Litigating GMR over INIA issue is not the solution: AG

Attorney General (AG) Azima Shakoor has voiced her opinion yesterday that taking the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) operator GMR, India to court is not an easy solution and negotiations were the order of the day to resolve the ongoing strife. She also noted that the agreement made between the Maldivian government and GMR is ‘extremely prejudiced” and that the agreement violates several rights of the State and its people which is why it has been so difficult to reach a consensus over the matter.

“But this doesn’t mean negotiations between the government and GMR has come to a halt. The government is intent on continuing with the talks and to find the best possible solution. But the current unfolding of events such as GMR filing a case against the State and MACL at Singapore’s Arbitration Court and another court case ongoing over the matter in Male, the State having to pay GMR. We’ve handed them our island, infrastructure and employees and yet we have to pay them to manage our airport.
From all this you would realize the magnitude of the issues,” she said.

GMR had filed a case at Singapore’s Arbitration Court following orders from the government that the company could not charge USD27 as Airport Development Charge (ADC) and Insurance Fee from each passenger.

The AG noted that pursuing a case at Singapore’s Arbitration Court would last 2-3 years which would result in the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) in having to pay GMR fee’s leading to financial losses to the government.

“Even now the government owes more than USD1 million, so going to court over this matter is not an easy solution,” she said.

She revealed that the government has sought help from lawyers in Singapore after GMR had filed the case.

When asked if whether GMR is opposing altering the agreement made with the State she said that “revealing what has been discussed so far at this stage might be an obstruction to further commencement of negotiations.”

“We will reveal everything eventually once a solution is reached.”
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