate disaster for Bangladesh, 2024. https://fossilfreechattogram.com/Bangladesh-LNG-Report-2024-English-Full-Report
- KTV24, Press Conference on Toxic, Foul-Smelling Black Smoke Emission at Matarbari Coal Power Plant, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBLOHKS65nk
- The Financial Today, JICA may halt Matarbari power project funding over corruption allegations, 2025. https://www.thefinancetoday.net/national/fef639834589
- Finance Today, CPGCBL now in controversy over dry ash tender, 2024. https://www.thefinancetoday.net/national/5804e0268b87
- JACSES, Friends of the Earth Japan & Mekong Watch, JICA must stop the loan disbursement now and ascertain the corruption in Bangladesh's coal project, 2025. https://jacses.org/en/592/
- JACSES, Local company official and others arrested for corruption in ODA coal-fired power project in Bangladesh, 2024. https://jacses.org/en/446/
- The Daily Star, "If not corruption, what?," 2024. https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/editorial/news/if-not-corruption-what-3580411
Let’s make Chattogram fossil-free!
Protect Chattogram by sending a message to JICA, JERA, Sumitomo and others. These companies can finance renewables instead of fossil gas and LNG to transform Bangladesh's power system while protecting communities, biodiversity and the economy.
Expensive LNG Expansion: How foreign gas interests are a climate disaster for Bangladesh
November 2024
Bangladesh is facing an energy crisis, having suffered repeated blackouts caused by an increasing over-reliance on expensive and polluting fossil gas imports.
Rather than decreasing dependence on volatile international fossil fuel markets, and prioritising clean domestic renewable energy, Bangladesh is being pushed by foreign interests to double down on liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Bangladesh can choose a pathway with clean, green, renewable energy that will protect the environment and allow people to enjoy cheap, affordable electricity.