Those accountable for Airport leasing issue to be sued

Prosecutor General Aishath Azima Shukoor has said that the state has decided to institute legal action against the party responsible and accountable for the issue of leasing Ibrahim Nasir International Airport since the leasing of the airport was not conducted in the best interest of the country.

Attorney General Azima made this remark at the press conference held at President’s Office yesterday afternoon. She said that the ministers of the former administration concluded many decisions related to the matter without considering the consequences of the agreement on the Maldivian economy. She added that they did not even consider the law and the rights of the Maldivian people when they made the agreement.

In addition to the issues in all of the phases of the lease process, Azima said that the decision taken by the former government without taking the court order into account is causing major economic harm to the Maldives. She added that these issues should be investigated.

In this regard Azima noted that it was very irresponsible of the former administration to agree to deduct the ADC from the concession fees payable by GMR through a signed letter of the Finance Minister while the court decreed that GMR could not collect ADC from Airport.

Azima said that problems are raised regarding this letter signed by a Minister at the same time when the government is obliged to respect sovereign agreements made between other parties by the state. She said that it will not be easy for the government to resolve issues such as this. Azima noted that even now the matter has been referred to a court of arbitration in Singapore.

Meanwhile analysts believe that GMR is not responsible for the issues that is said to be in the agreement when the then government failed to highlight these issues and amend them before signing the agreement. Many also note that the GMR paid an advance of 79 million US dollars to the state even before the due date because the government was in need of a lot of money as budget support.

GMR has made proposals to the current government to resolve the dispute regarding the lease of the airport to the company. The company reveals that they are ready to hold discussions to solve the issues.