New Delhi: Did GMR Infra get a sweet deal from former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed that eventually turned sour as a new government came to power under President Mohammed Waheed?
If Waheed’s special advisor, Hassan Saeed, is to be believed, the Indian firm’s contract to manage the Male airport was terminated last week because the project had turned unviable for the government.
Saeed says the country’s government, instead of earning revenues, would have had to shell out a staggering eight billion Maldivian rufiyaa (Rs 2,871 crore) over 25 years to give GMR the concession to run the airport. That would have been a massive blow to the island nation’s coffers.
The reason: A “bonanza” given out by the previous government. After a civil court, in December last year, cancelled the imposition of $25 as airport development charge (ADC) and $2 as insurance on all departing international passengers, Nasheed, right before being ousted in February, permitted GMR to set off the shortfall on account of non-collection of ADC against the payment of future variable annual concession fees.
03/12/12 Surajeet Das Gupta & N Sundaresha Subramanian/Business Standard
