The Ilisu Dam Project is one of the most contested infrastructure projects in the world. Presumbably designed to bring development to the Southeast of Turkey, it entails the impoverishment of thousands of affected people, massive environmental destruction, the loss of invaluable cultural heritage, and an exacerbation of regional conflict. In an unprecedented step, on July 7th 2009, the German, Austrian and Swiss export credit agencies withdrew export credit guarantees on environmental and social grounds. Private European banks and companies (including BankAustria/UniCredit, Société Générale,DekaBank and the German-Austrian construction company Zueblin) followed this step. The Austrian company Andritz however is still determined to deliver equipment for the dam.