Government of Maldives has notified Axis Bank Singapore branch that the State is not liable to pay the bank the sum of $163.5 million obtained by GMR to develop Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).
Indian newspaper “The Hindu” published an article citing a letter sent on the 27th of December last year to Axis Bank Singapore branch from the Maldives government, in which Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) had reasoned that in reflection to the fact that the agreement signed between the Maldives government and GMR on the 24th December 2010 was deemed void ab initio (to be treated as invalid at the outset), the company is not liable to pay the loan.
The agreement therefore, did not undergo “early termination” as stipulated in Article 3 of the agreement and thus, this absolves the company from any obligation to pay the demanded amount, reports The Hindu.
“The concession agreement was void ab initio (to be treated as invalid at the outset) and that was the basis of the Grantor (Maldives Airports Company) taking back the airport from the project company (GMR Male International Airport Private Ltd).
“As a result, your request for payment of the sum of $163,596,347.78 is hereby rejected,” the letter signed by Ibrahim Mahfooz, Managing Director, Maldives Airports Company said, reports the article on The Hindu.
At a parliament Public Accounts Committee meeting, Attorney General Azima Shakoor had expressed grave concern regarding the loan, saying that the government had granted a “limitless” guarantee to GMR and that no legal concept allows such a grant.