GMR Group has dared the Maldivian government saying the company would not exit the GMR Male International Airport (GMIAL) on Friday midnight as directed by the Maldives government. Trouble started brewing over the Male airport after the Maldivian government’s termination of GMR’s 25-year contract, which the company termed "arbitrary". GMR secured a stay order from the Singapore High Court, but Maldives termed its decision "non-reversible and non-negotiable".
In a GMR press conference, Siddharth Kapur, chief financial officer, said, “We will continue as operators of the airport. The agreements were not just signed by the Maldivian airport company but by the government also and, by that clear fact, they are bound to honour the judgment of the Singapore courts.”
“We are very sure and hopeful and appeal to the government of Maldives to honour the jurisdiction of the Singapore court, in line with the concession agreement,” he added.
However, refuting GMR’s claim of continuing as GMIAL operators, Masood Imad, media secretary of the Maldivian President, told Business Standard: “Whatever GMR is conveying to the Indian media, this is not what is happening on the ground. I get a clear sense of a transition. GMR recently transferred some equipment to the adjoining island, keeping the transition management team in loop. Why would they otherwise do so?”
The seamless transition won’t be such a big deal as 95 per cent of the airport employees are Maldivians and the rest expatriates. The employees will now be on MACL rolls as opposed to GMR rolls, Imad added.
However, GMR Group completely denied this saying there is absolutely no truth in the matter.
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Imad assured no force would be used and it would be a smooth transition. No visas would be cancelled for any of the Indian nationals if they wish to work under the new management.
GMR Infrastructure also said that the involvement of a foreign country in Island nation's decision cannot be ruled out. "I can't say that for sure. But, looking at the political situation and political framework in Maldives, I can't rule out anything," Kapur told reporters.
Asked whether the company would appeal to the International Court of Justice, Kapur said, "We expect and appeal to Maldives government to honour international law." GMR is yet to calculate the compensation in case it has to go out prematurely from the project, Kapur said, adding Maldives Attorney General has calculated that at USD 700 million.
He also said that the company was thankful for India's support to it since the beginning of the crisis and hoped New Delhi will "take everything possible from their armoury to ensure that something amicable comes out."
However, when asked if the GMR issue would be raised in Parliament, a CPIM MP said the company had been in touch with them. "But we don't really know the full facts of the case. We would not like to vitiate conditions in a foreign country by making uninformed comments. For the time being, we are not thinking of raising it in parliament."