Male airport case: GMR says intl tribunal rules in its favour

GMR Infrastructure today said the assessment of compensation amount payable by the Maldives government related to Male airport agreement is expected to be completed around third quarter of this year.
The diversified group has received a favourable ruling from the Singapore-based International Arbitral Tribunal, which has said that damages payable by the Maldives government and Maldives Airport Company Ltd (MACL) would include money owned by GMR Male International Airport Ltd ( GMIAL) to the project lenders Axis Bank Singapore Pte Ltd.
GMIAL, a subsidiary of GMR group, had entered into a concession agreement with the Maldives government for modernisation and operation of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) in 2010.

According to GMR, the agreement was "unlawfully" repudiated on November 29, 2012 by the government and MACL, alleging that the same was void ab initio and initiated an international arbitration.
An International Arbitral Tribunal was constituted to adjudicate the dispute.
"By its award dated February 23, 2016, the said tribunal has ruled that such damages payable by Government of Maldives and MACL to GMIAL will also include all the sums owed by GMIAL to the project lenders Axis Bank Singapore Pte Ltd under the facility agreement," GMR said in a release today.

The project debt covered by the aforesaid ruling as part of damages is besides the other damages/compensation payable to GMIAL in terms of the First Part Final Award, as per the release.

"The quantum assessment of the entire damage/compensation payable by GoM and MACL is expected to be completed sometime around the end of the third quarter of CY 2016," it added.
In June 2014, the tribunal "had issued its First Part Final Award holding that the concession agreement was valid and binding, Government of Maldives and MACL had unlawfully repudiated the same and that they are jointly and severally liable in damages to GMIAL for loss caused by such wrongful repudiation," the release noted.