In the end it was tiny Maldives which crashlanded the Bangalore-based GMR Group’s international plans.
Earlier this month, the Maldives Government cancelled the group’s contract for modernising the Male Ibrahim Nasir International Airport after a legal battle fought in a Singapore court. The matter is still sub judice and this time the GMR Group is fighting over the compensation amount due to it for cancellation of the contract.
The diversified GMR Group has interests in roads, energy and airports. It is present in Turkey, South Africa, Indonesia and Singapore and operates assets worth about $5 billion (over Rs 22,000 crore). Assets worth about $6 billion are under construction.
The Male International Airport was the group’s second project in modernising an international airport, the first being in Turkey where it modernised Istanbul’s Sabiha Gocken airport. Domestically, the Group has built the Hyderabad airport but is perhaps best known for modernising the Delhi airport’s Terminal 3 in record time.
30/12/12 Ashwini Phadnis & K Giriprkash/Business Line
