Maldives airport arbitration tribunal favours GMR Group

Infrastructure conglomerate GMR Group on Wednesday said the Maldives airport arbitration tribunal has ruled in favour of the group in the Axis Bank debt case.

"By its award dated 23rd February 2016, the said Tribunal has ruled that such damages payable by Government of Maldives and Maldives Airport Company (MACL) to GMR Male International Airport (GMIAL) will also include all the sums owed by GMIAL to the project lenders Axis Bank Singapore," Bengaluru-based GMR Group said in a statement here.

GMIAL, a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure, had entered into a concession agreement with the Maldives government and the Maldives Airport Co. in 2010 for modernisation and operation of Maldives' Ibrahim Nasir International Airport.

"The said concession agreement was unlawfully repudiated by the Government of Maldives and Maldives Airport Company on November 29, 2012, alleging that the same was void ab initio and initiated an international arbitration," the statement cited.

"The quantum assessment of the entire damage, compensation payable by Government of Maldives and MACL is expected to be completed sometime around the end of the third quarter of calendar year 2016," the statement added.